Abstract

Enclosure cotntnissioners as landscape planners john Chapman Of all the individuals who have moulded the did is unknown. However, some indication of the modern English landscape, the enclosure extent may be gained from the Parliamentary part commissioners are arguably the most important. of the movement, which involved some 5,500 Something of the order of a quarter of the surface individual acts or orders covering approximately 25 11 per cent of Wales per cent of the total surface area of England and area of England, and some (Chapman 1987; 1992), owes its form to their some 12 to 15 per cent of Wales (Ireland and activities, yet the existing literature gives little Scotland were largely unaffected due to differences impression of their overall significance as landscape in their legal systems). With a handful of exceptions, planners. Though Beresford drew attention to their each of these acts appointed one or more role in the enclosure process over forty years ago commissioners, termed 'valuers' under the later (Beresford 1946), and there have been studies of Parliamentary Orders, to carry out the work. It commissioners at county level (Crowther 1986; seems likely that well over 10 per cent of addi­ Turner 1977) and