Manor，asinthecommonfieldsitisintheparticulartenant。’Thefeudal
lawyershaddevelopedadoctrinethatthesoilofthewastewasvestedin
theLordoftheManor，andthatoriginallyithadallbelongedtohim。But
feudallawacknowledgedcertaindefinitelimitationstohisrightsoverthe
waste。TheStatuteofMerton，1235，allowedhimtomakeenclosuresonthe
waste，butonlyoncertainterms；hewasobligedtoleaveenoughofthewaste
fortheneedsofhistenants。Moreover，hispowerswerelimited，notonly
bytheconcurrentrightsoffreeholdersandcopyholdersthusrecognisedby
thisancientlaw，butalsobycertaincommonrightsofpastureandturbary
enjoyedbypersonswhowereneitherfreeholdersnorcopyholders，namelycottagers。
Theserightswereexplainedbythelawyersofthetimeasbeingconcessions
madebytheLordoftheManorinremoteantiquity。TheLordoftheManor
wasregardedastheownerofthewaste，subjecttothesecommonrights：that
is，hewasregardedasowningthemineralsandthesurfacerights(sandand
gravel)aswellassportingrights。
Everygradeofpropertyandstatuswasrepresentedintheranksofthe
freeholders，thecopyholdersandthetenantfarmers，fromthemanwhoemployed
otherstoworkforhimtothemanwhowassometimesemployedinworkingfor
others。Nodistinctline，infact，canbedrawnbetweenthesmallfarmer，
whetherfreeholder，copyholderortenant，andthecottager，forthecottager
mighteitherownorrentafewstrips；thebestdividing-linecanbedrawn
betweenthosewhomadetheirlivingmainlyasfarmers，andthosewhomade
theirlivingmainlyaslabourers。
Itisimportanttorememberthatnofarmer，howeverlargehisholdings
orproperty，orhoweverimportanthissocialposition，wasatlibertyto
cultivatehisstripsashepleased。Thesystemofcultivationwouldbesettled
forhimbytheJuryoftheManorCourt，acourtthathaddifferentnames
indifferentplaces。Bytheeighteenthcenturythevariouscourtsofthe
manorialjurisdictionhadbeenmergedinasinglecourt，calledindifferently
theViewofFrankpledge，theCourtLeet，theCourtBaron，theGreatCourt
ortheLittleCourt，whichtransactedsomuchofthebusinesshithertoconfided
tovariouscourtsashadnotbeenassignedtotheJusticesofthePeace。(4*)
Mostofthemenofthevillage，freeholders，copyholders，leaseholders，Or
cottagers，attendedthecourt，buttheconstitutionoftheJuryorHomage
seemstohavevariedindifferentmanors。Sometimesthetenantsofthemanor
weretakenhaphazardinrotation：sometimesthestewardcontrolledthechoice，
sometimesanomineeofthestewardoranomineeofthetenantsselectedthe
Jury：sometimesthestewardtooknopartintheselectionatall。Thechief
partofthebusinessofthesecourtsintheeighteenthcenturywasthemanagement
ofthecommonfieldsandcommonpastures，andtheappointmentofthevillage
officers。Thesecourtsdecidedwhichseedshouldbesowninthedifferent
fields，andthedatesatwhichtheyweretobeopenedandclosedtocommon
pasture。Underthemostprimitivesystemofrotationthearablelandwas
dividedintothreefields，ofwhichonewassownwithwheat，anotherwith
springcorn，andthethirdlayfallow：butbytheendoftheeighteenthcentury
therewasagreatvarietyofcultivation，andwefindanineyears’course
atGreatTewinOxfordshire，asixyears’courseinBerkshire，whilethe
Batterseacommonfieldsweresownwithoneuniformroundofgrainwithout
intermission，andconsequentlywithoutfallowing。(5*)
BySirRichardSutton’sAct(6*)forthecultivationofcommonfields，
passedin1773，amajorityofthree-fourthsinnumberandvalueoftheoccupiers，
withtheconsentoftheownerandtitheholder，wasempoweredtodecideon
thecourseofhusbandry，toregulatestintedcommons，and，withtheconsent
oftheLordoftheManor，toletoffatwelfthofthecommon，applyingthe
renttodrainingorimprovingtherestofit。(7*)BeforethisAct，auniversal
consenttoanychangeofsystemwasnecessary。(8*)Thecultivationofstrips
inthearablefieldscarriedwithitrightsofcommonoverthewasteand
alsooverthecommonfieldswhentheywerethrownopen。Theserightswere
knownas’commonappendant’andtheyarethusdefinedbyBlackstone：’Common
appendantisarightbelongingtotheownersoroccupiersofarableland
toputcommonablebeastsupontheLord’swasteanduponthelandsofother
