Squatters Cottages 18Th And 19Th Centuries

[Sellergarth]

Does anyone have any information regarding squatters cottages during the late 18th early 19th centuries in England? In particular I`d like to know if this was a common practice and if a person had to live in makeshift accommodation on the land for a certain length of time before he could build a permanent dwelling, also how long did the person have to live in the property before legally owning it? Any other info re- 18th and 19th century squatters would be appreciated. Thanks.

[boxtops]

There's something about it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erection_of_Cottages_Act_1588

[Barks]

I seem to remember from school history that prior to the Enclosures villagers would have strips of land in different fields and grazing rights on the common land but squatters had no right to farming land and had to rely on subsistance farming at the village boundarys

[Mosaic]

I recollect but can't provide an exact source, that in many areas 'squatter's rights' could be claimed if overnight you built a dwelling on the common land and had a fire burning in the hearth by morning. The rights in question seem to have been the right to cultivate a bit of land, hunt, gather wild food plants, graze an animal or two and gather fuel - the same rights that other villagers had regarding common land.
When common land was seized and shared out among the wealthy in the enclosures, the poorest people simply had no voice, no vote and no come-backs. It didn't matter if they had lived in this way for generations as their living was swiped.
Many of these homes would have been made of earth 'cob' - you still get place-names like 'Cob Wall' or Cob Field'. They didn't have deep foundations and the owners had few possessions, so the sites quickly dissolved back into the earth leaving no trace.