BANSTEAD COMMONS. 195 



Commoners, in the award of the Commissioners, he 

 would be able to inclose under the Statute of Merton, or 

 even to treat the Common as his freehold, discharged 

 of any rights. 



With this object, then, in view, Sir John Hartopp set 

 to work to buy off the persons whose common rights 

 were admitted in the award of Mr. Wetherell. One by 

 one the Commoners were so dealt with. To some the 

 temptation offered was the enfranchisement of their 

 copyholds free of charge ; to others, money payments. 

 To two at least the promise was made of large allot- 

 ments of the Common when inclosed. As he reduced 

 in this manner the number of Commoners who could 

 resist his scheme of inclosure, so the terms of the 

 remainder rose, and it became necessary to expend very 

 large sums in buying off those who held out the 

 longest. In none of the other Commons cases had 

 there been such an assiduous and well-devised effort to 

 clear away the rights of Commoners, with the object 

 of converting the wastes into private property. It is 

 said that Sir John Hartopp expended in this manner 

 not less than 18,000, and in so doing got rid of 

 the rights of twenty-seven persons in respect of 1,400 

 acres of land. 



The largest landowner in the Manor, having rights 

 of common, was the late Earl of Egmont. His con- 

 sent was obtained by a mixed process of threat and 

 bribe. Lord Egmont was opposed in principle to the 

 inclosure of the Common, but he was advised by his 

 lawyers that Sir John Hartopp had already acquired 

 n 2 



