Demise
of the Common
Contrary to popular belief, the Common never belonged to the commoner.
In Finchley’s case the common was the waste of the Manor of Finchley and as such belonged to the Bishop of London and was regulated by the Bishops Court. Commoners could apply for rights to graze, cut timber or remove earth, or to erect a dwelling in return for a payment, known as a fine. As evidence of their rights, the successful commoners were given a copy of the court roll and were known as copyholders. Nevertheless a gradual unofficial encroachment went on by all and sundry. A common practice was for sheep to be stationed on the common during the hay season and returned to the hayfield after the crop was harvested. Parts of the common were also used in emergencies to “house” those fleeing London during the plague or for exercising troops at times of war.
Land around London gained in value as London expanded, and this made
enclosure, the process whereby the land was parcelled out to individuals,
subject to meeting certain conditions, gradually more desirable.
All interested parties usually had a right to some compensation, whether
it was the allocation of a piece of the land, or the tenure of a dwelling
built on the land of another.
In the case of Finchley Common enclosure was already in progress from
1760 onwards and on 4th April 1811 an act for ‘inclosing land
in the Parish of Finchley’ was introduced into the Commons such
that in 1816 (a year after neighbouring Hornsey) the rest was enclosed.
In the apportionment, 15% of the land went to defray expenses (including to the Regents Canal Company for a reservoir), the Rector of Finchley then received 13% (in lieu of glebe and tithe), Thomas Allen 11%, the Bishop received 5%, and the rest was divided proportionately among the freeholders, copyholders, and lessees. The largest allotments were to John Bacon (10%), the Marquess of Buckingham (5%), Sir William Curtis (4%), Alexander Murray as lessee of Bibwell (2.8%), and the Earl of Mansfield as lessee of the demesne woods (2%).
Large parcels of land were subsequently sold off for development of one kind or another, from housing to cemeteries to country estates and had a large impact on the future of East Finchley.
