ITS HISTORY. 17 



the exception of a small and very pretty wood by 

 Lambourne, belonging to Colonel Lockwood. 



In the case of Epping Forest, governed, as at 

 Hainault, by the same narrow policy, unaccom- 

 panied by foresight or common sense, but possessing 

 here only the Crown's forestal rights, and not the 

 manorial rights or the soil, the Commissioners pro- 

 ceeded to offer these rights for sale to the various 

 lords of manors for about ^5 an acre ; nay, almost 

 to compel the purchase by threats of selling them to 

 others, and by the inducement that their purchase 

 by the lords would give the absolute right to enclose. 

 We cannot greatly blame the latter if, after acquiring 

 the Crown rights under these circumstances, they 

 took an exaggerated view of their powers of en- 

 closure. They now had only the commoners to 

 deal with, and they believed that if each could 

 come to an agreement with this class in his own 

 manor, he would have satisfied every claim. On 

 the face of it, this did not seem an unreasonable 

 view, and though we now know that it was erron- 

 eous in law, all we need say, or can say, is that 

 they were badly advised. At the same time the 

 extension of railways, by enabling those who had 

 business in the city to reside beyond its limits, 

 enormously increased the demand for, and the 

 value of, land in the suburbs, and offered a new 

 temptation. Enclosures of large blocks, often of 

 several hundred acres in extent, followed one 

 another with alarming rapidity. In 1S50 the 

 Forest comprised almost exactly 6000 acres. 

 During the ensuing twenty years just half this 

 area was surrounded by fences and partly built 

 upon. 



While this was proceeding a new spirit arose, 

 c 



