Inclosure records

A guide to inclosure (enclosure) records for County Durham, held in Durham Record Office.

Introduction

The tables below list County Durham inclosures, arranged alphabetically by the name of the Act, which is usually the name of the parish or township concerned.

Inclosure, also spelled ‘enclosure’, refers to the consolidation of scattered land holdings by mutual agreement of the owners.

Much inclosure of common land, open fields and moor land (or waste) formerly farmed collectively by the residents on behalf of the Lord of the Manor, had taken place by the 18th century, but the uplands of County Durham remained largely unenclosed.

Inclosures, to divide land into allotments and fence it off, could be made under a private Act of Parliament or by general agreement of the landowners concerned.

Inclosure by general agreement

The agreement would be enrolled as a decree at the Court of Chancery in Durham and/or lodged with the Clerk of the Peace, the senior government officer in the county, so may be preserved in Quarter Sessions records.

Inclosure by private Act of Parliament

A local bill would be put before Parliament which would pass it into law as an inclosure act. The acts appointed Commissioners to survey the area concerned and determine its distribution as a published inclosure award. The plans and awards are probably the most useful archives of this process. Each party to an inclosure would have copies of the act and the award (or an extract from it), and many of these have survived in our collections. Most other surviving records document legal disputes arising from an inclosure award. Some private inclosures may have left no documentary evidence.

We hold a set of Local and Personal Acts from 1798 onwards which should include all private inclosure acts after that year.

Inclosure by general Act of Parliament

From the 1830s various general acts were promoted to make the process less complicated and less expensive. These include the 1845 Act to facilitate the Inclosure and Improvement of Commons. In many such cases a decree confirming the award was made, after the event, by the Chancery Court at Durham. For these, and for information on other inclosures in County Durham where we hold no information, see Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections or The National Archives.

As well as containing a wealth of historical detail about both people and places, inclosure records are useful today as legal documents, for instance in establishing rights of way.

About the inclosure records list

The Inclosures in County Durham list, below, is organised alphabetically by the name of the Act, usually the name of the township concerned.

Years are given for the date of a private Agreement of the landowners, the date of a private Act of Parliament, or the date of the Order under a general Act of Parliament, and for the date of the Award.

For each inclosure event there is a summary of the records (Bill, Act, Enrolment, Award, Plan, or Other papers) held at Durham Record Office, with corresponding catalogue references.

Auckland St. Andrew (1804 Act)

Act: D/CG 32/40

Aycliffe

Records held by Durham University Library, Archives and Special Collections

Barmoor

see Ryton

Barnard Castle Moor (1795 Act, 1799 Award)

Act: D/HH 2/14/141, D/HH 2/14/134
Award and plans: D/St/E 1/28/49-50, UD/BC 122-127, D/HH 2/14/154, 2/9/14
Other: D/Bo/C 584-92, D/St/E 1/28/23-48
Misc. papers (1667-1799): D/Bo/C 548-592

Barnard Castle Townfields (1783 Act, 1785 Award)

Act: D/HH 2/14/139
Award and plan: D/Bo/C 607, UD/BC 121, D/HH 2/2/69
Other: D/Bo/C 593-608, D/St/E 1/28/19-22, EP/BC 2/1 D/X 234/1

Barningham Cow Close (1803 Act, 1807 Award)

Act: D/CG 32/40
Award and plan: EP/Ba 14/1
Other: EP/Ba 2/16-27

Beamish South Moor (Shield Row) (1803 Act, 1810 Award)

Act: see Local Acts
Award and plan: Q/D/E 1, CC/X 210
Extract: D/CG 16/1254
Enrolment: Q/D/B 5
Miscellaneous: D/St/E 5/22/25-26

Bedburn (South) (1759 Act)

Records held by Durham University Library, Archives and Special Collections

Bedburn (North) (1773 Act, 1775 Award)

Copy plan, D/X 452/3

Billingham

Records held by Durham University Library, Archives and Special Collections

Billy Row

see Crook and Billy Row

Bishop Middleham (1693 Act)

Notes on award: D/X 1022/213

Birtley Fell

Plan (1845): D/CG 2/220

Blackwell

Records held by The National Archives

Bolam (1782 Act, 1786 Award)

Enrolment: Q/D/B 5

Boldon Fell (1836 Order, 1859 Award)

Award and Map: EP/Bo 304, D/CG 8/115-119
Enrolment and plan: Q/D/B 7

East Boldon

Correspondence (1778-1861): D/CG 8/101-114,120-121

Bowes and Boldron (1766 Act, 1768, 1772 & 1859 Awards)

Act: D/MOB 4/2, D/X 671/1, D/X 621/1
Bill, Act, Plan, etc.: D/HH 2/14/1-14 & 6/13/4-41, 6/11/63, 6/12/104, 6/14/41
Legal papers: D/MOB 4/16-35, D/MOB 4/1
Award and plans: D/MOB 4/3-15, D/HH 2/14/137 & 2/5/45

Boldron (1836 Agreement)

Agreement: D/HH 2/14/137

Brancepeth and Stockley (1758 Act, 1758 Award)

Award, plans etc.: D/Br/E 103, D/Br/P 152, Q/D/E 4-5
Other: D/Br/E 100-107

Brancepeth

Further information

We hold a list of deposited awards, 1618-1859, catalogue ref: CC/X 90/14

See The National Archives Research Guide: Enclosure awards and maps

W.E. Tate: A handlist of English Enclosure Acts and awards: part 26 – Durham field systems and enclosure movements

Ref: Library Pamphlets Vol D 2/9.

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