216 THE ROYAL FORESTS OF ENGLAND 



so far as Sherwood was concerned, soon after me extinction 

 in Edward I.'s time of the hereditary forestership. 



In the reign of Edward IV., and subsequently, various 

 appointments of king's foresters of Sherwood are entered on 

 the Patent Rolls at a wage of ^d. a day. 



A forest session was held at Allerton on 3rd June, 1538. 

 Among the higher officials, Thomas Earl of Rutland is 

 named as master of the game, and Sir John Byron as keeper 

 of Bestwood park and forester of Thorney. Eleven other 

 foresters, thirty-five woodwards, fourteen regarders, three 

 verderers, and the constables and four-men of twenty-eight 

 townships are all specified as being in attendance. 



The large majority of the constables and " fower-men " of 

 different towns stated on their corporal oath that they "doth 

 knowe nothing that is to the disturbaunce of the kyng his 

 game or woode within the seide Foreste." Among the ex- 

 ceptions may be quoted the two following presentments from 

 Mansfield : 



" Item, the Constable and Power men of the towneshippe of 

 Mannsefelde sayeth that one Cristofer Shutte, Gerves Herdy, and 

 one William Falcherde dothe kepe in their bowses moo Fyres then 

 of right they ought to do, wherebye the kyng his woode is destroyed 

 extendyng every yere to three score lodes contrarie the Statute of 

 the Forest. 



" Item, that one Richarde Swynesloo, Thomas Clerke, Cristofer 

 Bradeshawe [and five others] dothe staff-hyrde theire shepe of the 

 Kyng his Common the number of twelve score where the Kyng his 

 deare shulde have their peacablie Feadyng." 



The jury of freemen of the town of Nottingham presented 

 the names of four burgesses, each of whom owned a greyhound, 

 but stated that they only kept them for the purpose of hunting 

 hares and foxes in the forest (to which they had a chartered 

 right), and not for the disturbance of the king's game. The 

 justices accepted their plea as to the motive for keeping the 

 greyhounds. They also made two orders affecting the forest 

 wood firstly, that no hedgebote nor firebote was to be taken 

 without the deliverance of the woodward, nor any housebote 

 without the deliverance of the keeper as well as the woodward ; 

 and secondly, that no one was to fell any of his own wood for 



