The English Peasantry and the Enclosure of Common FieldsSlater, Gilbert
History
The English Peasantry and the Enclosure of Common Fields
Slater, Gilbert
Agriculture -- England; Inclosures; Peasants -- England; Village communities -- Great Britain
┌─────────┬─────────────────╥──────────────╥─────────────────╥────────┐
│ │ ║ Acts not ║ ║ │
│ │Acts specifying ║ specifying ║ ║ │
│ │ Acreage ║ Acreage ║ Total. ║ │
│ │ Enclosed. ║ Enclosed. ║ ║ Acres │
│ ├──────┬──────────╫─────┬────────╫──────┬──────────╢Enclosed│
│ │Acts. │ Acreage ║Acts.│Acreage ║ Acts.│ Acres. ║ per │
│ │ │ as ║ estimated. │ ║ annum. │
│ │ │ stated. ║ │ ║ │ ║ │
├─────────┼──────┼──────────╫─────┼────────╫──────┼──────────╫────────┤
│1727–1760│ 49 │ 65,203 ║ 7 │ 9,315 ║ 56 │ 74,518 ║ 2,192 │
│1761–1792│ 292 │ 411,952 ║ 47 │ 66,307 ║ 339 │ 478,259 ║ 14,946 │
│1793–1801│ 153 │ 230,249 ║ 29 │ 43,642 ║ 182 │ 273,891 ║ 30,432 │
│1802–1815│ 469 │ 615,970 ║ 95 │123,773 ║ 564 │ 739,743 ║ 52,839 │
│1816–1845│ 202 │ 164,994 ║ 42 │ 34,306 ║ 244 │ 199,300 ║ 6,643 │
├─────────┼──────┼──────────╫─────┼────────╫──────┼──────────╫────────┤
│Totals. │1,165 │1,488,368 ║ 220 │277,343 ║1,385 │1,765,711 ║ │
└─────────┴──────┴──────────╨─────┴────────╨──────┴──────────╨────────┘
From 1727 to 1760 the number of Acts of this class passed per annum
was steadily increasing, the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) apparently
acting as a stimulus. During this period the average acreage enclosed
per Act was 1330·7 acres. The increase in the number of Acts continued
up till 1792, and again at a greatly enhanced rate after the beginning
of the great French war. From 1761–1792 the average acreage enclosed
per Act was 1410·8 acres; from 1792–1801, 1504·9 acres. In 1801 a
Clauses Act, termed “A General Enclosure Act” was passed to facilitate
Parliamentary proceedings. This had the double effect of increasing the
average number of Acts passed per annum from 20 to 43, but of reducing
the average acreage per Act to 1313·4 acres. From 1816–1845 the average
acreage per Act was 816·8 acres.
APPENDIX B.
PRIVATE ACTS ENCLOSING COMMON FIELDS.
{ A. F. Acres of common field arable.
{ A. P. Acres of common pasture.
{ A. M. Acres of common meadow.
_Abbreviations_{ F.’s. Common fields.
{ P. Parish.
{ M. I. Mesne inclosures.
{ yl. Yardlands.
* Indicates that the area enclosed is not stated in acres in the Act,
but in yardlands, oxgangs, or other such units, or otherwise has been
estimated from data supplied by the Act.
NOTE.--The spelling adopted is that used in the Act. In many cases it
varies from that now in use.
BEDFORD.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account