CHAPTER X 

 THE FORESTS OF LANCASHIRE 



THE forests of Lancashire, which were at one time very 

 considerable, were chiefly situated in the high region on 

 the east side of the county. In their earlier history they 

 may be divided into two portions, namely, those in the ancient 

 house of Lancaster, which were subject soon after the Con- 

 quest to Roger de Poictou ; and those in the great fee of 

 Clitheroe, subject at the same time to the family of Lacy. 

 After the marriage of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, with Alice 

 de Lacy in 1310, all the forests of the county came under the 

 one head of Foresta de Lancaster, and pertained to the earldom, 

 and afterwards to the Duchy of Lancaster. But quite a century 

 before this date all the various forests were frequently described 

 under the common denominator of the county town. The more 

 important forests were within the hundred of Lonsdale ; those 

 of Wyersdale, Quernmoor, Bleasdale, Myerscough, and Ful- 

 wood were all within the very extensive ancient parish of 

 Lancaster, though the last three were in the hundred jurisdic- 

 tion of Amounderness. In the hundred of Blackburn was the 

 great forest of Blackburnshire, of which Rossendale, Bowland, 

 Pendle, and Trawden were the subdivisions. In the hundred 

 of West Derby was the forest of that name, often termed 

 Derbyshire, with the parks of Croxteth and Toxteth. 



In Harland's edition of Baines' Lancashire (1868-70) there is 

 a certain amount of scattered, meagre information pertaining 

 to these very considerable tracts of the county ; but the history 

 of the forests of Lancashire remains yet to be written. The 

 material available would readily make an interesting work of 

 one or two volumes. All that is here attempted is to give a 

 few scattered facts which have not for the most part hitherto 

 appeared in print. 



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