personswithinthesamemanor。’
Theclassesmakingtheirlivingmainlyaslabourerswerethecottagers，
farmservants，andsquatters。Thecottagerseitherownedoroccupiedcottages
andhadrightsofcommononthewaste，andinsomecasesoverthecommon
fields。Theserightswereofvariouskinds：theygenerallyincludedtheright
topasturecertainanimals，tocutturfandtogetfuel。Thecottagers，as
wehavealreadysaid，oftenownedorrentedland。Thisisspokenofasa
commonpracticebyAddington，whoknewtheMidlandcountieswell；Arthur
YounggivesinstancesfromLincolnshireandOxfordshire，andEdenfromLeicestershire
andSurrey。Thesquattersorbordererswere，byorigin，aseparateclass，
thoughintimetheymergedintothecottagers。Theyweresettlerswhobuilt
themselveshutsandclearedapieceoflandinthecommonsorwoods，atsome
distancefromthevillage。Theseencroachmentsweregenerallysanctioned。
Acommonruleinonepartofthecountrywasthattherightwasestablished
ifthesettlercouldbuildhiscottageinthenightandsendoutsmokefrom
hischimneyinthemorning。(9*)Thesquattersalsooftenwentoutasday
labourers。Thefarmservantswereusuallythechildrenofthesmallfarmers
orcottagers；theylivedintheirmasters’housesuntiltheyhadsavedenough
moneytomarryandtakeacottageoftheirown。
Werethereanydaylabourerswithouteitherlandorcommonrightsinthe
oldvillage？Itisdifficulttosupposethatthereweremany。(10*)Blackstone
saidofcommonappurtenantthatitwasnotageneralright’butcanonly
beclaimedbyspecialgrantorbyprescription，whichthelawesteemssufficient
proofofaspecialgrantoragreementforthispurpose。’Prescriptioncovers
amultitudeofencroachments。Indeed，itwasonlybytheingenuityofthe
feudallawyersthattheserightsdidnotattachtotheinhabitantsofthe
villageatlarge。TheselawyershaddecidedinGateward’scase，1603，that
’inhabitants’weretoovagueabodytoenjoyaright，andonthisground
theyhaddeprivedtheinhabitantsofthevillageofStixswoldinLincolnshire
oftheircustomaryrightofturningoutcattleonthewaste。(11*)Fromthat
timeacharterofincorporationwasnecessarytoenabletheinhabitantsat
largetoprovealegalclaimtocommonrights。Butrightsthatwereenjoyed
bytheoccupiersofsmallholdingsorofcottagesbylongprescription，or
byencroachmentstacitlysanctioned，musthavebeenverywidelyscattered。
Suchweretheclassesinhabitingtheeighteenth-centuryvillage。Asthe
holdingsinthecommonfieldscouldbesold，thepropertymightchangehands，
thoughitremainedsubjecttocommonrightsandtothegeneralregulations
ofthemanorcourt。Consequentlythevillagesexhibitedgreatvarietiesof
character。Inonevillageitmighthappenthatstripafterstriphadbeen
boughtupbytheLordoftheManororsomeproprietor，untilthegreater
partofthearablefieldshadcomeintothepossessionofasingleowner。
Insucheases，however，thelandsopurchasedwasstillletoutasarule
toanumberofsmallmen，fortheengrossingoffarmsasapracticecomes
intofashionafterenclosure。Sometimessuchpurchasewasapreliminaryto
enclosure。TheBedfordshirereportergivesanexampleinthevillageofBolnhurst，
inthatcounty。Threelandspeculatorsboughtupasmuchofthelandasthey
couldwithaviewtoenclosingthecommonfieldsandthensellingatalarge
profit。Butthelandturnedouttobemuchlessvaluablethantheyhadsupposed，
andtheycouldnotgetitofftheirhands：allimprovementswereatastandstill，
forthespeculatorsonlyletfromyeartoyear，hopingstilltofindamarket。
Inothervillages，landmighthavechangedhandsinjusttheoppositedirection。
TheLordoftheManormightsellhispropertyinthecommonfields，andsell
itnottosomecapitalistormerchant，buttoanumberofsmallfarmers。
WelearnfromtheevidenceoftheCommitteeof1844onenclosuresthatsometimes
theLordoftheManorsoldhispropertyinthewastetothecommoners。Thus
therewerevillageswithfewowners，astherewerevillageswithmanyowners。
ThewriteroftheReportonMiddlesex，whichwaspublishedin1798says，
’Ihaveknownthirtylandlordsinafieldof200acres，andtheproperty
ofeachsodividedastolieintenortwentyplaces，containingfroman
acreortwodownwardstofifteenperches；andinafieldof300acresIhave
