FORESTRY 



the case with the Peak forest ; but in proportion to its area, the number and variety of such grants 

 were greater than in any other English forest. The nature, date, and extent of such grants are 

 noted elsewhere ; it will here suffice just to name the houses chiefly concerned : Basingwerk 

 abbey, Flint ; Roche abbey, Yorks ; Welbeck abbey and Lenton priory, Notts ; the abbeys of 

 Dernhall and Vale Royal, Cheshire ; Leicester abbey and Launde priory, Leicestershire ; 

 Deulacres abbey, Staffordshire ; Lilleshull, Salop ; Merivale, Warwickshire ; and Beauchief 

 and Darley abbeys, and Kingsmead priory, Derbyshire. 



The accounts rendered by Robert de Ashbourn, bailiff of the forest and castle of the 

 Peak for the year 1235-6, are of much interest. The receipts amounted to ,201 2s. io^d., 

 whilst the expenses were 184 12s. -jd. In this year the king visited Peak Castle, when 

 Bailiff Ashbourn, as lord of the jurisdiction, presented him with four wild boars, 1 and forty- 

 two geese, charging i6s. ^d. for the same in his accounts. The castle that year underwent 

 considerable repairs. 10 is. 8^., fees from the pleas of the hundred or wapentake court, were 

 among the receipts, and we suppose that the sums of 6 igs. tfd. and 39 19;. 6d., from the 

 two respective itineraries made through the demesnes and forests, represent the fines, etc., 

 accruing respectively from the manorial and the swainmote courts. 3 



The forest justices held their eyre for the Peak in 1216. This was followed by an 

 interval of thirty-five years, for the next pleas were not held until 1251. Of these pleas, 

 held before Geoffrey Langley and other justices, very full records are extant. 8 



The following were the bailiffs of the honour of the Peak during the period covered by 

 this eyre. William Ferrers, earl of Derby, 1216-1222: Brian de Insula, 1222-1228: 

 Robert de Lexington, 1228-1233: Ralph FitzNicholas, 1233-1234: John Goband, 

 1234-1237 : Thomas de Furnival, 1237 (for six months) : Warner Engaine, 12371242 : 

 John de Grey, 1242-1248 : and William de Horsenden, 1249. They were appointed by 

 crown patents. 



The presentments of venison trespasses were made by the hereditary foresters and the 

 verderers. This roll is headed by the wholesale charge made against William de Ferrers, 

 earl of Derby (who had died in 1246), in conjunction with Ralph de Beaufoy of Trusley, 

 William May, the earl's huntsman, Richard Curzon of Chaddesden, and Henry de Elton, of 

 having taken in the king's forest of the Peak during the six years when the earl was bailiff 

 (1216-1222) upwards of 2,000 head of game (deer). Ralph, Robert, and Henry appeared and 

 on conviction were imprisoned : but they were released on paying heavy fines and finding 

 twelve mainpernors for their good conduct. Robert Curzon was fined ^40 ; the first of his 

 twelve mainpernors was William Curzon of Croxall. Ralph Beaufoy was fined jCio ; the first 

 of his mainpernors was Sir William de Meysam. May, the huntsman, did not appear ; it was 

 reported he was in Norfolk, and the justices ordered him to be attached. If the full actual 

 pleadings were extant, there can be no doubt, judging from the customs of other forests, that 

 the companions of the earl would have been able to show that a considerable percentage of 

 the deer taken when he held office were fee deer to which he was entitled by usage for 

 himself and his deputies, and that many others were the usual and recognised gifts to the 

 country gentlemen of the district to secure their good-will towards the king's forest. It 

 must be remembered, too, that it was always customary at these eyres to present lists of 

 all the deer killed, including those taken by express warrant or custom. Nevertheless there 

 was obviously something quite unwarrantable in the amount taken during that period (over 

 300 a year), as is shown by the heavy fines imposed upon the hunting comrades of the 

 deceased earl. 



Many of the other offenders were men of considerable position, such as Thomas Gresley, 

 Alan his brother, Ralph Hamilton, the earl of Arundel, Geoffrey de Nottingham, Ralph Bigod 

 (brother of the earl of Norfolk), Thomas de Furnival, and Robert le Breton, who was 

 fined 20. Four or five of these charges, which exceeded one hundred in number, related 

 to secular clergy. 



1 ' Porcis ' : this is the term used for the wild boar in various early forest accounts, and it probably 

 here represents the wild and not the domestic pig. 



3 Exch. Q. R. Accounts, Forests, ^. 



8 Duchy of Lane. Forest Proc. 36 Hen. III. English abstracts of most of the rolls of 

 this eyre have been given by the writer of the Feudal Hist, of Derbyshire, vol. iii ; but there are many 

 wrong renderings, as well as important omissions ; e.g., ' the monks of Derby ' proves to be montales, the 

 nuns, i.e., of Kingsmead ; the Latin terms for the red and fallow deer are confused ; whilst the unhappy 

 blunder is repeated several times of translating capreolus, the roebuck, as ' wildgoat.' Feton, a fawn, is 

 rendered seton throughout, and the origin of the latter imaginary term is freely discussed ! 



I 401 51 



