In England today there exist nearly 120,000 miles of public footpath - half what it was 100 years ago and amounting to just 8% of the land in the country. Of England’s 42,000 miles of rivers, we have access to just 3%.
The enclosure of common land, and the exclusion of the people who lived upon it, was a violent process that began almost a thousand years ago, and reached its zenith in the 18th and 19th centuries. This ‘accumulation by dispossession', as David Harvey has put it, was frequently met with rebellion, but nonetheless continues to shape the landscape around us today.
The story of the loss of the commons and the emergence of private property is not just of historical interest. Today a third of Britain is still owned by the aristocracy, and the rights of the land owner to do what they please with their land are paramount. Property remains inextricably linked to power.
We're joined on the show this month by Nick Hayes, author of The Book of Trespass: Crossing the Lines that Divide Us (2020), and a co-founder of the Right to Roam campaign. We discuss the history of the commons and enclosure, and delve into the power of trespassing as a form of direct action.
---
Find out more about the campaign: righttoroam.org.uk
Hidden San Francisco
The New Intellectuals: The Civil War in the United States
'Split: Class Divides Uncovered' with Ben Tippet, Grace Blakeley and Emily Scurrah
The New Intellectuals: Race for Profit
'Feminism, Interrupted' with Lola Olufemi, Jade Bentil and Gail Lewis
Labour: Rebuilding After 2019
Unis Resist Border Controls
Exploring the Radical Politics of James Baldwin
Rojava and the Kurdish Women's Movement
Sex Education Transformed
Art the Arms Fair with Peter Kennard
Queer Tours and Rebel Footprints
Climate Justice
After Grenfell
Boycott Eurovision!
Deportation Charter Flights and the 'Stansted 15'
Healthcare and the Hostile Environment
Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)
Tribune
'Staying Power' with David Olusoga
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free