William Combe’s Attempt to Enclose Open Fields at Welcombe, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1614‒19

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the circumstances surrounding William Combe’s attempted enclosure of open fields at Welcombe, Stratford-upon-Avon. Whilst there are many references to this episode, due largely to William Shakespeare’s involvement in its early stages, its place in the wider study of pre-Parliamentary enclosure has not been discussed in any detail. This can be attributed to certain features not shared by other early seventeenth-century enclosure disputes. It was not, for instance, accompanied by serious public order disturbances. Furthermore, the opposition was led not by a loose alliance of the disaffected but by a legally constituted body, the Stratford-upon-Avon Corporation, which was able to put together a strong case to persuade, first, the justices of assize, and then the Privy Council, to call a halt to Combe’s efforts despite the fact that the government was becoming increasingly reluctant to enforce anti-enclosure measures.