1823. The Enclosures of Princes Risborough - Revision history

Joan at 16:47, 6 August 2025

2025-08-06T16:47:23Z

Joan at 15:49, 4 September 2022

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Joan at 18:57, 29 October 2021

2021-10-29T18:57:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:47, 6 August 2025
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	'''NEW ALLOTTMENTS''' All the people who had rights to strips in the open arable fields were allotted alternative pieces of land near to their homes. Most of these were copyhold. Every allotment had to be fenced by the occupier.		'''NEW ALLOTTMENTS''' All the people who had rights to strips in the open arable fields were allotted alternative pieces of land near to their homes. Most of these were copyhold. Every allotment had to be fenced by the occupier.

−	'''NEW ROADS, PRIVATE ROADS to ISOLATED PROPERIES, BRIDLEWAYS, FOOTWAYS and PUBLIC PONDS WERE ALL LISTED.''' ~~{{Property~~	+	'''NEW ROADS, PRIVATE ROADS to ISOLATED PROPERIES, BRIDLEWAYS, FOOTWAYS and PUBLIC PONDS WERE ALL LISTED.'''
−	~~\|Construction Era=1823 Enclosures Record~~
−	~~\|Village=Lacey Green, Loosley Row, Flowers Bottom, Turnip End, Darvills Hill, Highwood Bottom, Parslows Hillock, Princes Risborough, Speen, Coombes, Amen Corner, Princes Risborough Common~~
−	}}

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 In the upper hamlets of Princes Risborough life was hard. '''   '''The [[Princes Risborough Common|Common of Princes Risborough]] took up a large part of Lacey Green and some high ground of Loosley Row, it was not for the use of the locals.   There were vast parish woods, which were very useful for collecting fallen wood.    The old system was still in place.
-'''LORD GEORGE HENRY CAVENDISH'''   As the nineteenth century dawned, Lord George Henry Cavendish, learned of this unenclosed parish.   He was from one of the wealthiest families in the land.   He had access to money.
+'''LORD GEORGE HENRY CAVENDISH'''   As the nineteenth century dawned, [[Lord George Henry Cavendish]], learned of this unenclosed parish.   He was from one of the wealthiest families in the land.   He had access to money.
 '''LORD OF THE MANOR FINANCIALLY DISTRESSED'''   The taxes imposed to fund the Napoleonic wars (1803 to 1815) had brought many people to their knees, Including Thomas Grace, the Lord of the Manor of Princes Risborough.   He was on the verge of bankruptcy.

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 '''Grazing Elsewhere''', the grass areas which were not suitable for arable were marked out with posts or pegs and allocated out, the biggest plot for the man with the most arable and so on down.   At the jurymens` word every one went haymaking.  The farmer took has labourers and sometimes extra hired help, the cottager his wife and children all turned out to scythe, rake and carry.   The grass would be of poor quality as it would have been sown broadcast from seed shaken out of old hay which would have contained all sorts of weed seeds so there was no telling what had been sown.
-'''Grazing here'''   The [[Princes Risborough Common]], where cattle from the town were brought to graze''',''' encompassed a large part of Lacey Green and the higher part of Loosley Row.   It appears to have been used exclusively by farms from the town, the cattle being walked up a driftway to the hilltop.   The grass here was poor.   Lush grass grew down near the town when the ground was wet.   Hay was made there.
+'''Grazing here'''   The [[Princes Risborough Common]], where cattle from the town were brought to graze''',''' encompassed a large part of Lacey Green and the higher part of Loosley Row.   It appears to have been used exclusively by farms from the town, the cattle being walked up a driftway to Widmere pond on the Common.   The grass here was poor.   Widmer Farm was later built beside this pond.   Lush grass grew down near the town where the ground was wet and this grass was made into hay.
 '''Nationally. Livestock'''.   What little livestock there was, with the exception of horses, was watched over by the village herdsman, swineherd and shepherd.   The village pinder put stray animals in the pound.   The field Foreman, a farmer appointed to see no-one put more animals on the grazing than he should. If they bounded a hedge it was kept repaired.  Pigs had to be ringed in their noses so they didn`t root up the grass.    Sheep and cattle could be folded on the fallow land at night, or they could be taken back to the town or village, and then grazed on the common by day.
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 '''1800 THE PARISH OF PRINCES RISBOROUGH'''
-Strangely enough the enclosures had not been done in the parish of Princes Risborough so although times were bad the old system was still in place and the people still had their strips of land and their common.   It was not until 1823 when these were lost when the enclosures were implemented here, that the cottagers discovered what poverty really meant.
+Strangely enough the enclosures had not been done in the parish of Princes Risborough so although times were bad the old system was still in place and the people still had their strips of land, the common and the parish woodland.   It was not until 1823 when these were lost with the implementation of the enclosures, that the cottagers discovered what poverty really meant.
 '''PRINCES RISBOROUGH WAS ALL BEHIND''' '''in 1800'''   It had not been enclosed.  There had been no great farms to press for enclosure.  The fields in the Chilterns were small, many smallholdings only an acre or two.
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 The result of the enclosures was that Lord Cavendish owned huge areas of land.    All the old parish arable strips were his, becoming fields for [[Culverton Farm]], [[Row Farm, later called Wardrobes]] and [[Brimmers Farm]], which he had purchased from the Manor..    He already owned [[Stocken Farm]].
-'''THE COMMON SOLD'''   The extensive Common was divided into two large areas and sold.   Half was bought by Lord Cavendish and half by John Grubb, the Lord of the Manor.
+'''THE COMMON SOLD'''   The extensive Princes Risborough Common was divided into tree areas and sold.   About a fifth, on the east side was allotted to the Princes Risborough Charities.   The remainder was purchased from the Enclosure Commissioners.  Half was bought by Lord Cavendish and half by [[John Grubb]], the then Lord of the Manor.
 '''THE PARISH WOODS'''   The Parish Woods went into private ownership, that of [[John Grubb]], but remained Parish Woods where fallen wood could be gathered

