ENCLOSURE – THE RESULT AND AFTERMATH
Initially the Enclosure of North Crawley would have caused further hardship to the poor and the Townlands, North Crawley Charity allotments would have been essential as would the grants from the Charities themselves as they had been for centuries.
In 1800 85% of the world population lived in absolute poverty.
No country had an average life expectancy of over 40. Now average life expectancy is 70 despite Global Population rising 6 fold since 1800.
The income per Capita however has risen 9 fold and Capitalism has raised many millions out of poverty.
First the canals improved trading and the Industrial Revolution took hold. Then the Railways took over.
By 1835 Parliament had given permission to build a great Central Station at Wolverton and to build branch lines from Bletchley to Oxford and also Bletchley to Bedford.
In 1838 the London to Birmingham line was opened.
These developments used much of the labour in the villages released by enclosure as well as the general industrial revolution.
I well remember my own Uncle Albert relating to hardship and the general strike of 1926 who worked at Wolverton Works all his life. He walked 10 miles from Little Horwood every day to Wolverton did a full day of work and walked home again.
When there was debate in the 1960’s about demolishing the Wall around the Works he wrote an impassioned letter to the Wolverton Express “Let the old wall alone, it was a beacon of hope to hundreds of people in the villages”.
Indeed he obtained a mortgage with Wolverton Building Society and bought himself a home in Anson Road. Eventually he was able to subsidise and provide working capital for his younger brother to rent a small council farm who himself was only a subsistence farmer.
Enclosure it could be argued freed up the labour that was needed to grease the wheels of the Industrial Revolution and enable the UK to become a major economic power although it must be admitted that slavery and empire provided the finance needed for the UK’s economic advancement.