FELL HUNTING 



CHAPTER XVI 



LONG years ago in feudal days, the hills and 

 dales of Lakeland resounded to the cry of 

 hounds and the horn of the hunter. In 

 those times the stag was the premier beast of 

 chase, and hunting was regularly indulged in by 

 both clergy and laity. The fox, along with the 

 wild cat, the badger, eagle and raven, was looked 

 upon as vermin and had a price upon his head. 

 The deer, descendants of which are still to be 

 seen in Martindale Forest, were preserved for 

 hunting in certain Chases, the most famous of 

 which was Inglewood. It was customary for 

 tenants to attend their Lord's hunt once a year, 

 this being known as a " boon hunt." Each 

 tenant had his allotted station on the boundaries 

 of the chase in order to prevent the deer escaping. 

 In Martindale Forest, then known as the 

 " Chace of Markendale," these stations, so Clarke 

 tells us in his " Survey of the Lakes," were at 

 two places, i.e., Bampkin (Rampsgill) and Banner- 

 dale " where the deer chiefly lye, and where the 

 tenants stand with their dogs to prevent the deer 

 escaping to the mountains." For his services 

 each tenant received his dinner and a quart of 

 ale. It was also the custom that the first person 

 who seized the hunted deer had the head for 

 his trouble. 



"What shall he have that killed the deer? 

 His leather skin and horns to wear." 



Aa You Like It, iv., 2. 



180 



