THE FOREST OF ROCKINGHAM 247 



to produce at the forest pleas if anyone had aught further to 

 say against him. In the same year the steward had like order to 

 release on bail another trespass prisoner, unless he had been 

 used to offend in the forest. In 1282 two prisoners were 

 released on bail by the king's orders, and in 1283 eleven more 

 venison trespassers, one of whom, Roger Acle, was a clerk. 



A perambulation of 1 286, ordered by Edward I. , bears witness 

 to the vast extent of the technical forest of Rockingham at that 

 date ; it extended from the south bridge of Northampton to the 

 bridge of Stamford, a distance of thirty-three miles, and from 

 the river Nene on the east to the Welland and the Maidwell 

 stream on the north-west, yielding an average breadth of 

 between seven and eight miles. But when Edward I. formally 

 confirmed the Great Charter in 1299, the forest bounds were 

 more carefully investigated, and the limits of the 1286 per- 

 ambulation were a good deal reduced, the new afforesting of 

 Henry II. in several directions being struck out. The land 

 that was then disafforested became purlieu. 



It may be well to refer to just a few of the many incidents 

 affecting this forest during the long reign of Edward III. 



In 1331, Nicholas, abbot of the Cistercian house of 

 Pipewell, with two of his monks and another offender, were 

 imprisoned at Rockingham for trespasses of both vert and 

 venison ; they obtained letters from Edward III. to the keeper 

 of the forest to release them on bail until the next eyre 

 was held. This order had to be strongly repeated, the keeper 

 being accused of keeping the abbot and others in prison to 

 satisfy his malice ; eventually they were released on bail in 

 chancery. 



In 1342 the keeper and other ministers of the forest of Rock- 

 ingham were ordered to permit the provost and chaplains of the 

 college or chantry of Cotterstock to have the tenths of assarts 

 and wastes within the forest. In accordance with the king's 

 letters to them, Edward II. had granted to John Gifford, his 

 clerk, right of common for all his animals and cattle within the 

 forest, and subsequently power to assign this grant to the 

 provost and chaplains of this new foundation. The grant 

 of the tenths was to cover various newly-made assarts. 



The ministers' accounts for 1461-2 show that Robert Roos 

 had succeeded to the keepership of the castle and forest, on 



