The social consequences of the changes in 18-century rural England have caused controversy amongst contemporaries and historians. Why have the changes caused so much controversy?

Zane Powles-Access to H.E

During the 18th century, there was a drastic change within England; this was all due to the introduction of Parliamentary Enclosure. The act, although very controversial, was passed in ‘national interest’. The reason it was so controversial was that an act passed in the ‘national interest’ should have taken into consideration the people it affected the most, but the majority (commoners) who it severely affected were not consulted. The commoner’s rights and land was taken by enclosure, and the compensation they received was minimal. Thompson recognised that 1” Enclosure (when all sophistication’s are allowed for) was a plain case of class robbery, played according to the fair rules of property and law laid down by a parliament of property-owners and lawyers.” This was generally true as it seems the only people who gained from enclosure were the rich landowners; Dr R. Price stated that 2“….modern policy is, indeed, more favourable to the higher classes of people…”. The Hammonds exposed3” damaging social consequences of enclosure, because it destroyed the social fabric of village and eventually was fatal to three classes, the small farmer, cottager and squatter”.

During the 18-century, a labourer called John Clare wrote a poem about how the majority felt, a poem that can not be ignored when taking enclosure into account and the damage it caused the labourer. He wrote-:

4“Now this sweet vision of my boyish hours

Free as spring clouds and wild as summer flowers

Is faded all-a hope that blossomed free

And hath been once more shall never be

Inclosure came and trampled on the grave

Of labours rights and left the poor a slave”

Clare was a man who was not looking at the situation and the problems it caused from outside, but a man looking from within, he wrote about how the labourers felt. He mentions how things were so rosy before, and then enclosure (inclosure) arrived and brought devastation to the village way of life.

The problem with enclosure is it took away the customary rights villagers had to use the common and wasteland. This land was used in a variety of ways, for grazing cattle, collecting firewood, fruit and water, catching game and for recreational activities. Although not everyone in the village had the right to the commons, it was still an integral part of the village life. 5 The Hammonds stated that the commons was the “distinguishing mark” of the old village. But again Chambers argued this was not the case, in fact the commons caused more problems than it was worth, he ...