A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



In 1531 Henry VIII appointed a commission, consisting of the abbot of Welbeck, Sir 

 Richard Sacheverell, Sir Brian Stapleton and Sir John Villers, knights, and John Hersey and Roger 

 Greenhaghe, esquires, to view and certify the number and state of the deer in the forest and park of 

 Sherwood. The returns show that there were at that time 4,280 red deer, and 1,131 fallow deer. 

 The fallow deer were within the parks of Bestwood, Nottingham, Clipston, and Thorney Wood. 

 The red deer ranged throughout the forest, save for 214 in Bestwood Park. In the com- 

 missioners' detailed certificate, ' as signed by me John, bishop of Elphyn, commendatory of the abbey 

 of Welbeck,' the red deer were apportioned to the following forest divisions : ' Clypston Shroggys,' 

 310 ; 'Billey and Brykkeland,' 223 ; ' Romewood and Olsland,' 60 ; ' Farmsfeyld,' 63 ; ' Blyd- 

 worth,' 128; 'Calverton,' 146; ' Papilwike,' 73 ; ' Lymbe Hawis Walke,' 30; ' Simon Woddys 

 Walke,' 90 ; ' Lyndhurst Walk,' 114 ; and ' Nomanys Wode,' I48. 1 



A forest session was held at Ollerton on 3 June, 1538. Among the higher officials, Thomas, 

 earl of Rutland, is named as master of the game, and Sir John Byron as keeper of Bestwood 

 Park and forester of Thorney. Eleven other foresters, thirty-five woodwards, fourteen regarders, 

 three verderers, and the constables and ' four-men ' of twenty-eight townships are all specified as 

 being in attendance. 



The large majority of the constables and ' four-men ' of different towns stated on their 

 corporal oath that they ' doth knowe nothing that is to the disturbance of the kyng, his game, or 

 woode within the seid foreste.' Among the exceptions may be quoted the two following presentments 

 from Mansfield : 



' Item, the Constable and Fowermen of the townshippe of Mannsefelde sayeth that one 

 Christofer Shutte, Gerves Herdy, and one William Falcherde dothe kepe in their howses moo 

 Fyres than of right they ought to do, wherebye the kynge his woode is destroyed extendyng every 

 yere to three score lodes contrarie the Statute of the Forest.' 



' Item, that one Richarde Swynesloo, Thomas Clerke, Christofer Bradeshawe (and five others) 

 dothe staff-hyrde theire sheep of the Kyng his Common the number of twelve score where the 

 Kyng his deare shulde have their peacablie Feadyng.' 



The jury of freemen of the town of Nottingham presented the names of four burgesses, each 

 of whom owned a greyhound, but stated that they only kept them for the purpose of hunting 

 hares and foxes in the forest (to which they had a chartered right), and not for the disturbance 

 of the king's game. The justices accepted their plea as to the motive for keeping the greyhounds. 

 They also made two orders affecting the forest wood firstly, that no hedgebote nor firebote was 

 to be taken without the deliverance of the woodward, nor any housebote without the deliverance of 

 the keeper as well as the woodward ; and secondly, that no one was to fell any of his own wood 

 for any intent ' withoute the especiall lycense of the kynge his highness, or the Justice of the 

 Foreste, and that none from hencesforthe do take aine woode for bleaching.' 2 



A return at the Public Record Office that was made in 1538 of all the deer in the king's 

 forests and parks north of the Trent, gives the number of red deer in Sherwood Forest as about 1,000 ; 

 in Bestwood Park, there were 700 fallow, and 140 red ; in Clipston Park, 60 fallow, and 20 red ; 

 and in Grynley park, 150 fallow. 



A perambulation of the forest was made on 9 September, 1539, beginning at the castle of 

 Nottingham, and returning to Nottingham. 3 



In 1599, Elizabeth granted the keepership of the forest district of Thorney wood to the north 

 of Nottingham, to John Stanhope, with free leave of hunting, chasing, and killing ' the Queene's 

 wild beastes ' without being molested by any forest ministers or others, provided he always provided 

 IOO deer for the use of the queen. 4 



A survey of Sherwood Forest taken in 1609 gave the following estimate of the acreage : 

 Inclosures . . . 44,839 Clipston Park . . . 1,583 



Woods .... 9,486 Bestwood Park . . . 3,672 



Unenclosed . . . 35,080 Bulwell Park . . . 326 



Nottingham Park . . 129 

 89,405 



There were at that time 21,009 oa k trees m Birkland, and 28,900 in Bilhagh, or a total of 

 49,909 ; the majority of them were even then past maturity. It may here be mentioned, as 

 showing the rapid diminution that went on from that date, that in 1686 the oaks of Birkland 

 and Bilhagh numbered 37,316, and in 1790 they were reduced to io,U7. 6 



A fragmentary return of presentments, ' by the view and regard ' of the forest in 1606, gives a 

 long list of purprestures or encroachments, among which may be mentioned, under Mansfield, 'One 

 by ye Earle of Scarsdale by building a Forge near Randenthorp and turning ye river Naiden out of 



Exch. Misc. Bk., Ixxvi. There is much variation in different deer estimates of this reign. 

 ' Cox, Royal Forests, 216-17. 3 It is set forth at length in Bailey, Jnnals (ii, 405-7). 



Fourteenth Rep. of Woods and Forests (1793), App. 22. 6 Ibid. p. 4. 



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