THE FOREST OF ROCKINGHAM 249 



in attendance as officials at this eyre amounted to the consider- 

 able number of 221. 



Those who put in their claims to their respective liberties in 

 the forest were the abbots of Peterborough, Pipewell, and 

 Croyland ; the prior of Fineshead ; the prioress of St. Michael 

 of Stamford; and the master of the College of Fotheringhay ; 

 together with a variety of claims from lay-folk, mostly of 

 a small character. 



The venison presentments at this court, covering the period 

 of the first five years of the reign, made by the foresters, ver- 

 derers, and regarders were considerable, and included the 

 legal distributions made by the master forester as keeper. 

 They also presented many others, knights and esquires, for 

 killing ninety-nine deer, during the same period, with dogs 

 and bows and arrows contra statutum et assisum foreste ; 

 probably some of these changes were in the main covered by 

 some real or imaginary permit or right ; but they are mostly 

 endorsed on the margin Coram Rege, and must therefore have 

 been referred for the decision of the ordinary justices of the 

 Crown. Separate presentments were made, under a different 

 heading, of eighteen charges of deer-slaying against yeomen 

 and husbandmen, several of which were by night, and may 

 be considered as ordinary poaching charges. In all these 

 cases the sheriff was ordered to apprehend the offenders and to 

 deliver them at Westminster for trial. There were also certain 

 charges against the foresters themselves, and in these cases the 

 offenders were admitted to bail. 



In the vert pleas, presentments were also made of the 

 authorised cases of felling timber for specific purposes, or in 

 compliance with letters and warrants ; of cases of officials 

 acting against the assize of the forest with regard to cutting 

 down trees or clearing coppices, which were referred Coram 

 Rege ; and also of upwards of fifty cases of the alleged illegal 

 removal of trees and underwood, etc., by foresters and other 

 transgressors. 



An interesting case of encroachment and enclosure came 

 before the court. John Zouch had enclosed with "dykes, 

 quyksettes, and clausures " certain common ground and pas- 

 ture at Cokendale and Wrenstye adjoining the forest, against 

 which action the king's tenants and farmers of the lordships of 



