The Development of Rural Settlement Around Lincoln

Local Civil Society

“…This is in contrast to 'open' settlements -like Rhos -where property holding was more dispersed, development less restricted, life less controlled and the social economy more dynamic, more diverse and expansive (Jackson 2012). The open/ closed distinction used by rural historians such as Mills (1973) has a bearing not only on how villages developed, but on the civil relations found therein. For example, it can be used to interpret patterns of religious adherence where in closed settlements, under supervision of the landowner, there would be greater attendance at Anglican places of worship and less dissent in the form of nonconformism.…”

The ‘Open-Closed’ Settlement Model and the Interdisciplinary Formulations of Dennis Mills: Conceptualising Local Rural Change

“…19 In a later study in Nottinghamshire, Mills adopted the terminology that had been employed by commissioners investigating the impact of reforms of poor law administration in the mid-nineteenth century. Up to about 1860 each parish or township had to maintain its own poor by means of a parish poor rate and it was therefore to the advantage of landowners and occupiers to restrict the working population and thereby reduce the numbers of potentially destitute persons.…”

“…35 Later, in his epilogue to Lord and Peasant, Mills signals the possibilities that exist for placing various relationships that are integral to the open-closed typology in a longer view setting. 35 Later, in his epilogue to Lord and Peasant, Mills signals the possibilities that exist for placing various relationships that are integral to the open-closed typology in a longer view setting.…”

“…It was least effective where there were a large numbers of owners and occupiers, forming a large leaderless vestry which was unable or unwilling to discourage the building of cottages for 'poor' people. 19 In a later study in Nottinghamshire, Mills adopted the terminology that had been employed by commissioners investigating the impact of reforms of poor law administration in the mid-nineteenth century. 20 Estate villages were classified under the term 'closed' (or, in the language of much of the commentary of the day, 'close') and the freeholder villages were labelled 'open'.…”

“…Despite the changes of the twentieth century, including the decay of the landowning class, it is still possible to distinguish in the field the mixture of settlements which the changes of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries brought about. 35 Later, in his epilogue to Lord and Peasant, Mills signals the possibilities that exist for placing various relationships that are integral to the open-closed typology in a longer view setting. Certain historical continuities are of relevance in the study of the more recent, local past.…”