172 MALVERN HILLS. 



Commoners and the Crown Surveyor, the order of the 

 Court of Exchequer contained the following passage : 



" Forasmuch as the Court is nowe informed that the 

 Comoninge in the said Chase concerneth tenne thousand poore 

 people, and that the not havinge and enjoyinge thereof maye 

 turne to their utter overthrowe and undoinge , therefore, it is 

 now ordered by the Court that the said inhabitants and 

 Commoners there shall be at libertie to take and receive such 

 reasonable comon within the said Chase as they have been 

 accustomed and of rights they ought to have" 



An Act of Parliament was passed in 1664 confirming 

 the disafforesting. In recent years encroachments have 

 been made on the Commons in various parts, not only 

 by the Lords of Manors, but by outsiders and squatters ; 

 and actions were from time to time successfully instituted 

 against them. These acts culminated about the year 

 1878 in the erection of a building on the summit of the 

 Worcestershire Beacon, the most prominent of the 

 Malvern Hills. This was followed by a number of 

 petty encroachments on other parts. There appeared to 

 be danger of the permanent loss or disfigurement of the 

 magnificent open space which these Hills afford. The 

 matter was taken up with spirit by the inhabitants of 

 Great Malvern. The Commons Society was consulted, 

 and their solicitor was employed. Fortunately litigation 

 was avoided, as the Messrs. Hornyold, who claimed as 

 Lords of the Manor of that part of the Hills, and had let 

 the summit to the person who had built on it, w T hen 

 they became aware of the strong feeling of their neigh- 

 bours, came forward and agreed to dedicate their rights 



