Fault doctrine in tort law has been characterised by its context-sensitivity, its adaptability and its comparison with relatively narrow islands of strict liability torts. Unlike some other legal systems, English tort law does not have a general clause of liability, nor presumptive liability for conduct which caused harm and was done with fault. Instead, English law developed specific causes of action in civil law, called torts, with specific configurations of physical requirements and fault. Not all torts can be covered here; the focus will be on some of the more common and/or significant torts. It is also necessary to look a little further back to understand developments in our period, in particular how tort, as a subject, was pulled together in the nineteenth century, particularly by judges.