266 



A EEPORT OF THE REMARKABLE TREES OF 

 WHITFIELD. 



BY A COMMISSIONER FROM THE WOOLHOPE CLUB. 



lN.B.~The circumference of the trees U always taken at 6 ft. from the (fround when not 

 otherunse speafie i ; and the figures given alvxiys refer to feet and inches] 



In the manuscript Diary of Sir Richard Symonds, in the British Museum, 

 printed hy the Camden Society, the following passage occurs : — 



"1645, May 12th. This night the King lay at Cofton Hall— (query, 

 Corfton Hall, near Ludlow). These Colonels and Governors with the King : 

 Colonel Scudamore, Governor of Hereford, &c., &c., &c. Here in Hereford, a 

 quarter of mutton, 14d. ; Rye, 12d. a husheL Rye is the best Grayne growen 

 generally in the county, and Oates and Pease. Liltk Timber in the Shire." 



There is no reason to doubt the truthfulness of this last observation. 

 The Court of Charles I. would gladly have seen an abundance of timber, for in 

 those days — much more than in our own— timber meant money, and subsidies, 

 and all other things that money can produce ; and if we inquire a little into the 

 causes of its scarcity then, we shall qmckly see that the Court, at any rate, 

 fully appreciated its value. 



Timber was at that time the only available fuel, it was largely employed 

 for buildings, fences, and in every other possible way. Still, when the popula- 

 tion was so small, this home use, extensive as it might be, could not in itself 

 have produced any deficiency. 



A second cause, and one much more powerful, was the use of wood as 

 fuel in the smelting of iron ore, as had been customary from time immemorial. 

 The Forest of Dean has always been noted for its ironworks. The Romans 

 had furnaces there, and an examination of the cinder heaps they left, proves 

 that their iron was all smelted with charcoal. The Forest at one time extended 

 into Herefordshire, and in 1314 the writs for raising soldiers in the Forest of 

 Dean were sent also to the Sheriff of Herefordshire. These furnaces must, 

 therefore, have been i^artly supplied from this county. The difficulty of trans- 

 porting timber of any size was then very great, as, indeed is to some extent, 

 proved by its lavish use in the buildings and houses of the period, and there- 

 fore, in addition to these furnaces, forges were established at intei-vals through- 

 .out the wooded districts of the country. The iron ore was brought to the 

 fuel to be smelted. Many instances occur where the names indicating 

 the locality of these Forges are still retained, as Old Forge, Goodrich ; Elilforge, 



