THE FOREST OF PICKERING 121 



steward. Within five years, however, of his being appointed, the 

 new steward's laxity in both vert and venison came before the 

 very court of which he was joint commissioner with Richard 

 Cholmley, whilst two of the other chief offenders were, as we 

 have just seen, foresters-of-fee. The jury were themselves so 

 tainted that they failed to convict, and eventually Brian Sand- 

 ford was removed, and Sir Richard Cholmley appointed in his 

 place. Though a man of eminence, Cholmley had then no con- 

 nection with Pickering or the district, and his advent and that 

 of his family was bitterly resented by the Hastings, who were 

 not only jealous, but resentful towards the stricter forest rules. 

 In 1501 complaint was made to the chancellor of the duchy 

 by Sir Roger Hastings, one of the king's foresters of Pickering 

 forest, against Sir Richard Cholmley, master of the forest and 

 his deputies, for suffering great waste of both wood and deer 

 in the forest and park. The charges are set forth with much 

 particularity in a long schedule. The list of waste in those 

 woods of the king's demesne, where no free tenants were en- 

 titled to have any live trees, opens with thirty-six oaks assigned 

 to the abbot of Whitby and twenty oaks to the dean of York. 

 The allotment of forty-six other oaks is also specified. Various 

 charges were made against the master's servants, the gravest 

 of which was : 



" Item, the said Richard Chomely hath a servaunt called John 

 Colson, and he dayly ledes away the kinges wode be horse lade to 

 Scarbrougfh, some day iiij horses, and oft tymes vj horses dayly this 

 vij yeres and every yere to the value of v /z', sum xxxv li. " 



The waste in the wood called "the Yath " was said to be 

 very considerable ; about 150 loads of wood are enumerated, 

 with the names of those who had them in a single year, as well 

 as a great many stubs. In the same year, in the grounds of 

 Deepdale, about 100 oaks had been felled by the officers and 

 servants of the master, out of which only a very few had been 

 used towards the repair of the castle walls. 



As to the destruction of the king's game, Sir Richard 

 Cholmley was charged with hunting, chasing, and slaying with 

 greyhounds, bows and arrows, or permitting to be slain by 

 others, between 1499 and 1501, the following deer, the date, 

 place, and name of the exact offender being in each case 



