ENCLOSURES : ESSEX AGRICULTURE, 1500-1900. 19
suggest that these commons were enclosed for arable farming21
at a time when such a project was financially sound.
Today, at a time when wheat prices are not high, the former
commons have become grasslands.
It will be noticed from the maps of the time that few of the
commons of the London Clay, remaining unenclosed in 1775,
had become enclosed by the time of the middle years of the
nineteenth century. The extreme poorness of the soil of the
areas, which militated against their enclosure for pastoral
farming, naturally proved still more inimical to their enclosure
for arable farming. Some further indication, however, of the
progress of arable farming within the differing soil areas of the
County may be obtained from the tithe maps of the time.
These maps, drawn up in the late, thirties, show the fields that
were devoted to pastoral and arable farming respectively.
Three examples of parish tithe maps suffice to show the
conditions within the three main soil regions of South-East
Essex in 1840. It is apparent that, whilst all these parishes
were extensively devoted to arable farming, certain differences
existed between them. Great Wigborough—a typical London
Clay parish—was, with the exception of the coastal marsh,
almost entirely arable land, whilst Shalford on the Boulder Clay
had more pasture land. It appears that the enclosure of the
commons of the London Clay area, occurring during the pre-
ceding centuries, allowed a greater area of land to be under
crops when compared with the parishes on the Boulder Clay.
An inspection of one of the latter parishes (e.g. Shalford) suggests
the prevalence of a tendency already noticed—the rapid en-
closure of commons, and their conversion to arable land. Shal-
ford showed several fields as arable that in later years (1933)
reverted to pasture, but a few fields showed an opposite tendency.
It is not unreasonable to suggest that the latter (usually un-
enclosed rough pasture in 1840) were enclosed and converted
to arable farming a few years later owing to the continued high
wheat prices.
The London Clay area must have had an initial advantage
since its commons were already enclosed. The sandy soil
parishes, such as Asheldam, showed a percentage of land under
21 e.g, Paternoster Heath—now grassland—was enclosed for arable farming in the first
decade of the nineteenth century.