A rich farmer: When the price of wool went up in the world market the rich farmers wanted to expand wool production to earn profits. They were eager to improve their sheep breeds and ensure good feed for them. They were keen on controlling large areas of land in compact blocks to allow improved breeding. So, they began dividing and enclosing common land and building hedges around their holdings to separate their property from that of others. They drove out villagers who had small cottages on the commons, and prevented the poor from entering the enclosed fields.

A laborer: Over the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the English countryside changed dramatically. Before this time, the land was not partitioned into enclosed lands privately owned by the landlords. During open field system, laborers used to live with landowners and helped their masters doing a variety of jobs. The laborers used to collect their firewood from the forests, or graze their cattle on the commons.

A peasant woman: In the open field systems, the peasants used to cultivate on the strips of land around the village they lived in. Peasant women used to help the peasants. Cow keeping, collection of firewood, cleaning, gathering of fruits and berries from the common lands was done mostly by women and children.