A lesson from history – Enclosures and Poor’s Lands in Norfolk

Norfolk historically has one of the most entrenched feudal systems in England, with a land ownership structure that for centuries remained dominated by a small number of aristocrats. Even in modern times, the county’s farmland is being bought up by wealthy business interests, entrepreneurs and foreign billionaires, often resulting in pressure on family farms.

For hundreds of years, people grazed livestock on common land, fed their pigs (in many cases, just the one pig!) on free grazing or ‘pannage’ in woodland, fished local waterways and collected firewood. Then private landowners began to enclose common land, denying local residents access to the land even for subsistence use.

Resistance to enclosure was a key factor motivating Kett’s Rebellion in 1549.

The late 18th to mid-19th centuries brought a new wave of intense, systematic enclosure, fundamentally changing the Norfolk landscape from open fields to fenced, private ownership. It’s estimated that more than a fifth of England was enclosed by acts of parliament between 1750 and 1820. William Faden’s famous 1797 Map of Norfolk shows the county’s landscape prior to large scale enclosure, revealing the extent to which commons and heaths were lost in the ensuing fifteen years.

But it’s not just about local, or even national, history. There’s a bigger picture. Some of the land purchases and enclosures were enabled by profits from sugar plantations in the West Indies or investments in the international slave trade. And Norfolk was no exception.

Sir William Windham Dalling owned Earsham Hall, near Bungay, in the early years of the 19th century. An absentee plantation and slave owner, he made vast profits which enabled him to enclose land across neighbouring parishes, including Outney Common and Dole Meadow; the very word ‘dole’ indicates land that had in the past been allowed charitable access to by poor people. Five public lanes and footpaths that once passed through his estate became off-limits to local people, who then had to make long detours – and those detours are still in force today.

The legacy of enclosure persists. Even today, Norfolk ranks high among English counties with the number and distance of public footways blocked by landowners and thereby denied public access.

A response to enclosure emerged however in the form of Poor’s Land - historic charitable land allotments – created to provide fuel, rent relief and clothing to the poor, managed by local trusts. Most were originally intended for communal rather than individual use as ‘fuel allotments’ where people could gather wood, furze or even peat; some were rented out for income for the charity to redistribute. And many are now rented out as individual allotments. More than 480 Poor’s Lands or Poor’s Allotments still exist across Norfolk today, and they help with grants for household repairs and appliances, education, hospital transport and financial support.  You can find a lovely history of Poor's Lands / Allotments here. 

Some years ago, Community Action Norfolk conducted a successful campaign to raise awareness of the county’s Poor’s Lands and the good work they do in tackling poverty and deprivation in their communities. ‘The Legacy of Norfolk's Poors Land’ explored their rich history, charting the many social and economic changes that have impacted their activities over time.

The historical importance of Poor’s Lands is undimmed and is still relevant to how we address and tackle poverty and social isolation in today’s society.

What we do with Poor's Charities today

There is usually at least one (but more often more) Poor's charity in each parish.  A lot of the more active ones tend towards making small grants towards fuel, food, or education related items in keeping with their original purposes, or have had their purposes adapted to allow them to provide grants where their original purposes are no longer relevant (such as giving petticoats to the four eldest widows of the parish).  However, many are moribund; no one using the land that they generate their funds from, or the community is unaware it exists and therefore no grants are given.  

These charities can be really vibrant community resources though, and as charity Trustees have a duty to further their charity's interests, it is part of their role to encourage this.  Our Community Development Team often work with parishes to help them:

• Understand the governance of these charities (it's not easy when some of the governing documents are hundreds of years old!)
• Carrying out the processes to amend the governing documents (for example, when the objects need to be changed)
• Considering what measures to put in place with their grant giving
• Identifying opportunities to reinvigorate the charities.   

If this is something you would like help with, please do get in touch by emailing office@communityactionnorfolk.org.uk or calling 01362 698216.