251] ENCLOSURE FOR SHEEP PASTURE 95 



furlong B, besides taking pains to leave a way clear for 

 Will Yelverton and Lee and Gell to reach their land ? Or 

 should he be content merely with enclosing the larger plots 

 of land, because of the expense of hedging and ditching the 

 smaller plots separately from the rest? If he did this, the 

 unenclosed portions would be of little value, as the grass 

 which grew on them could not be properly utilized for pas- 

 ture. The final alternative was to get possession of the 

 strips which did not form part of the demesne, so that the 

 whole could be made into one compact enclosure. In order 

 to do this it might be necessary to dispossess Will Lee, Will 

 Gell, etc. The intermingling of holdings, in such a way 

 that small holders (whose own land was in such bad con- 

 dition that they could not pay their rents) blocked the way 

 for improvements on the rest of the land, was probably re- 

 sponsible for many evictions which would not otherwise 

 have taken place. 



But not all evictions were due to this cause alone. The 

 income to the owner from land which was left in the hands 

 of customary tenants was much lower than if it was man- 

 aged by large holders with sufficient capital to carry out 

 necessary changes. Where it is possible to compare the 

 rents paid by large and small holders on the same manor, 

 this fact is apparent: 



Average Rent Per Acre of Land on Five Manors in Wiltshire, 1568 * 



I n III IV V 



s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d 



Lands held by farmers 16 7^ i SM i i^ i 5^ 



Lands held by customary ten- 

 ants 7% 5 I o^ sH SH 



The differences in these rents are sufficient to be tempting 

 to the lord who was seeking his own interest. The large 

 holders were able to expend the capital necessar}^ for enclos- 



^ Tawney, op. cit., p. 256. 



