{"id":6318,"date":"2020-04-12T21:16:03","date_gmt":"2020-04-12T20:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marthamnorfolk.co.uk\/?page_id=6318"},"modified":"2026-10-02T12:16:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T11:16:25","slug":"1812-inclosure-award","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marthamnorfolk.co.uk\/?page_id=6318","title":{"rendered":"1812 Martham Inclosure Award (and the 1807 Martham Inclosure Act)."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1812 Martham Inclosure Award<\/strong> (and the 1807 Martham Inclosure Act).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Inclosure was the legal process in England of consolidating (inclosing) small landholdings that had existed since the 13th century into larger farms. Once \u2018Inclosed\u2019, use of the land became restricted and available only to the owner and it ceased to be available for communal use. One reason for doing this was to increase food production. Before the Inclosure there were narrow strips of land that poor farmers tended. In Martham these existed mainly in the area north of Sandy Lane.<\/a><\/em> There was also open common land that farmers would use to graze animals; in Martham this was mainly north of Common Road off Cess<\/a><\/em>. This old system discouraged improvement and favoured the small-time farmers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There is little doubt that Inclosure led to improved efficiency of the use of land and greater yields to feed a rising population. The irony is that it drove many poor villagers into poverty and fuelled the start of emigration. On the social side, the rich became even richer and distinct class gaps emerged. But, setting the ethics to one side the outcome of the process was of great use to present day historians and genealogists for three reasons: (1) those who wanted to be awarded land had to apply giving  details of their existing land holdings; (2) the written Award describes the parish by giving details about land and roads etc, and (3) the accompanying Award map shows properties and in many cases refers to plot numbers mentioned in the Award.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The map that accompanies the Award is the earliest map for Martham that shows the existence of buildings linked to their owners and\/or occupiers. It shows ownership of land by individuals, churches, schools and charities, as well as roads, drainage and land boundaries. It was not particularly drawn up to identify properties but does indicate buildings as little black blocks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once the Act had been passed Commissioners were appointed to implement it. They advertised and held meetings inviting landowners to make claims based on their existing ownership. On 12th November 1807 the Commissioners issued a list of the people that had made claims. Any person who wished to object to the claims that had been made had to do so before 28th November 1807.
Click here to see a list of the claimants. This will open a pdf in a new window.\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

90 original claims were made plus 9 late claims. At a time when land was normally held in men’s names, it was perhaps surprising that 16 of the claims were made by women. Eight were widows; four were married but held land in their own names; two were spinsters. The marital status of the other two is unclear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Commissioners then had the long and complex task of sorting out the claims and how the land would be redistributed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once completed the Commissioners wrote a very long and detailed document setting out their decisions about who owned what. There are 45 pages of very small, close written text. Each page is about A3 size and is difficult to display and read on a computer so I have produced one here for reference and if you are really interested I would suggest going to the Norfolk Records Office to view it as a hard copy. A much easier way of seeing it, however, is to read my transcription of the document, but this is not for the faint-hearted. In pdf format it is 108 pages long and includes over 58,000 words. It includes an enormous amount of fascinating information and you can read it by clicking HERE.<\/a><\/em> <\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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Page 1 of the 1812 Martham Inclosure Award shows how difficult it is to read.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Of more interest is the Award map which needs reading in association with the claims list. Sadly, the map (again at the Records Office) is in poor condition and being about three-foot square on parchment is not easy to view. I have photographed it as best I can, in sections, and it can be viewed in the gallery at the end of this page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costs & Fees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The law gave the Commissioners the right to charge for the work they did and they assessed their total costs as \u00a36,540. This huge amount would be the equivalent of about \u00a3417,510 today (2026). The costs were recoverable from the people allotted land, although there were no charges made for land worth less than \u00a35 or occupied property worth less than \u00a3100. In addition, fees were also payable to the Lord of the Manor for recording the changes of ownership in the Manorial Rolls. Click on the link below to see how much each person, who was allotted land, had to pay for the Commissioner’s costs and to the Lord of the Manor. The manorial fees were mostly payable to the Lord of the Manor of Martham but some land in the parish came under the Manor of Moregrave & Knightleys (MK) and a little under the Manor of Scratby with Bardolff (S). Where they were not payable to the Lord of Martham they have been marked accordingly as (MK) or (S).
