processes and institutions
concepts
The Concept of enclosure refers to the conversion of communal or commonly held public lands into private ownership. It is used most often to refer to the vast changes in land tenure in the English landscape between the 15th and 19th centuries, when over 6.8 million acres—21 percent of the English land area—were “enclosed.” Enclosure involved the reorganization of both public and private open field and meadow land properties, and also the reclamation of unused commons, moors, heaths, and other lands designated as wastes. [Source: Encyclopedia of Environment and Society; Enclosure]
enclosure