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 '''The Strips'''   In order to divide this huge open field it was divided by leaving boundaries of course grass.     At the time given the village ploughman ploughed all the strips designated for arable that season.    Each strip had to lie fallow every three years.   The strips were too narrow to turn a plough, which until the middle of the 18<sup>th</sup> century were still made of heavy wood needing four horses to pull it.   On heavy clay land up to twelve oxen might be yoked to do the job.   Fortunately here the land is comparatively light.
-'''Progress.but not here'''.   In the mid seventeen hundreds the metal ploughshare became accepted.   Once ploughed the seed was sown broadcast.  The drill had been invented but was not in general use.  It was virtually impossible to keep the land clean.     If a man did try to hoe his crop the poppies, thistles and dandelions from his neighbours`, the fallow land and the poor grass boundaries blew onto it making his labour a waste of time.
+'''Progress - but not here'''.   In the mid seventeen hundreds the metal ploughshare became accepted.   Once ploughed the seed was sown broadcast.  The drill had been invented but was not in general use.  It was virtually impossible to keep the land clean.     If a man did try to hoe his crop the poppies, thistles and dandelions from his neighbours`, the fallow land and the poor grass boundaries blew onto it making his labour a waste of time.
 '''Grazing Elsewhere''', the grass areas which were not suitable for arable were marked out with posts or pegs and allocated out, the biggest plot for the man with the most arable and so on down.   At the jurymens` word every one went haymaking.  The farmer took has labourers and sometimes extra hired help, the cottager his wife and children all turned out to scythe, rake and carry.   The grass would be of poor quality as it would have been sown broadcast from seed shaken out of old hay which would have contained all sorts of weed seeds so there was no telling what had been sown.
-'''Grazing here'''   The Common of Princes Risborough, where cattle from the town were brought to graze''',''' encompassed a large part of Lacey Green and the higher part of Loosley Row.   It appears to have been used exclusively by farms from the town, the cattle being walked up a driftway to the hilltop.   The grass here was poor.   Lush grass grew down near the town when the ground was wet.   Hay was made there.
+'''Grazing here'''   The [[Princes Risborough Common]], where cattle from the town were brought to graze''',''' encompassed a large part of Lacey Green and the higher part of Loosley Row.   It appears to have been used exclusively by farms from the town, the cattle being walked up a driftway to the hilltop.   The grass here was poor.   Lush grass grew down near the town when the ground was wet.   Hay was made there.
 '''Nationally. Livestock'''.   What little livestock there was, with the exception of horses, was watched over by the village herdsman, swineherd and shepherd.   The village pinder put stray animals in the pound.   The field Foreman, a farmer appointed to see no-one put more animals on the grazing than he should. If they bounded a hedge it was kept repaired.  Pigs had to be ringed in their noses so they didn`t root up the grass.    Sheep and cattle could be folded on the fallow land at night, or they could be taken back to the town or village, and then grazed on the common by day.

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 '''ENCLOSURE of PRINCES RISBOROUGH 1823'''
-The result of the enclosures was that Lord Cavendish owned huge areas of land.    All the old parish arable strips were his, becoming fields for [[Culverton Farm]], [[Row Farm, later called Wardrobes]] and [[Brimmers Farm]], which he had purchased from the Manor..    He already owned Stocken Farm.
+The result of the enclosures was that Lord Cavendish owned huge areas of land.    All the old parish arable strips were his, becoming fields for [[Culverton Farm]], [[Row Farm, later called Wardrobes]] and [[Brimmers Farm]], which he had purchased from the Manor..    He already owned [[Stocken Farm]].
 '''THE COMMON SOLD'''   The extensive Common was divided into two large areas and sold.   Half was bought by Lord Cavendish and half by John Grubb, the Lord of the Manor.

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 '''THE COMMON SOLD'''   The extensive Common was divided into two large areas and sold.   Half was bought by Lord Cavendish and half by John Grubb, the Lord of the Manor.
-'''THE PARISH WOODS'''   The Parish Woods went into private ownership, that of John Grubb, but remained Parish Woods where fallen wood could be gathered
+'''THE PARISH WOODS'''   The Parish Woods went into private ownership, that of [[John Grubb]], but remained Parish Woods where fallen wood could be gathered
 '''OLD ALLOTTMENTS'''   All the cottages, gardens, and orchards already occupied stayed in the same occupancy, either freehold or copyhold as the case might be.   Those copyhold in effect were franchised to the Manor.