No writs shall be issued, by a justice of the peace or the Court of Common Pleas, upon a complaint of forcible entry, after 1 year from the time of such entry; or upon a complaint of forcible detainer merely, after the tenant has been in continued possession of the premises for 2 years. These limitations need not be pleaded, but they shall defeat any such suit whenever it appears that they apply to it.

Code 1852, § ?2208; Code 1915, § ?4685; Code 1935, § ?5143; 10 Del. C. 1953, § ?8122;