CHAPTER II 

 THE FOREST COURTS 



THE forest eyre was a court called into being by the 

 king's letters patent, by which justices were appointed 

 to hear and determine pleas of the forest throughout a 

 particular county or groups of counties, or occasionally in the 

 special area of a county or counties. A short time before 

 the eyre was held, letters close were directed to the sheriff 

 relative to its business. By these they were ordered to summon 

 (i) all dignitaries and other free tenants who had lands or 

 tenements within the metes of the forest ; (2) the reeve and 

 four men from every township within the metes ; (3) all 

 foresters and verderers, both those then in office and those 

 (or their heirs) who had held such office since the last pleas 

 of the forest; (4) all those persons who had been "attached" 

 since the last pleas ; (5) all the regarders ; (6) and all the 

 agisters. The sheriffs were at the same time directed to see 

 that the foresters and verderers brought with them all their 

 attachments or attachment rolls since the last pleas, and that 

 the regarders brought with them their regards duly sealed, 

 and the agisters their agistments. 



The proper interval between those forest eyres is supposed, 

 from analogy of eyres for pleas of the Crown and common 

 pleas, to have been seven years ; but in practice, to the great 

 inconvenience of all concerned, considering the multiplicity 

 of business, the intervals were usually much longer, and almost 

 wholly capricious. For example, Derbyshire affords more 

 than one instance of intervals exceeding thirty years ; whilst 

 Pickering yields an instance of an interval of over fifty years, 

 namely, from 1280-1334. 



Every three years a thorough inspection not only of the 

 woods, but also of every part of the forest, was expected to be 



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