enclosure act

noun

, English History.

1. any of the acts of Parliament passed from 1709 to 1869, requiring that private lands be fenced off from common lands.

Word History and Origins

Origin of enclosure act¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Despite the 1845 Enclosure Act, which made it illegal for people to live in caves within Nottingham, many still had to find somewhere to live.

From BBC

They not only flew from contact with the people, whose spiritual needs might surely have anchored them to the spot, but by the promotion of the Enclosure Act of 1797 they robbed the people of the far-spreading common lands in the parish.

From Project Gutenberg

So far he had never stolen poor men's land under the protection of the Commons Enclosure Act, or appropriated tenants' improvements to his own enrichment.

From Project Gutenberg

In the first case Fawcett’s great triumph was the enforcement of the general principle that each annual Enclosure Act must be scrutinized by parliament and judged in the light of its conformity to the interests of the community at large.

From Project Gutenberg

He called the rise of paywalls "the digital equivalent of the Enclosure Act", adding that the danger is people "are segmented by ability to pay and by where they live".

From The Guardian