Forest of Rossendale. 57 



In the Carta Foresta of Henry III. the following curious pro- 

 vision appears : — " Whatsoever Archbishop, Bishop, Earl, or 

 Baron coming to us at our commandment, passeth by our Forest, 

 it shall be lawful for him to take and kill one or two of our Deer 

 by the view of the Forester if he be present ; or else he shall cause 

 one to blow an horn for him, that he seem not to steal our Deer ; 

 and likewise they shall do returning from us." 



The following further provision of Edward I. is characteristic of 

 the times : — " If any Deer be found dead or wounded, there shall 

 be an Inquisition made by four of the next Villages to the Forest, 

 which shall be written in the Eoll ; the Finder shall be put by six 

 pledges, and the flesh shall be sent to a Spittal House, [Hospital,] 

 if, by the testimony of the Verderors and the County, there be 

 any nigh : but if there be no such house near, the flesh shall be 

 given to the poor and lame, the head and skin shall be given to 

 the poor of the next Town ; and the Arrow, if there be any found, 

 shall be presented to the Verderor, and inroUed in his Roll." 

 Commenting on the foregoing, Manwood, the great authority on 

 the Forest Laws, writing about the end of the reign of Elizabeth, 

 says, — " All this must be intended of such Deer which are not 

 sweet or fit to be eaten by the better sort of people, for if a principal 

 beast is found newly killed, 'tis not intended by this Statute that it 

 should be given to an Hospital," &c. (d) 



Spaniels and Greyhounds were forbidden in the Forest, but 

 the Mastiff was admitted, provided the claws and pelote of its 

 forefeet were cut off, to prevent its chasing the Deer. This cutting 

 off the claws was termed "hambling," or " expeditation," and was 

 performed as follows : — The foot of the animal was placed upon a 

 piece of wood eight inches thick, and twelve inches square ; a 

 chisel two inches broad was then set upon the three claws, which 

 were struck off by the skin at one blow. Dr. Whitaker states that 

 in Bowland expeditation was not governed by species, but by the 

 size of the dog — an iron ring being kept as a gauge, through which 

 every foot that would pass escaped the operation. 



(d) Manwood, ed. 1717, 409. 