metwithpatchesofarableland，containingeightpercheseach。Inthisinstance
theaveragesizeofallthepiecesinthefieldwasunderanacre。Inall
casestheylieinlong，narrow，windingorworm-likeslips。’(13*)
Thesamewriterstatesthatatthetimehisbookwaswritten(1798)20，000
outofthe23，000arableacresinMiddlesexwerecultivatedonthecommon-field
system。(14*)PerhapstheparishofStanwell，ofwhichwedescribetheenclosure
indetailelsewhere，maybetakenasafairexampleofaneighteenth-century
village。Inthisparishtherewere，accordingtotheenclosureaward，four
largeproprietors，twenty-fourmoderateproprietors，twenty-foursmallproprietors，
andsixty-sixcottagerswithcommonrights。
Themostimportantsocialfactaboutthissystemisthatitprovidedopportunities
forthehumblestandpoorestlabourertoriseinthevillage。Population
seemstohavemovedslowly，andthustherewasnofeverishcompetitionfor
land。Thefarmservantcouldsaveuphiswagesandbeginhismarriedlife
byhiringacottagewhichcarriedrightsofcommon，andgraduallybuyor
hirestripsofland。Everyvillage，asHasbachhasputit，haditsladder，
andnobodywasdoomedtostayonthelowestrung。Thisisthedistinguishing
markoftheoldvillage。Itwouldbeeasy，lookingonlyatthisfeature，
toidealisethesocietythatwehavedescribed，andtopaintthisageas
anageofgold。ButnoreaderofFieldingorofRichardsonwouldfallinto
thismistake，orpersuadehimselfthatthiscommunitywasasocietyoffree
andequalmen，inwhichtyrannywasimpossible。Theoldvillagewasunder
theshadowofthesquireandtheparson，andthereweremanywaysinwhich
thesepowerscontrolledandhampereditspleasuresandhabits：therewere
quarrels，too，betweenfarmersandcottagers，andtherearemanycomplaints
thatthefarmerstriedtotakethelion’sshareofthecommons：but，whatever
thepressureoutsideandwhateverthebickeringswithin，itremainstrue
thatthecommon-fieldsystemformedaworldinwhichthevillagerslived
theirownlivesandcultivatedthesoilonabasisofindependence。
Itwasthiscommunitythatnowpassedundertheunqualifiedruleofthe
oligarchy。Underthatruleitwastodisappear。Enclosurewasnonewmenace
tothepoor。Englishliteraturebeforetheeighteenthcenturyechoesthe
dismayandlamentationsofpreachersandprophetswhowitnessedthehavoc
thatitspread。Stubbeshadwrittenin1553hisbitterprotestagainstthe
enclosureswhichenabledrichmentoeatuppoormen，andtwentyyearslater
awriterhadgivenasombrelandscapeofthenewfarming：’Wemayseemany
oftheirhousesbuiltalonelikeravens’nests，nobirdsbuildingnearthem。’
TheMidlandshadbeenthechiefsceneofthesechanges，andtheretheconversion
ofarablelandintopasturehadswallowedupgreattractsofcommonagriculture，
provokinginsomecasesanarmedresistance。Theenclosuresofthiscentury
werethesecondandthegreateroftwowaves。(15*)Inonerespectenclosure
wasinformmoredifficultnowthaninearlierperiods，foritwasgenerally
understoodatthistimethatanActofParliamentwasnecessary。Inreality
therewaslesscheckontheprocess。Forhithertotheenclosingclasshad
hadtoreckonwiththeoccasionalpanicorill-temperoftheCrown。NoEnglish
king，itistrue，hadintervenedintheinterestsofthepoorsodramatically
asdidtheearlierandunspoiltLouisXIV，whorestoredtotheFrenchvillage
assembliesthepubliclandstheyhadalienatedwithinacertainperiod。But
theCrownhadnotaltogetheroverlookedtheinterestsoftheclasseswho
wereruinedbyenclosure，andindifferentwaysithadtriedtomodifythe
worstconsequencesofthispolicy。From1490to1601therewerevariousActs
andproclamationsdesignedforthispurpose。CharlesIhadactuallyannulled
theenclosuresoftwoyearsincertainmidlandcounties，severalCommissions
hadbeenissued，andtheStarChamberhadinstitutedproceedingsagainst
enclosuresonthegroundthatdepopulationwasanoffenceagainsttheCommon
Law。Mr。FirthholdsthatCromwell’sinfluenceintheeasterncountieswas
duetohischampionshipofthecommonersinthefens。Throughoutthistime，
howeverineffectualtheinterventionoftheCrown，theinterestsoftheclasses
towhomenclosuresbroughtwealthandpowerwerenotallowedtoobliterate
allotherconsiderations。
