A HISTORY OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 



also protruded into Buckinghamshire, extending 

 in old days over the whole of the parish of 

 Hanslope as well as in the adjacent parts. Han- 

 slope gave its name to one of the walks of this 

 old forest. In 1825 An Act for Dividing, Allot- 

 ting and Inclosing the Forest of Salcey, in the 

 Counties of Northampton and Buckingham, was 

 passed. 



The fourth of the Buckinghamshire forests, 

 that of Bernwood, was by far the most important 

 so far as this county was concerned. Bernwood 

 Forest stretched out far into Oxfordshire, em- 

 bracing the subsidiary forest stretches of Shotover 

 and Stowood, and approaching almost to the very 

 walls of Oxford by way of Headington. But 

 the larger section of Bernwood Forest as well as 

 the centre of its government was always in 

 Buckinghamshire. In that county the consider- 

 able projection, about the centre of the western 

 border, which included the parishes of Boarstall, 

 Brill, Oakley, Worminghall, Long Crendon, 

 Ashendon, Chilton, Dorton, Ludgershall, and 

 Wotton Underwood, were always within Bern- 

 wood Forest ; whilst for a long time it extended 

 much further north to the Claydons, as well as 

 further to the centre or east. Its exact boundaries 

 cannot readily be determined, they fluctuated 

 much at different periods, some of the old 

 perambulations are difficult to decipher, and the 

 identification of several of the places named as 

 bounds is peculiarly difficult. 



The earlier Norman kings added largely to the 

 area of Bernwood Forest on the Buckingham- 

 shire side, until a considerable section of the 

 county was subject to the severity of the forest 

 laws. By the Forest Charter granted at the 

 opening of the reign of Henry III, it was pro- 

 vided that all forests which Henry II had af- 

 forested should be viewed by good and lawful 

 men, and that all that had been made forest, 

 other than royal demesne, since his coronation, 

 was forthwith to be disafforested. In accordance 

 with this charter special perambulations were 

 ordered to be made by not less than twelve 

 knights elected for that purpose before March, 

 1224-5. 



There seems to have been some special delay 

 in the case of Buckinghamshire, or else disputes 

 caused the perambulations to be ere long repeated ; 

 for there is a verdict of twenty-four knights 

 extant of 1228 de metis foreste in Com. Buc. 

 This perambulation, starting from a ford over the 

 Thame, went as far north as Steeple Claydon, and 

 much was stated to have never before been con- 

 . sidered forest. On the back of this small docu- 

 ment appear the names of the twenty-four 

 knights, including Robert Fitzalan, Walter de 

 Fulebrot, Ralph Fitzjohn and Ralph de Lang- 

 port. 4 



There is also extant at the Record Office a 



4 Misc. Chan. Forest Proc. bdle. 1 1, file I, Nos. 14, 

 15. These documents are in part illegible. 



perambulation of the year 1298, which was 

 undertaken in the presence of John FitzNeal, 

 the chief forester or warden, of four foresters, of 

 four verderers, of two elected knights, and of two 

 Crown commissioners. The following is a careful 

 English rendering of this perambulation, but it is 

 difficult to follow. The stream called the Yhyst 

 may be identical with the one now called the 

 Ray, which crossed into Oxfordshire to the west 

 of Grendon Underwood : 



Imprimis to wit at a certain stream which is called 

 Yhyst and therefrom going up towards Hethenaburgh 

 and so to Stodfolddem and so from thence to Pedyngton 

 [Piddington] moore and so stretching to a certain place 

 called le Dedequene beyond the lord King's wood, 

 [Kingswood] and so going up through Lotegershale 

 [Ludgershall] Hay between the wood of the King's 

 demesne and Lotegershele Wood as far as Colleputtes 

 And so from thence to the Brechs and so from thence 

 going down to the stream to Brechehurne And so to 

 Coppedhegge and then proceeding outside the haye to 

 Todeleshall corner And from thence between the 

 King's wood and the wood of Richard Grenoile de 

 Wotton to Siketon as far as Colhurch on the east 

 And so proceeding by the aforesaid wood to War- 

 borughwell Books (?) And from thence to Tremeren 

 and so to Wolvesthorpe and so to Dreyhurst And 

 from thence through the stream to Phippenhoohurne 

 and so to Aylyenewellesture and from thence to 

 Whithorn and so across the Quareinte which is called 

 Burnegrove to Brehull [Brill] forks And from thence 

 to Morlesmede and so to Aysshegh without the mes- 

 suage of Walter de Byllyndon And so direct through 

 Alkedonemersh to Apcrofte and thence by the Porte- 

 weye to Stamford And so between Wormenhael 

 [Worminghall] Field to le Wykehouse And from 

 thence to Gulpesmede And so by the ridge of 

 Delefield to le Spanne And so to Stonyhurstend 

 And so from thence to Honybrugge and from thence 

 to Stonyhurstende and from thence to Hildesle and 

 from thence to Ffoulesle and then to Okelyngoke 

 through the stream to Waterfall in Smythedene And 

 from thence to South Wellredy And thence to 

 Southwell and thence to Halsadetonge and so to 

 Gashale and then to Grymes dich and so to Stony- 

 crouch and thence to Merlakebrugge And so always 

 by the bounds in the counties of Bucks and Oxon to 

 the aforesaid stream of Yhyst.' 



It has been supposed that the name Bernwood 

 had relation to Bernulph, the successor of 

 Kenulph and grandson of King Offa, but this, 

 as Lipscombe remarks, is mere conjecture. 

 There is, however, no doubt that it was an 

 extensive and well-wooded forest tract that per- 

 tained to the Saxon monarchy for a long time 

 previous to the Norman Conquest. Brill, which 

 was within the confines of Buckinghamshire, 

 was a royal manor of importance in Saxon times, 

 and said to have been an occasional residence of 

 the Confessor. A royal precept of Henry I 

 (1109-11) relative to the canons of Gloucester 

 is dated from Brill. 6 



5 Exch. Accts. Forest Proc. K.R. bdle. i, No. 8. 



6 Royal Chart. Duchy of Lane. No. z. 



132 



