English Open Fields and Enclosures: Retardation or Productivity Improvements

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the relative efficiency of farming in open fields or enclosures in England. It uses surveys covering the acreage, yield, and output of the principal grain crops for the period 1795–1801, initially concentrating in some detail on selected but widely distributed English counties before concluding with a section which summarizes the data for England. Efficiency meant improvements in per unit acre yields and in total parish output. But it also had important implications for total agricultural productivity because the land which was saved by improved farming in enclosures was used to promote a better balance between arable and animal farming.