About the book

“The author has drawn attention to a number of aspects of enclosure which have been previously neglected or dealt with only briefly. The failure of enclosure to always bring about improvement, the role played by tenants and the extent to which landowners were motivated by considerations that went beyond practical and economic concerns are all highlighted here and would repay further research in other parts of the country.” Jon Gregory, Landscape History

“O’Donnell’s research is of immense value to readers interested in exploring the multiple variables which could influence landscape change in the post-medieval period. The detailed case study here will interest not only local historians, but also researchers looking for contrasts to Midlands-oriented studies. O’Donnell argues that we should be applying this deeply contextual approach to a wide range of post-medieval landscape studies, in order to understand the true nature of the changes as well as the effects of these changes on individuals who were involved, from the great estate landlord through to the small-holding tenant farmer and his family. There is value to this approach… and hopefully we will see similar contextual studies produced for other regions in the future.” Sarah Newstead, Medieval Settlement Research

“An excellent addition to our knowledge of enclosures in Northumberland.” A.W. Purdue, Northern History

The landscape history of North-East England has not been studied as much as other parts of the country. This book begins to fill this gap by utilizing Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to re-assess the familiar topics of enclosure and improvement.

It reveals the contribution of local 'actors' – including landowners, tenants and the landscape itself – to these 'processes'. In so doing it transforms our understanding of the way in which the landscape of Northumberland was created during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and carries wider implications for how we might approach enclosure in other parts of the country.