Open AccessEnclosures from below? The politics of squatting and encroachment in the post‐Restoration New Forest
Author(s) -
Griffin Carl J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
historical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.203
H-Index - 21
eISSN - 1468-2281
pISSN - 0950-3471
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2281.12218
Subject(s) - squatting position , politics , corporate governance , formative assessment , government (linguistics) , political science , history , sociology , business , law , finance , medicine , physical therapy , pedagogy , linguistics , philosophy
Notwithstanding recent interest in the politics of housing, squatting in the formative contexts of post‐Restoration rural England remains little understood and studied. Drawing upon a diverse archive of central government papers and those of the local officers of the New Forest – the largest Crown forest in England and Wales – this article argues that the resort to squatting was a function of the uneven contours of forest governance. Moreover, while squatting led to the formation of new communities, it was neither exclusively a plebeian act nor, against official discourses, necessarily an abuse of the assets of the forest.