io8 THE ROYAL FORESTS OF ENGLAND 



Henry III., in July, 1225, sent letters to the sheriff of York- 

 shire and the constable of Scarborough to inform them that he 

 was sending two of his huntsmen, Master Guy and John the 

 Fool (le Fol), with hounds to take red deer in Pickering 

 forest. The sheriff was ordered to pay four marks, two for 

 the expenses, and two for salt for preparing the venison. In 

 September the sheriff received further instructions to forward 

 to London, with all speed, in good carts, the venison taken by 

 Guy and John in Pickering forest, there to be delivered to 

 the safe custody of Odo, the goldsmith of Westminster, till 

 the king had need of it. 



Henry also shared his father's love for the boar flesh of 

 Pickering. In 1227 the king, when tarrying at Stamford, sent 

 Guy and John "Stultus" to take twenty hinds and twelve 

 wild pigs in his forest of Pickering, for the king's own use. 

 In 1231, when the king was at Wallingford, he dispatched his 

 huntsmen to the same forest to bring back the large number of 

 thirty wild pigs and fifty hinds ; there can be no doubt that in 

 each of these cases the meat was to be salted. 



The first forest eyre for Pickering of which there is any 

 record, and that only a brief entry in the great Coucher Book 

 of the duchy, was held in 1280. Edward granted his brother 

 Edmund the right of having justices of the forest whenever the 

 king appointed such for his own forests, and also granted him 

 the fines and ransoms that might accrue from the holding of 

 the eyre. 



Edward II. was at Pickering castle from 8th August to 

 22nd of the same month, in 1323. Whilst tarrying there, he 

 ordered John de Kilvington, the keeper, to permit William, 

 the hermit of Dal by, to have pasture in the forest for three 

 cows, with their issue, for three years ; William had previously 

 obtained the royal permit for the pasturing of two cows for his 

 lifetime, and the present grant provided that he should, in 

 addition, have pasturage for a third cow so long as he remained 

 a hermit. But the king had graver matters to attend to whilst 

 at Pickering. An inquisition was held by the oath of the 

 foresters, verderers, regarders, and other forest ministers, in 

 addition to other lawful men, whereby it was proved that over 

 two score persons, in addition to many unknown, had com- 

 mitted venison trespasses in the forest since the time that it 



