Lancashire, Kent, Devon and Cornwall have no Acts for Enclosure of Common Fields.
ENCLOSURE OF COMMON FIELDS WITHOUT PARLIAMENTARY SANCTION.
On the map of England, in Chapter VII., enclosures of common field parishes by Act of Parliament before the General Enclosure Act of 1801 are shaded vertically, such enclosures from 1802 to 1845 are dotted, and subsequent enclosures under the General Enclosure Act of 1845 are black. In other words, all the shaded area represents the area of parishes which had arable common fields up to the year 1700, all the dotted and black area represents the area of parishes which had arable common fields up to 1801, and all the black area represents the area of parishes which had arable common fields up to 1845.
What about the area which is not shaded at all?
An inspection of the map yields certain striking results.
In the first place, we see that the shaded districts lie in a broad band across England from north-east to south-west, from the East Riding of Yorkshire to Dorset and the east part of Somerset.
Secondly, we see that there is a perfectly sharp line of demarcation between the shaded and the non-shaded area, running through Suffolk, Essex, passing through London, and along the border between Surrey and Kent. This line becomes indefinite as it passes through the Weald of Surrey and Sussex, but its termination can be traced in the part of Sussex which lies on the southern slope of the South Downs. In the white area to the south-east of this line there are but two shaded patches--the parishes of Iken and Orford, in Suffolk, situated close together, in the peninsula formed by the estuaries of the rivers Alde and Deben.
Thirdly, we can trace an equally sharp line of demarcation between the shaded and the non-shaded area in the south-west, running from the Bristol to the English Channel, across Somerset and Dorset. South-west of this line there is no shaded patch--_i.e._, there is no case of common field enclosed by Act of Parliament.
Fourthly, on the north-west side of the shaded belt, towards Wales and Scotland, there is no sharp line of demarcation between the shaded and the non-shaded area, but as one travels further and further from the central axis of the shaded area to the north-west, the shaded patches become sparser and sparser; but still some shaded patches are to be found in every English county on this side of the shaded belt, except Lancashire.