Note 373 — Chapter I · THE NEW RURAL ECONOMY

This may seem inconsistent with the fact that in the statistics published by Mr. Leadam from the Inquisition of 1517 most enclosures in most counties are entered as made by lords of manors. I do not think, however, that this is necessarily so. When it is stated that a lord of a manor has enclosed and converted to pasture, it may very well be meant that his agent did so with his consent. I.e. the distinction would appear to be not between the lord and the lord’s farmer, but between the manorial authorities (lord and farmer) and the rest of the landholders. The phrase used in the Berkshire returns, “converti permisit,” indicates what I take to have been the most general, though not, of course, the invariable, course of events.