Enclosure movement
The Enclosure Movement refers to a significant historical transition in agricultural practices, primarily in England, from the medieval system of open fields and common lands to privately enclosed fields and pastures. This movement began in the 13th century and reached its peak in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, resulting in the consolidation of farmland into fenced or hedged plots. The shift allowed farmers to adopt more efficient agricultural techniques, including crop rotation and controlled grazing, which enhanced soil fertility and agricultural productivity. However, the process displaced many small farmers, leading to social unrest as traditional communal farming practices were dismantled.
The movement also had ecological implications, as hedgerows that emerged from this enclosure became vital habitats for numerous plant and animal species. Despite these benefits, the trend toward large-scale monoculture farming in the mid-20th century led to the destruction of many hedgerows, adversely affecting biodiversity. In response, the British government initiated programs to support the planting and maintenance of hedgerows, recognizing their ecological importance. Overall, the Enclosure Movement significantly transformed rural landscapes, agricultural practices, and community structures, with ongoing effects on ecology and farming today.
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Enclosure movement
DEFINITION: Movement to convert agricultural lands from the medieval system of open fields and lands held in common to fenced or hedged fields and pastures
The European enclosure movement, along with improvements in agricultural techniques, dramatically changed land use.
Under the medieval feudal system of agriculture in Europe, typically three large, open fields without fences or hedges surrounded each village. Each field was left fallow for one year out of three. The fields were subdivided into long, narrow strips, with each farmer’s allotted strips scattered over the open fields rather than adjoining one another. Farmers were allowed to graze set numbers of animals on pastureland held in common. During certain seasons—especially after harvest—the arable and hay lands were opened up to grazing by the livestock of the whole community. Woodlands and other uncultivated lands were also held in common.
In England during the thirteenth century, farmers’ allotments of arable land began to be consolidated into fields enclosed by hedgerows or fences. The ancient common lands were divided among the farmers and enclosed. In the process, large areas of forestland and uncultivated land were converted into plowland. English reached its height during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and was largely complete by the mid-nineteenth century. The process occurred somewhat later in Continental Europe. Enclosure drove many farmers off the land, leading to social unrest.
Agricultural efficiency increased within enclosed fields. Farmers could rotate crops and pasture scientifically, without regard to what their neighbors did. The resulting increase in soil fertility helped remove the need for fallow fields. Farmers could raise livestock more easily with herds in enclosures and could grow fodder without having it eaten by livestock that belonged to others. With enclosed land to grow fodder, farmers could maintain livestock through the winters. The manure from the growing herds also improved soil fertility.
Over time, as the hedgerows naturally accumulated plant species, they became important wildlife habitats, compensating somewhat for the conversion of woodlands into fields and pastureland during enclosure. More than eight hundred kinds of plants have been found in British hedgerows, including such woody perennials as blackthorn, hawthorn, oak, beech, ash, hazel, roses, crabapple, and holly. Most of Great Britain’s woodland birds and small mammals use hedgerows at some time during their lives. For many species, hedgerows are the only remaining habitat.
The landscape of rectangular, hedged fields largely persisted in Britain until the 1950s, as fields remained small and were regularly rotated between crops and pasture. However, many farmers began selling off their livestock and turning to crops, such as wheat, cultivated with large equipment that required broad expanses of open land. In the process, many of the hedgerows, some of great antiquity, were destroyed. This loss transformed the appearance of the countryside and was detrimental to wildlife.
Another major threat to hedgerows has been neglect. Because the strict maintenance that hedgerows require costs more than many farmers are willing to pay, the British government started a program in 1989 to pay subsidies to farmers for planting and maintaining hedgerows.
Bibliography
Angus, Ian. "Against Enclosure: The Commoners Fight Back." Resilience, 17 Jan. 2022, www.resilience.org/stories/2022-01-17/against-enclosure-the-commoners-fight-back/. Accessed 16 July 2024.
Dixon-Gough, Robert W., and Peter C. Bloch. The Role of the State and Individual in Sustainable Land Management. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2006.
"The Enclosure Movement and the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions." Mises Institute, 12 Sept. 2022,
mises.org/mises-wire/enclosure-movement-and-agricultural-and-industrial-revolutions. Accessed 16 July 2024.
Kain, Roger J. P., John Chapman, and Richard R. Oliver. “The Enclosure Movement in England and Wales.” In The Enclosure Maps of England and Wales, 1595-1918. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.