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- fences now surrounded the old common land and sliced up the great open fields

- farming became more of a business - less of a way of life

- new houses, new crops, new animals (selective breeding), new machines

- some places continued with old system

- for many rural communities around Britain, 1000's years of tradition disappeared in decade

- boom years = some richer - many poorer

- buying food = main expenditure

- poor could not manage to make ends meet

- poor sometimes had little or no food

- poverty was always common in countryside

- attempts had always been made to help poor

- since 1722 there were poor workhouses = food, basic clothing and shelter for poor people

- by 1790s people were abusing poor workhouses = they were there because they could not support their family - this was not their intention

- speenhamland system was devised in 1792 (see previous notes)

- outdoor relief given instead of workhouse

- various problems with system (see previous notes)