SHERWOOD FOREST 219 



sake of strengthening the petitioners' arguments, was probably 

 much below the mark. The petitioners proceeded to state that 

 these deer now numbered more than 900 ; that they roamed 

 over the whole country to find sustenance, but more particularly 

 that these depredations were chiefly carried on in "the division 

 called Hatfield and the whole district of the Clay ; and that 

 these parts of the county were outside the forest limits accord- 

 ing to the perambulation and inquisition of Edward I." The 

 petitioners were not well advised as to the bounds, and had 

 apparently confused the perambulation of Henry III. with that 

 of Edward I. This petition met with no favour, for it was 

 argued, though incorrectly, that the owners had never before 

 been asked to stint the number of deer, and that it was a 

 request to Parliament to take away the queen's liberty and 

 right without her consent. On a copy of this petition still 

 extant is endorsed : 



" Tis no doubt but that if there were no more than fifty deer in the 

 whole forest, and if it should happen that they were on any one 

 particular man's two or three acres of corn or turnips, they would be 

 sure to lessen his crop; yet he bought the land with the incumbrance, 

 and it is past all dispute that the queen has as much right to it as any 

 man has to his own coat." 



At this period the forest was no source of profit to the 

 Crown, but the contrary. 1,000 a year was granted during 

 Anne's reign to maintain the deer and the new park at Clum- 

 ber, and to hunt with two huntsmen, forty couple of hounds, 

 eleven horses, and four grooms; there were four "forest 

 keepers" at 25 each, and four "deputy purlieu rangers" at 

 10 each ; the winter hay for the deer averaged 100 a year. 



But from 1683 the area of the forest was being constantly 

 curtailed ; in that year 1,270 acres, out of the hays of Bilhagh 

 and the White Lodge, were sold to the Duke of Kingston to 

 * be enclosed within his park of Thoresby. At the beginning of 

 the next century about 3,000 acres of the previous open forest 

 were impaled to protect the deer, under the auspices of the 

 Duke of Newcastle, who was then keeper ; this was called the 

 New Park, and is now known as Clumber Park. Between 

 1789 and 1796 inclusive, Acts were passed for the enclosure 

 of Arnold Forest, Basford Forest, Sutton in Ashfield, Kirby 



