216 TOLLABD FABNIIAM. 



contain many presentments of offences against the deer 

 and wood. Many of them relate to Tollard Farnham. 

 For several years a Chase officer, called a verderer, was 

 sworn for it, and attended the Leet Courts. 



There can be no doubt that, from time imme- 

 morial, the inhabitants of Tollard Farnham had in fact 

 exercised the custom or right of cutting furze and hazel 

 wood, called " haskets," on the waste lands of the Manor 

 from Old Michaelmas Day till Old Lady Day, and that 

 they derived from this source their only supply of fuel. 

 The case, therefore, closely resembled that of the 

 Loughton rights of lopping trees in Epping Forest, 

 which have already been described, the only difference 

 being that Cranbourne Chase was held by a private 

 owner and not by the Crown. It had, however, often 

 been in the possession of the Crown, and there was no 

 more reason why a grant from the Crown should not 

 have been presumed in the Tollard Farnham case than 

 in that of Loughton. 



Up to the year 1850 the parish of Tollard Farnham 

 was a very interesting case of common-field cultivation. 

 The parish consisted of 950 acres, of which 300 acres 

 were held in severalty ; 224 acres were in copses or 

 woodlands in the hands of the Lord of the Manor; 

 159 acres were in Common, the waste lands of the 

 Manor ; and 207 acres were laid out in common fields, 

 which were allotted amongst the tenants of the Manor, 

 and held by them in severalty for purposes of tillage ; 

 these were farmed upon the three-course system : one 

 part being in wheat, another in barley, and a third 



