SALCEY FOREST. 123 



and Edward I., and from the official account given of the 

 latter it appears that the limits of the forest had been 

 extended by King John, but that the woods and lawns 

 afforested by that king were disafforested by Edward. But 

 though the forest was thus brought back to its ancient 

 bounds, and though the limits thus established were 

 brought to their original extent and confirmed by usage 

 for more than 300 years, an attempt was made by Charles 

 I. again to enlarge the forest, and a considerable extent of 

 country was added to it; but the Parliament of 1641 again 

 brought it back to its former dimensions. About the close 

 of the last century, the lands considered as forest, over 

 which the Crown was possessed of timber and other valu- 

 able rights, extended in length about two miles and a half, 

 and in breadth about a mile and a half, and contained 

 l,847a. Or. 23p., about 1,121 acres of which were under 

 timber. The Forest of Salcey was made part of the honour 

 of Grafton, erected in the 33rd year of Henry VIII., and 

 in the 17th year of Charles II. ; this, together with the 

 Forest of Whittlewood, was settled on Queen Catherine 

 for life, reserving all the timber trees and saplings for the 

 use of the Crown, and at her death the Grafton family 

 succeeded to her privileges. Among the papers collected 

 by Sir Julius Caesar (one of the ministers of James I.) is a 

 survey of the timber and wood belonging to the Crown in 

 the county of Northampton, taken in the year 1608, from 

 which it appears that there were at that time growing 

 in this forest 15,274 timber trees of oak, then valued at 

 11,951, besides 440 decaying trees, valued at 140 13s. 4d. 

 The number of loads is not mentioned, but other docu- 

 ments of the period state that the general price of oak 

 timber was then about 10s. per load, girth measure. The 

 15,274 oak trees, which were valued at 16s. each, must 

 have contained, one with another, not less than a load and 

 a half of timber, or about 22,911 loads girth measure, 

 which is equal to 34,366 loads square measure. In 1783 

 the deputy surveyor of woods and forests reported that 

 there were then in this forest only 2,918 oak trees fit for 