Click here to see the list of charges and fees that will open as a pdf.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roads<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The 1812 Award listed two public roads and 20 private roads that probably all existed prior to 1812 but the Award gave them legal status. The two public roads are shown on the map below. The first (highlighted in green) ran from the junction of The Green <\/a><\/em>and Repps Road <\/a><\/em>and crossed the south of The Green <\/a><\/em>to its junction with what is now Hemsby Road.<\/a><\/em> (The road that crosses the middle of The Green <\/a><\/em>nowadays did not exist in 1812).  The second public road (highlighted in blue) ran from near what today is the bottom end of the Council houses in Hemsby Road<\/a><\/em> and continued out of the village all the way to Gibbet Hill<\/a><\/em> and the parish boundary with Hemsby.  These two highways were maintained by the Commissioners of Highways. They were given four pieces of land under the Award that were pits that provided sand, gravel, clay and chalk for repairs.<\/p>\n\n\n

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No1 highlighted in green. No2 highlighted in blue.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Twenty private roads were prescribed that provided access for adjoining landowners and had to be maintained by them.  They are shown on the two maps shown below followed by a brief explanation of each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eastern side of the parish (the maps overlap).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Western side of the parish (the maps overlap). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Private Road No1.<\/strong> (Orange on the map). This ran fromthe east side of Gibbet Hill Farm, north to Somerton Road<\/a><\/em> along the boundary of the parishes of Martham and West Somerton. Today it is known as Mill Lane and is definitive Footpath <\/a><\/em>No21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No2<\/strong>. (Green on the map). This ran from the north side of Hemsby Road<\/a><\/em> from about halfway to Gibbet Hill<\/a><\/em> running north to Somerton Road.<\/a><\/em> It no longer exists as a definitive right of way but parts of it have tracks beside fields that people sometimes use informally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No3.<\/strong> (Red on the map). This ran from what is now the west end of Pratts Loke<\/a><\/em> to the rear of the Hemsby Road <\/a><\/em>Council houses and then east all the way to the junction with Private Road No2 at the parish boundary between Martham and West Somerton. It no longer exists as a definitive right of way but the part behind the Council houses is used for access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No4.<\/strong> (Fluorescent orange on the map). This once ran  from a junction with Private Road No3 at the north side of the former windmills enclosure<\/a><\/em> and Mill House, Hemsby Road;<\/a><\/em> and north to serve the central east field system of the Parish but it no longer exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No5.<\/strong> (Blue on the map). This was a very short road running north off Hemsby Road<\/a><\/em> opposite Private Road No6. It no longer exits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No6.<\/strong> (Mauve on the map). This road ran for approximately 100 metres of the eastern end of the present-day definitive Footpath <\/a><\/em>No6, also known as Le Haste. From its eastern end it ran from its junction with Hemsby Road<\/a><\/em> near Gibbet Hill <\/a><\/em>until it joined present-day definitive Footpath<\/a><\/em> No20. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No7.<\/strong> (Dark Green on the map). This road provided access for the users of some of the fields at the end of Damgate <\/a><\/em>Back Lane, but no longer exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No8.<\/strong> (Grey on the map). This was once a short road serving fields near the home farm of the Lord of the Manor <\/a><\/em>off Hall Road but no longer exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No9.<\/strong> (Green on the map) This road covered what is now definitive Footpath <\/a><\/em>No10 from opposite St Mary\u2019s Church<\/a><\/em> in Black Street<\/a><\/em> heading west until it reached Sandy Lane.<\/a><\/em>  In 1812 it then continued west along the rest of Sandy Lane<\/a><\/em> until it met Common Road, Cess. <\/a><\/em> This western end of Sandy Lane<\/a><\/em> is now Footpath<\/a><\/em> No17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road N10.<\/strong> (Pink on the map).  This road ran from the north end of Damgate<\/a><\/em> and after a few hundred metres turned east for a short distance to allow access to otherwise land-locked fields. The west end no longer exists but the start at the end of Damgate <\/a><\/em>has more recently become the start of definitive Footpath <\/a><\/em>No25. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No11.<\/strong> (Dashed brown on the map). This road ran north from the end of Damgate <\/a><\/em>to Damgate Staithe<\/a><\/em> on the River Thurne.<\/a><\/em> For many years it was lost but has now been re-instated as definitive Footpath<\/a><\/em> No25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No12.<\/strong> (Dashed dark blue on the map). This road ran from the head of Ferrygate <\/a><\/em>Staithe to the ferry at the River Thurne<\/a><\/em>. It still exists as Ferrygate <\/a><\/em>Lane next to the staithe.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No13.<\/strong> (Dashed purple on the map). This road ran from the south end of Private Road No12 near the south end of Ferrygate Staithe and then headed east to give access for landowners in that area. It still exists but is closed to the public and under private ownership.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No14.<\/strong> (Dashed green on the map). This road ran from the west end of Sandy Lane<\/a><\/em> at Cess<\/a><\/em> all the way to the Common Road staithe at the River Thurne.<\/a><\/em> It now exists as Cess Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No15.<\/strong> (Dashed blue on the map). This road was new in 1812 and ran from its junction with Private Road No14 at Cess Road in an east direction across marshes and pastures to Ferrygate <\/a><\/em>Lane. The track still exists to facilitate landowner access for land and drainage management.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No16.<\/strong> (Dashed mauve on the map).  This road was new in 1812 and ran from its junction with Private Road No14 at Cess Road in a west direction across marshes and pastures to the boundary of Martham and Potter Heigham parishes. The track still exists to facilitate landowner access for land and drainage management.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No17.<\/strong> (Gold on the map). This road followed the edge of the pre-1812 common and still follows the same route as definitive Footpath<\/a><\/em> No18 today. It is also still known as Common Road but is not made up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No18.<\/strong> (Dashed red on the map). This road branched out of road No14 near the east end of road No17 and provided access for landowners to adjoining fields to its east. It still exists as Cess Lane and a short part of definitive Footpath<\/a><\/em> No8.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No19.<\/strong> (Yellow on the map). This road ran for only a few hundred metres east, off road No14 to provide access for adjacent landowners. It no longer exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Private Road No20.<\/strong> (Brown on the map). This road ran for only a few hundred metres west off road No14 to provide access for adjacent landowners. It still exists but only as private access to Smee Farm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is very difficult to estimate earnings or family income in the early 19th century due to regional differences and inflation but, on average, a family income for people working in agriculture would have been about eighteen shillings (90 pence) per week or about \u00a347 per year. Some of the costs and fees therefore meant that poorer people could not afford to pursue claims and resulted in considerable hardship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snippets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n