SHERWOOD FOREST. 21 



On the 16th of August, 1645, the king was at Welbeck 

 House with a flying army. From thence he went to 

 Southwell, and not long after to the scaffold. 



" Many of the woods of the forest were at this time 

 destroyed, and during the Protectorate the privileges of 

 the forest were vested in the keeping of several of the 

 more important local gentry, who, with few reservations, 

 enjoyed full liberty of destruction. Thorston, the historian 

 of Nottinghamshire at that period, says, ' The state of the 

 forest at this present consists of a warden, his lieutenant, 

 and his steward, a bow-bearer and a ranger, four verderers, 

 twelve regarders, four agisters, and twelve keepers or 

 foresters in the main forest ; besides these are now four 

 keepers in Thorney Woods ; . . . they are all reduced 

 under the Chief Forester, the Earl of Chesterfield, and 

 his heirs/ " 



In connection with interesting facts relative to the 

 history of Robin Hood, he states what more closely 

 concerns the subject of our study, that the area of Sher- 

 wood Forest was about 100,000 acres, and " that this mag- 

 nificent deer forest was not all of one monotonous character, 

 like some of the deer forests of Scotland, but diversified 

 and picturesque, partly in timber, partly in extensive 

 tracts of greensward, heather, and gorse or broom. The 

 green and gold livery of the outlaws was taken from the 

 two prevailing colours of the forest in the early summer 

 when the campaign began, the green of leaves and the 

 gold of blossoming gorse and broom. 



During winter the outlaws lived secluded in the recesses 

 of Cresswell Crags and Markland Grips, near Welbeck 

 Park. These cavernous rocks are little inferior to those 

 of Matlock Dale, and their deep clefts formed natural 

 strongholds extremely difficult to approach." 



In another article in the same Journal (Vol. i. page 

 256), it is stated: 



" Many perambulations of this forest were made in dif- 

 ferent reigns ; one in the 28th of Edward I., another in 



