52 THE FORESTS OF ENGLAND. 



England may be described as a richly wooded country ; 

 but what are seen everywhere are private woods and planta- 

 tions of limited extent, of great beauty, and widely diffused. 

 And like unto these are the Crown forests, whatever may 

 have been their condition a thousand years ago, when not 

 only they, but much, if not all, of the land besides was 

 much more densely wooded than now. 



Most of the forests enumerated by Manwood have entirely 

 disappeared without leaving behind either historical or 

 arboreal remains to tell of what they were. But with some 

 as is the case with Sherwood Forest it is otherwise ; 

 and thus is it with what was at first called the New Forest, 

 and is called so still, though it has existed from the times 

 of William the Conqueror, which may now be considered 

 somewhat remote. And it has associated with it tales not 

 inferior in interest, though it may be inferior in romance, 

 to those associated with the old Forest of Sherwood. 



Blount tells us " that the New Forest was raised by the 

 destruction of 22 parish churches, and many villages, and 

 chapels, and manors, for the space of 30 miles together." 

 And he alleges that this " was attended with divers judg- 

 ments on the posterity of William I., who erected it : for 

 William Rufus was there shot with an arrow, and before 

 him, Richard, the brother of Henry I.; and Henry, nephew 

 to Robert, the eldest son of the Conqueror, did hang by 

 the hair of his head in the boughs of the forest like unto 

 Absalom." 



Of the New Forest, an anonymous writer, whom I have 

 had frequent occasion to cite, says : " Some writers will 

 not allow any charge of cruelty to be brought against 

 William the Conqueror for his conduct in making the 

 New Forest. According to them it was made, not so 

 much from the desire of hunting, as from state policy 

 The forest, extending over the south-western part of 

 Hampshire down to the sea, might be regarded, say these 

 writers, as a great place of secret rendezvous for the 

 troops of the Conqueror, should he meditate any atttack 

 on France, or in the event of any serious insurrection 



