Henlow Surveyors 1798

The enclosure of open fields, by Act of Parliament or otherwise, created much of the present-day landscape of the county and had major economic and social effects.

The online resources listed below are accessible free of charge (apart from one very recently published book).

These articles and theses help explain the historical background, how enclosures took place and their consequences:

Our own publications include these books on the subject:

The following articles focus on the enclosure of particular places. For each one, you can use the link to reach the relevant issue of the journal where the article itself starts on the page indicated.

These articles address other topics relevant to enclosure.

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