Rhoda Power
Last week you heard of the changes that were coming over the towns of England with the introduction of factories less than 150 years ago; today, in the first dramatic interlude of the term, you are to hear of the changes that were coming over the countryside.
The enclosure and cultivation of common fields and wasteland led to the rhyme: 'It is a sin in man or woman To steal a goose from off a common, But he doth sin with less excuse, That steals a common from the goose!' Just as the people protested against machinery, so they protested against enclosures. They had nowhere to graze their cows and geese.
This little play is in two parts. The village squire calls a meeting of villagers to discuss enclosures. The majority want to send a petition to Parliament to authorise the procedure. The case against enclosures is ably put by a yeoman, but he is outvoted and the squire gets his authorisation. In the second episode you will hear from the writings of a clergyman who lived in those days something of the hardships the enclosure of the commonlands caused the poor villagers.