Enclosure did the poor no favours as they lost their right to graze and 950 of the 1200 acres went to six people, including Joseph Reay of Hunwick Hall and William Blackett of Helmington Hall. The other four came under Newton Cap and included Robert Shafto. They had argued that the land yielded little profit but could become more productive, aided by improved drainage. Overgrazing would be reduced and with better management of the land there would be more emphasis on dairy produce and meat.

The freeholders were given three years to erect and maintain fences and hedges. The usual practice was to dig a trench and create a mound on which hawthorn was planted. These hedges were likely to be straighter than any earlier ones, which can also be distinguished by their greater variety.

It is possible that enclosure interfered with horse racing, which was first recorded on Hunwick Moor in March 1662, when the bishop’s house steward reported a well-attended, high-profile event. Races were run over a four-mile course and records exist of almost annual meetings in the 1720s and again in 1739. Titled people travelled in coaches from London, stopping in York for two nights.