TROUBLOUS TIMES. 277 



Williams had been servant to three foresters — 

 — deputies presumably — in succession : Mr. Pearce, 

 Mr. Pincombe, and Mr. Webber. The latter was a 

 Luxborough yeoman, as we learn elsewhere from 

 proceedings in the Star Chamber. Robert Phelps, 

 yeoman, of Porlock, and Walter Dollen, of Stoke 

 Pero, gave evidence on behalf of John Slowley in 

 support of the plea that the forest rights on Exmoor 

 had become obsolete. 



Phelps said : " He verelie believeth that there are 

 verie few redd deere within the Forest or Chase of 

 Exmore, and that few or none are bred theare and 

 he sayth theare are not any woods or copses within 

 the bounds of the said Forest nor any other shelter 

 nor harbor for deere within the saide Forest other than 

 heath or fearne or such like. But he further sayth 

 that he hath seene some fewe redd deere lyinge and 

 standinge within the bounds of the said Forest and 

 some others hunted or chased into the said Forest 

 but not often." 



Dollen corroborated, and said : " That there are 

 no woods nor copses other than one oake called Kite 

 Oake and a few thornes growinge here and there 

 within the saide Forest nor any other shelter for deere 

 other than sedgbusshes, rushbusshyes, fearnes, 

 heath, or such like." 



Manwood, in his " Forest Laws," lays down that it 

 is essential to the existence of a forest that there shall 

 be deer and covert for them. The suggestion that 

 Pearce had no rights because there was no legal 



