The Enclosure Act 1798
This information has been obtained from Norman Cope’s – History of Stone. The detail greatly simplified and presented in the modern way with the odd 21st century comment.
The Enclosure Act 1798
At this time There were two great fields in Stone, Sandpits and Stonefields together they totalled 360 Acres, the land had been strip cultivated since mediaeval times. Nearby farms had moved on with the times and becomes more efficient, so interested parties petitioned Parliament to change this ancient system of land management. The subsequent Stone award received Royal Assent 1798.
The Large Landowners received the lion’s share and the Small Landowners by contrast received very small allocations.
The Fortunate ones
- John Jervis – 116 Acres
- William Jervis – 42 Acres
- Thomas Swynnerton – 2.5 Acres
- The Marquis of Stafford – 23.5 Acres
- Ralph Wright – 9 Acres
- Thomas Hatrell’s heirs – 11.5 Acres
- William Boreham – 16 Acres
- The Curate of Stone – 10 Acres
- Thomas Dent – 16 Acres
In Total 28 Owners received land, 19 of them received less than 5 acres each, the 7 largest received 230 of the 360 acres involved.
All Householders in Stone, Meaford and Oulton had rights of common over these two great fields and in the award they were allotted just 74 acres. This area of land with minor adjustments centred round the old Motley Pits remains to this day as The Common Plot.