What were the effects of
enclosure?
L/O – To identify the consequences of enclosure and
explain how enclosure led to other changes in farming
Starter – Think back to last lesson. List one benefit of
enclosure and one bad point about enclosure
Arthur Young – Lover of Farming
• Biographical Details
•
Born 1741; died 1820. Began his career as a
farmer in Suffolk
•
Failed as a farmer. He was too poor to pay
for enclosure improvements.
•
In 1768, he turned to writing about
farming
•
He travelled throughout Britain to spread
the ideas of farming improvement
•
In 1793 he became the first Secretary of
the new Board of Agriculture. His main job
was to make surveys of farming in each
county.
What
Why would
is Arthur
Arthur
Young
Young
saying
sayabout
such different
the advantages
things
Take
a
look
at
Source
A
Doing History
–
Source
Analysis
and
about
disadvantages
the effects of
ofenclosure?
enclosure?
How did enclosure lead to an increase
in food production?
• Once land had been
enclosed, farmers were
able to experiment with
new machinery, crops,
fertilisers and selective
breeding.
• These new methods all
help to increase
agricultural (food)
production.
New Machines
• In 1701, Jethro Tull
invented the seed drill.
• This sowed seeds in
straight rows and
covered up them up with
earth afterwards.
• Before this, seeds had to
be sown by hand.
1. Why do you think that
• Enclosure led to the seed
enclosure
ledmore
to thewidely
seed drill
drill being
beingin
more
used?
used
the widely
19th century.
New Machines
• Ploughs were also improved.
• The Rotherham plough
invented in 1760 needed
fewer horses to pull it.
• An all-iron plough was
developed in the early 1800s.
• 1826 the first steam plough
was developed
• 2.InWhat
1786, effect
a threshing
machine
do you
think
was invented;
its use became
these
new
machines
had on
more common in the 1820s.
farm labourers?
New Methods of Cultivation
• Bigger farms allowed
farmers to use new
methods like four-course
rotation which stopped
fields going unused.
• Some areas also tried
specialisation. This allowed
farmers to concentrate on
one type of crop.
• Because farmers had bigger
fields, they could also use
fertilisers like chemicals or
animal manure to improve
crop yields.
Selective Breeding
• Having larger fenced fields
allowed farmers to try and
improve the quality of
sheep and cattle.
• They tried to use only the
best animals for breeding.
This was called selective
breeding.
3. Draw a graph to show the
• percentage
This was pioneered
increase inbythe
Robert Blackwell and the
weight
animals
sold
results of
can
be seen
in at
the
Smithfield
between 1710
table:
and 1790
Was enclosure good for everybody?
• You are now going to decide
who benefited more from
enclosure. The family of a
poor freeholder or the
family of a rich yeoman?
• Read each statement and
mark on your graphs
whether you think the
family did well or did badly
as a result.
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Poor Freeholder
1779 – “As we could not prove
our claim to the land, our
family lost the land it farmed
when the village was enclosed.
To make matters worse, we
could not even graze our
animals on the common land
– it was enclosed too!”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Poor Freeholder
1780 – “We were now one of
the many landless labourers in
the village.
At first, there was plenty of
work after enclosure, but this
soon dried up when fields had
been enclosed and roads had
been built.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Poor Freeholder
1785 – “The problem with
enclosure was that there was
too many people chasing too
few jobs in the village.
Many left for the city. We
decided to stay but when we
found work, our wages were
low.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Poor Freeholder
1793 – “Between 1793 and
1815 bread prices rose. Bread
was an important part of our
diet.
This caused distress and
greater poverty to our and
many other families in the
village.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Poor Freeholder
1815 – “The Corn Laws made
things even worse. Farmers,
hoping to make huge profits,
were producing too much
wheat.
As a result, we lost our jobs.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Poor Freeholder
1830 – “The threshing
machine meant we had to rely
on poor relief during the
winter.
In 1830, we took part in the
Swing Riots to try to improve
things. They were a complete
disaster as nothing changed.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Poor Freeholder
1846 – “The repeal of the
Corn Laws in 1846 led to the
price of bread falling.
Good news at last!”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Poor Freeholder
1850 – “After 1846, farmers
were buying new, more
efficient machinery.
They needed fewer workers.
We were lucky not to lose our
jobs, but our wages were cut.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Poor Freeholder
1875 – “Since the mid-1870s it
has become harder to find
work. But if you have a job
like us things are a little better.
Food prices have fallen
because of cheap foreign
imports. We can buy a wider
range of foods than in our
father’s time.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Rich Yeoman
1779 – “We did well when
land in the village was
enclosed in 1779. We were
wealthy enough to buy small
plots of land from our poorer
neighbours who could not
afford enclosure.
The family farm increased in
size.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Rich Yeoman
1780 – “Enclosing our land
meant we could experiment
with new technology and new
methods of cultivation.
The amount of food we
produced and the size of the
animals we reared increased.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Rich Yeoman
1785 – “After enclosure there
were plenty of labourers to
employ.
As a result we did not have to
pay them high wages.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Rich Yeoman
1793 – “During the wars with
France between 1793-1815 we
made huge profits.
This was because war with
France meant cheap European
wheat could not be imported.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Rich Yeoman
1815 – “The Corn Laws of
1815 kept the price of bread
high.
This was good news for us.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Rich Yeoman
1829 – “The threshing
machine we bought in 1829
was a good idea.
It helped us to make more
profits as we did not need to
employ as many labourers in
the winter months.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Rich Yeoman
1830 – “1830 was a disaster.
Our threshing machine was
destroyed, our hayricks were
burned and some farm
buildings were destroyed by
the Swing Rioters.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Rich Yeoman
1846 – “The repeal of the
Corn Laws was not the disaster
we feared.
We did really well. Profits rose
and we became even more
prosperous.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
The Rich Yeoman
1875 – “Since the mid-1870s
things have not been so rosy.
Farming is in a depression.
Bad harvests and diseases,
such as foot and mouth, have
caused us problems.
Cheap foreign competition has
driven down prices and has cut
our profits.”
Was enclosure good for everybody?
Now compare the two
completed graphs:
4. How well did the family
of the poor freeholder do
as a result of enclosure?
Explain your answer fully.
5. How well did the family
of the wealthy yeoman do
as a result of enclosure?
Give reasons for your
decision.
Was enclosure good for everybody?
6. Could enclosure have
been done differently to
reduce the poverty and
hardship suffered by many
villagers?
7. ‘The benefits of
increased production were
greater than the
disadvantages of poverty
for some villagers.’ Do you
agree or disagree with this
view? Explain your answer.
Plenary
1. Take a look at
Source D
2. What do you
think the man in
the cartoon is
being encouraged
to do?
3. What message do
you think the artist
wanted to give
people about the
hardship faced by
farm labourers in the
period after 1815?
Plenary
1. What new machines were developed after
enclosure?
2. What was the benefit of using fertiliser?
3. Explain what selective breeding was
4. Who benefited from enclosure?
5. Who suffered from enclosure?
6. Did the benefits of enclosure outweigh the
disadvantages?
Did we meet our learning objective?
L/O – To identify the consequences of enclosure and
explain how enclosure led to other changes in farming