The modern history of the New Forest commences in 1851 with the first major act of enclosure since the New Forest Act of 1698. This step resolved the commoners determination to retain their common rights of grazing, resulting in the New Forest Act of 1877 limiting the exercise of the right of enclosure by the Crown. The dual activities of foresters and commoners in the intervening period up to the present have contributed to the present physical character of this intriguing area of woodland and heath in one of the most rapidly developing and densely populated areas of southern England.