[Lauren!]

i have a question for homework about enclosure. it is 'describe the process by which land was enclosed.' (4)
i am going to write about how it was closed either by consent or parliamentary act, but cant really remember much. was consent when everone agreed and parliamentary when 75 % wanted it or sumthin and then there was a notice on the church door? and thats all i can really think of to say because my teacher told us not to include things like why it was like to stop diseasing spreading. so wot do u say like they put fences round?!! please help. thankyou

[Mrs Faithorn]

If this is a 4 mark question then you don't have to write all that much, Lauren.

You are right that 'consent' means when everyone agreed . You could go into a bit more detail and say:
"There were two ways to enclose a field. Before 1740 most
villages were enclosed by agreement (or consent). This was when all of
the major landowners in the village made a private
agreement to join their strips together. This possibly
meant buying out smaller farmers. When a small number of
farmers did not want to sell their land an Act of
Parliament had to be obtained"

That's when a law was passed in Parliament about enclosing one particular village.

You might say:
"Owners of 80 % (four-fifths) of the land had to agree (which could
actually be just a few people in number), and then sign a petition to be taken before
Parliament so that an Act (Law) could be passed saying enclosures
should happen. Commissioners were appointed by parliament (usually
well-respected land-owners from neighbouring villages) and they
oversaw the procedure. Surveyors were employed to take account of
who owned what under the old system, then to draw up maps which
redistributed the land. Local farmers had to prove that they owned what
they did."

I hope that helps?

If you are doing a GCSE Social and Economic History course then I think you might find this part of our main site on the Agricultural Revolution helpful:
http://www.schoolhis...riculture.shtml

[Lauren!]

thats absolutely wicked!! cheers!! xxx Lauren xxx