Can I find old disputes on neighbouring property?

margi_g

I live in the countryside and there are only two other houses in this location. Some years ago the house immediately next to mine was put on the market and has not yet sold. It has been empty for some time since  the owner died.   This brought up the fact that we own part of the access to this house .The other part of the access is owned by the property on the other side of the property that is now for sale. Both I and the other property owner were contacted by the solicitor  for the empty property ahead of sale and asked if we would sign Right of Way for the property which would be added to our own property deeds. This wasn't an issue for me ,it is reasonable request. I agreed and the solicitor acting for the empty property agreed to pay for legal costs for my solicitor to arrange it . 
The issue here was the reaction of the owner of the property on the other side of the empty house. He has refused have this Right of Way added to his deeds and said to that he would sign  a paper to  say he agreed to a right of way but was adamant he would not add this to his house deeds. He was also approached by the people who currently own the property,the people the solicitor is acting for , and he refused to discuss his reason for refusing. This is very odd as we have all known each other some time and we have all got on very well . 
My problem is I also share some boundary with the neighbour who is not co operating with Right of Way. I am wondering if there may be an issue with them in the future when I sell my house. I am not dependant on this neighbour for my Right of Way,I own my own access. This neighbour still has a mortgage on his property ,whereas mine is mortgage free ,Could this be the issue that he wont sign? I had heard many years ago there had been a dispute with the (now deceased) house owner of the empty house that is now on the market and a previous owner of the this  property on the other side of it. Is it possible to look at something in land registry that may tell me if there is anything I need to know for future sale?  My own solicitor who was handling the Right of Way added that he said these people seemed "very unforthcoming" in their approach to this situation.
As the issue now  stands, as both parties needed to sign it and the other people wouldnt sign it,. the agreement for the Right of Way was abandoned by the solicitor acting for the empty property and he is selling it without the access legally being granted. There is no issue as I said for us as we wouldnt refuse the right of way ,it would be silly to do that but has it highlighted  a red flag by this perfectly innocent request? This neighbour as I said has a mortgage that has only been taken out in the last five years for his house so if it was a problem wouldnt their mortgage company have picked it up?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated .  Thanks for taking the time to read this.