302 THE ROYAL FORESTS OF ENGLAND 



the rest of the Duchy of Lancaster, until the time of Charles II., 

 when it was formally disafforested, and found its way into the 

 hands of speculators in waste lands. Various Tudor com- 

 missions show that the timber suffered severely from the 

 inroads made on it to supply charcoal for the iron foundries. 



In the early part of Edward I.'s reign, the free chace and 

 warren of Ashdown were held by the king's mother. Pro- 

 ceedings were taken in 1283 against divers persons for hunting 

 and carrying away deer and rabbits from her park at Maresfield. 

 In 1297, Edward I. granted Thomas Paynel licence for life to 

 hunt with his own dogs, the fox, hare, cat, and badger in the 

 king's forest of Ashdown except during fence month ; it 

 was also specially stipulated that he did not take deer, nor 

 course in the king's warrens. On 3Oth July of that year, the 

 king appointed Walter Waldeshef to the bailiwick of the 

 forestership of Ashdown, on condition that he answered for the 

 same in like manner as his predecessors. Ashdown was a 

 favourite hunting resort of James I., and it was well stocked with 

 deer. The Parliamentary Survey of its seven wards is extant, 

 as well as a great variety of papers of earlier date. The his- 

 tory of this and the other forests of Sussex yet remains to 

 be written, though certain contributions in that direction were 

 made by Mr. W. S. Ellis in his Parks and Forests of Sussex, 

 published in 1885. 



St. Leonards Forest lies north-east of Horsham, and forms 

 part of the great parish of Beeching. It would be more correct 

 to speak of St. Leonards Chace ; the whole body of the forest 

 law never prevailed here, as it was granted in early days by 

 the Crown to the Braose family. An entry in the Patent Rolls 

 of ist September, 1295, relative to a raid in this district on deer, 

 hares, rabbits, pheasants, herons, and fish, when the owner 

 was absent on the king's service in Wales, styles it the free 

 chace of William Braose, called the forest of St. Leonards 

 (liberam chaciam Willelmi de Breiaosa que vocatur foresta sancti 

 Leonardi}. Four years later a like entry on the same rolls rela- 

 tive to deer poaching describes it as the free chace of William 

 Braose at St. Leonards. 



The forest of Arundel, though of limited extent, was well 

 stocked, and formed an important adjunct of the honor of 

 Arundel. The forest pertained to the earls of Arundel, as is 



