Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An Act for the better Cultivation, Improvement, and Regulation of the Common Arable Fields, Wastes, and Commons of Pasture in this Kingdom. |
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Citation | 13 Geo. 3. c. 81 |
Territorial extent | Great Britain |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 1 July 1773 |
Other legislation | |
Amended by | Statute Law Revision Act 1888 |
Status: Amended | |
Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Text of the Inclosure Act 1773 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. |
The Inclosure Act 1773 (13 Geo. 3. c. 81) (also known as the Enclosure Act 1773) is an Act of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain, passed during the reign of George III. The Act is still in force in the United Kingdom. It created a law that enabled enclosure of land, at the same time removing the right of commoners' access. [2]
The act required the procedure to start with a petition delivered to Parliament signed by the landowner, tithe holders and a majority of people affected. The petition then went through the stages of a bill with a committee meeting to hear any objections. The petition would then go through to royal assent after passing through both Houses of Parliament. Commissioners would then visit the area and distribute the land accordingly. [3]
The powers granted in the Inclosure Act were often abused by landowners: the preliminary meetings where enclosure was discussed, intended to be held in public, were often made in the presence of only the local landowners. They regularly chose their own solicitors, surveyors and commissioners to decide on each case. In 1774, Parliament added an amendment to the act under the standing orders that every petition for enclosure had to be affixed to the door of the local church for three consecutive Sundays in August or September. [3]
The act eventually limited the amount of traffic on culverted paths as they often fell within land that was to be enclosed. This often meant that traffic eventually stopped going along certain routes, such as the path above the culverted Shit Brook in Much Wenlock. [4] [5]
The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at SK8818, passes through the centre of Grantham, passes Lincoln at SK9771 and at Boston, TF3244, flows into The Haven, a tidal arm of The Wash, near RSPB Frampton Marsh. The name "Witham" seems to be extremely old and of unknown origin. Archaeological and documentary evidence shows the importance of the Witham as a navigable river from the Iron Age onwards. From Roman times it was navigable to Lincoln, from where the Fossdyke was constructed to link it to the River Trent. The mouth of the river moved in 1014 following severe flooding, and Boston became important as a port.
The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a branch to the Thames and Severn Canal at Latton near Cricklade. Among professional trades boatmen, the canal was nicknamed the Ippey Cut, possibly short for Chippenham.
Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enclose land could be either through a formal or informal process. The process could normally be accomplished in three ways. First there was the creation of "closes", taken out of larger common fields by their owners. Secondly, there was enclosure by proprietors, owners who acted together, usually small farmers or squires, leading to the enclosure of whole parishes. Finally there were enclosures by acts of Parliament.
In England and Wales, excluding the 12 Inner London boroughs and the City of London, the right of way is a legally protected right of the public to pass and re-pass on specific paths. The law in England and Wales differs from Scots law in that rights of way exist only where they are so designated, whereas in Scotland any route that meets certain conditions is defined as a right of way, and in addition, there is a general presumption of access to the countryside. Private rights of way or easements also exist.
The inclosure acts created legal property rights to land previously held in common in England and Wales, particularly open fields and common land. Between 1604 and 1914 over 5,200 individual acts enclosing public land were passed, affecting 28,000 km2.
Common land is collective land in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel.
The Caistor Canal was a 4-mile (6.4 km) canal in Lincolnshire, England, constructed between 1793 and 1798. It fell into disuse sometime after 1850 and was legally abandoned in 1936. It ran from the River Ancholme, near South Kelsey toward Caistor through six locks, terminating at Moortown, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) away from its intended terminus at Caistor. Parts of it were dredged in 2010, to aid flood defences in South Kelsey.
The Swing Riots were a widespread uprising in 1830 by agricultural workers in southern and eastern England in protest of agricultural mechanisation and harsh working conditions. The riots began with the destruction of threshing machines in the Elham Valley area of East Kent in the summer of 1830 and by early December had spread through the whole of southern England and East Anglia. It was to be the largest movement of social unrest in 19th-century England.
Knitsley is a hamlet in and former civil parish, now in the parish of Healeyfield, in the County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is situated a short distance to the south of the town of Consett. In 1931 the parish had a population of 2276.
Bourne Eau is a short river which rises from an artesian spring in the town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, England, and flows in an easterly direction to join the River Glen at Tongue End. Within the town, it once powered three water mills, one of which is now a heritage centre. At Eastgate, it becomes much wider as it was navigable in the 18th and 19th centuries, and this was the location of the terminal basin. Below the town it is an embanked river, as its normal level is higher than that of the surrounding Fens. Navigation ceased in the 1860s and the river now forms an important part of the drainage system that enables the surrounding fen land to be used for agriculture.
The Market Weighton Canal ran 9.5 miles (15.3 km) from the Humber Estuary to its terminus near Market Weighton. It gained its act of Parliament in 1772 and opened in 1782. The 3.5 miles (5.6 km) closest to Market Weighton was abandoned in 1900 and the right of navigation through Weighton lock was lost in 1971. However, as of 2002 the lock was passable and the canal usable up to the junction with the River Foulness where silt has made it impassable. Also there is no right of navigation under the M62 motorway bridge to the north of Newport.
Much Wenlock, often called simply Wenlock, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885, when it was abolished. It was named after the town of that name in Shropshire.
The Wellington to Craven Arms Railway was formed by a group of railway companies that eventually joined the Great Western Railway family, and connected Wellington, Shropshire and Shifnal, with Coalbrookdale, Buildwas, Much Wenlock and a junction near Craven Arms. Its objectives were dominated by the iron, colliery and limestone industries around Coalbrookdale.
Events from the year 1773 in Great Britain.
The Christchurch Inclosure Act 1802 was a private act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the dividing, allotting, and inclosing, certain commonable lands, and waste grounds within the parish of Christchurch and parish or chapelry of Holdenhurst, in Hampshire.
Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultivated and unenclosed land has opened up since the enactment of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. In Scotland the ancient tradition of universal access to land was formally codified under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. In Northern Ireland, however, there are few rights of way, or other access to land.
Agriculture in the United Kingdom uses 70% of the country's land area, employs 1% of its workforce and contributes 0.5% of its gross value added. The UK currently produces about 54% of its domestic food consumption.
Compulsory purchase is the power to purchase or take rights over an estate in English land law, or to buy that estate outright, without the current owner's consent, in exchange for payment of compensation. In England and Wales, Parliament has granted several different kinds of compulsory purchase power, which are exercisable by various bodies in various situations. Such powers are meant to be used "for the public benefit". This expression is interpreted broadly but is subject to the test of overriding or compelling public interest.
Shit Brook is a culverted small stream in Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England.
The Stray is a long area of public parkland in the centre of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, comprising 200 acres (81 ha) of contiguous open land linking the spa town's curative springs and wells. The contiguous area of land, not all of which is officially designated part of The Stray, forms an approximately U-shaped belt from the Cenotaph on the north west point of the U, down the A61 road, along a broader southern belt of fields, enclosing the building of Church Square, and up to the north east tip of the U at The Granby. The Stray includes the site of Tewit Well, marked by a dome.