I.] OF SELBORNE. 157 



a variety of words in husbandly and common life, still subsist- 

 ing among the country people. 



What probably first drew the attention of the Saxons to this 

 spot was the beautiful spring or fountain called Well-head, 1 

 which induced them to build by the banks of that perennial 

 current ; for ancient settlers loved to reside by brooks and 

 rivulets, where they could dip for their water without the 

 trouble and expense of digging wells and of drawing. 



It remains still unsettled among the antiquaries at what time 

 tracts of land were first appropriated to the chase alone for the 

 amusement of the sovereign. Whether our Saxon monarchs 

 had any royal forests does not, I believe, appear on record ; 

 but the Constituliones de Foresta of Canute, the Dane, are come 

 down to us. We shall not therefore pretend to say whether 

 Wolmer Forest existed as a royal domain before the conquest. 

 If it did not, we may suppose it was laid out by some of our 

 earliest Norman kings, who were exceedingly attached to the 

 pleasures of the chase, and resided much at Winchester, which 

 lies at a moderate distance from this district. The Plantagenet 

 princes seem to have been pleased with Wolmer ; for tradition 

 says that King John resided just upon the verge, at Wardleham, 

 on a regular and remarkable mount, still called King John's 

 Hill, and Lodge Hill; and Edward III. had a chapel in his 

 park, or inclosure, at Kingsley. 2 Humphrey, Duke of Glou- 

 cester, and llichard, Duke of York, say my evidences, were both, 

 in their turns, wardens of Wolmer Forest ; which seems to have 

 served for an appointment for the younger princes of the royal 

 family, as it may again. 



I have intentionally mentioned Edward III. and the Dukes 

 Humphrey and Eichard before King Edward II., because 1 

 have reserved for the entertainment of my readers a pleasant 



frequent a farmer's kitchen. I have therefore selected some words to show 

 how familiar the Saxon dialect was to this district, since in more than seven 

 hundred years it is far from being obliterated. 



1 Well-head signifies spring-head, and not a deep pit from whence we draw 

 water. For particulars about which see Letter I. to Mr. Pennant. 



2 The parish of Kingsley lies between, and divides Wolmer Forest from 

 Ayles Holt Forest. See Letter IX. to Mr. Pennant. 



