Enclosure stories: narratives from Northamptonshire

McDonagh, Briony; Daniels, Stephen

Abstract

This paper rethinks and revises enclosure narratives, thickening the concept of enclosure by researching a particular place and period: the English Midland county of Northamptonshire in the period between the 16th and the 19th centuries. It argues that while many elements of the landscape were dramatically reshaped by enclosure, the parliamentary enclosures of the late 18th and early 19th centuries were nevertheless part of a much longer process of landscape change. The paper points to the complexities within enclosure thought and experience, drawing particular attention to individuals and groups – including female landowners, ordinary villagers and animals – too often entirely written out of the ‘enclosure story’.

Citation

McDonagh, B., & Daniels, S. (2012). Enclosure stories: narratives from Northamptonshire. cultural geographies, 19(1), https://doi.org/10.1177/1474474011427361

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2012
• Deposit Date: Sep 6, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 6, 2013
• Journal: Cultural Geographies
• Print ISSN: 1474-4740
• Electronic ISSN: 1474-4740
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 1
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1474474011427361
• Keywords: enclosure, improvement, landscape, narrative, riot, women, vermin
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1008133
• Publisher URL: http://cgj.sagepub.com/content/19/1/107
• Related Public URLs: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~lgzwww/womenandenclosure/
• Additional Information: Published version: Cultural Geographies, 19(1), 2012, copyright Sage.