As the result of enclosure the twenty farms were consolidated into four, the whole area was devoted to grazing, sixty cottages were pulled down or otherwise disappeared, and the necessary work was done by four herds (one for each farm) at £25 a year each, board included, and eight maidservants at £18 a year each, board included.
The gross produce of the parish after enclosure was:—
| £ | s. | d. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fat beasts | 960 | 0 | 0 |
| Sheep and lambs | 760 | 0 | 0 |
| Calves | 165 | 0 | 0 |
| Wool | 235 | 0 | 0 |
| Butter | 190 | 0 | 0 |
| Cheese | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Horses | 250 | 0 | 0 |
| £2,660 | 0 | 0 |
But while the gross produce was thus reduced by about one-third, the gross rent was raised from £1137 17s. 0d. to £1801 12s. 2d.[47]
- [47] According to the “Country Gentleman’s” calculations, the gross produce of the 1800 acres of common field and 200 acres of common pasture would be before enclosure £1419 8s., and after, £3000, which agrees very closely with the “Country Farmer’s” statement, the absolute amounts being greater, the ratio between them practically identical.
Though unfortunately the parish is not identified, and the witness is anonymous, the whole statement appears to have been carefully and exactly made. In this case we have no fewer than sixty families of small farmers or agricultural labourers expelled from their homes in a single parish of about 2300 acres.
An even more striking example of local depopulation caused by enclosure is supplied by the Rev. John Howlett, one of the strongest advocates of enclosure. He quotes from a private correspondent: “As to Inclosure, I can mention two villages in this County (Leicestershire) within two miles of each other, Wistow and Foston,[48] which formerly contained thirty-four or thirty-five dwellings, but by enclosure Foston is reduced to three habitations: the parsonage house accommodates one family, and the two other buildings are occupied by shepherds, who manage the stock for their different renters, as the whole of the parish belongs to one person. And as to Wistow, the thirty-four mansions have vanished in a very few years, and no dwelling remains but the late Sir Charles Halford’s hall house, who owns the lordship; and these are called improvements, for double or treble rents ensue.” (“Enclosures and Depopulation,” p. 12.)
- [48] Each of these was enclosed without an Act of Parliament.
What became of these farmers and labourers? The “Country Farmer” says: “Many of the small farmers who have been deprived of their livelihood have sold their stock-in-trade and have raised from £50 to £100, with which they have procured themselves, their families, and money, a passage to America.”