A HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND 



Whether the wooded tracts of Cumberland were originally 'forests' 

 in the legal and technical sense of having been afforested and brought 

 under the jurisdiction of the Justices in Eyre, foresters, and minor 

 officials, or whether they were merely called ' forest ' after the manner 

 still customary of using the words forest and woodland as more or less 

 synonymous terms, does not seem clear from any of the works published 

 concerning the history and antiquities of this county. 



The actual afforestation or afforestations made to the south of 

 Carlisle probably date from the reign of Henry II., who had a passion 

 for this exercise of the royal prerogative, though they may possibly be 

 older. According to the perambulation of 1300 (29 Edward I.) there 

 was only one royal forest in Cumberland, i.e., one forest in the true 

 sense of the term ; and this was the forest of Englewood or Inglewood. 

 This was a large tract of more than 1 50 square miles, stretching south- 

 wards, south-west and south-east from close to the city of Carlisle away 

 to a distance of about 16 miles, and with a breadth of about 10 miles. 

 It included the woodlands of Inglewood between the Caldew and Petterel 

 rivers, those of West Ward to the south of the Wampool, part of what is 

 now Greystoke Park, and Plumpton Park between the Petterel and the 

 Eden, together with all the tillage, pasturage and waste lands lying within 

 the boundaries perambulated and detailed in the record. 1 



Soon after this, the inhabitants of 'Penreth Sakeld at Soureby,' 

 within the Inglewood Forest, petitioned the King that their lands were 

 wasted by the Scots and their corn destroyed by ' the wild beasts of the 

 forest,' and on 26 October 1301 letters patent were issued granting 

 them the perpetual privilege of common of pasturage for all their cattle 

 within the said forest in as ample a manner as the prior of Carlisle, and 

 William English, and other tenants holding similar privilege by royal 

 grant ; and this right of user was granted ' without interference by our- 

 selves or our heirs, justices, foresters, verderers, regarders, agistors, 

 bailiffs, or any other of our other officials of the forest.' a Tithes in 

 the forest of Inglewood had previously been granted by King Edward 

 I. to the prior and canons of Carlisle in a deed dated 5 December 

 I2 93 . 3 



The only other sanctuaries for game of any considerable size left 

 in the county (and probably still partially wooded) was what is known 

 as the 'forest of Copeland,' afterwards called Egremont, lying to the 

 south of the four lakes (Thirlmere, Derwentwater, Crummock Water, 

 and Ennerdale Water) towards the south-western corner of the county, 

 Geltstone or Geltsdale forest (including Breirthwaite or Tarnhouse 

 Forest) south-east of Castle Carrock, and Nichol forest in the north-east 

 of the county. These were, however, not forests but chases. Thus, the 

 barony of Copeland was granted by Ranulph de Meschines to his brother 

 William, who built the Castle of Egremont and made various grants of 



1 This perambulation has been printed by Nicolson and Burn, Hist, of Cumb. ii. 522 

 3 See transcript of original grant given in Nicolson, of. cit. i. 315. 

 ' Ibid. p. 546. 



498 



