THE XVTH AND XVlTH CENTURIES 77 



squatter's cottage, another land there, and the lord also 



taking an area in to compensate him for his loss of 

 common rights. | 



Both of these forms of enclosure produced finally the 

 same results, and when carried but fairly, were of benefit 

 to those immediately concerned. The old manorial 

 estate continued in a modified form and the general 

 character of the life was preserved. There still 

 remained in the village a large number of small holders 

 with many common interests, but |they could grow 

 more corn on their enclosed blocks of arable, and 

 their sheep and stock would do better on the enclosed 

 pasture. 



/These two methods of enclosure, which had been 

 going on on a small scale since very early days, were 

 largely employed in the XVth century, so that, before 

 the end of that century, almost all of Kent, Essex, 

 Suffolk, Devonshire and Cornwall were enclosed, 1 and 

 in the main in the occupation of small proprietors. 



(Enclosure by appropriation, the third method, was 

 something entirely different. It consisted in the appro- 

 priation of the common pastures, woods and wastes, and 

 sometimes even the open arable fields and meadows, 

 and the very cottages of the peasants by the lords of the 

 manors or by other large holders of estates. As a rule, 

 in the XVth century, such appropriations were only 

 carried out on a moderate scale and were justified in 

 law by the Statutes of Merton and Westminster. 2 If 

 they extended only to the taking in of a small part 

 out of a large area of common land, woods or wastes, 

 such enclosures would have little effect, for the village 



1 It is suggested by some authorities that the open field system 

 never prevailed in parts of these counties. 

 3 See Appendix, p. 168. 



