THE FOREST OF EXMOOR. 147 



of which is cut off from it by the Hundreds of Bamp- 

 ton and South Molton, was absurd, and the court 

 naturally made no order on this case, so that the 

 utmost that can be said of this representation is 

 that it is a claim upon which the court declined 

 to adjudicate. But the case is still stronger. 

 Throughout the century for which there are 

 records of forest courts there are numerous charges 

 against men of Devon, who entered the forest and 

 committed offences in the forest, and in these cases 

 writs were issued to the Sheriff of Devon to bring 

 them up for judgment. 



There are only three cases in which a man is 

 accused of an offence committed in Devon. The 

 first is in 1336, when " Roger de Cotecumbe found 

 a stag in his rye on Molland Hill, which is two 

 leagues or more outside the said forest, which stag 

 the same Roger killed," and on this no order was 

 made. The other cases are in 1365 and 1366. At 

 that time the forestership had passed to Edmund 

 Mortimer, Earl of March, who was a minor, for whom 

 Richard de Acton on the first occasion and Guy de 

 Brien on the second, each having futher deputed 

 their powers, were officiating as deputies. No 

 doubt these new officers acting for a minor were 

 anxious to make the utmost of their power. In 1365 

 James de Andele, of North Molton — the Yandles of 

 to-day are among the best sportsmen in the county — 

 was accused of having his " park badly enclosed, so 

 that the deer of the Lord King can enter therein, to 



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