The English Peasantry and the Enclosure of Common Fields

"The English Peasantry and the Enclosure of Common Fields" by Gilbert Slater is a recount of huge social and economic changes in England's countryside. It's about how closing off common fields affected village life and the peasants who lived there, showing the move from farming as a community to individual farms. This shift resulted in the uprooting of country people. Slater explains why he is looking into these enclosures, noting support from the London School of Economics and other groups. He talks about the history of enclosure, stressing how important owning land together was for keeping rural traditions alive. Slater suggests a new farming plan is needed to support small farmers and farm workers, setting the stage for a study into how enclosure changed English rural society over time.