The process of converting shared or open land into privately controlled holdings.
Enclosure was the process by which land previously managed collectively, such as open fields or common pasture, was divided into separate areas with defined ownership or occupation.
Before enclosure, many medieval farming communities operated under open-field systems where tenants held scattered strips and shared certain resources.
Enclosure could take place gradually through local agreements or through formal parliamentary acts, particularly during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The process changed the organisation of rural landscapes and affected traditional common rights.
See also:
Common Rights
Open Field
Strip
Waste
