Enclosure is the process of open areas of land such as fields, commons and moors being converted into hedged, walled or otherwise ‘enclosed’ areas.
Enclosure was possible by private agreement between landowners or by a private act of parliament.
This latter method was often difficult and expensive but after 2 General Enclosure Acts were passed in 1836 and 1845, the process became more regulated and in effect easier to achieve.
Early enclosures (generally those prior to c. 1700) are not well documented but Parliamentary enclosure produced much more detailed records which have survived in greater number:
- awards: the written record of the Commissioner’s decisions about topographical, economic and tenure matters
- maps: these were more common after 1770
This collection covers 18th to 19th century.
Contact us on archives@sheffield.gov.uk to find out more, book in advance or order archival materials.
Location of records
The enclosure awards and maps records can be found at:
Sheffield Archives
52 Shoreham Street
Order documents
Not all archive material is stored onsite and we may require notice of the items you wish to see. Please contact us to confirm when we can retrieve items for you.
Copies
We can normally supply copies for private study purposes, subject to the usual copyright regulations.
Background Information
Copies of the documents produced for the Enclosure Commissioners can be found at The National Archive's Enclosure Awards research guide.
The format of the enclosure awards and map register include:
- original paper/parchment records
- some microfilm copies