A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



To the small priory of Pynham this William d'Albini, the second, gave annually thirteen loads of 

 wood from his forest of Arundel, for the fuel of their house and the repair of the bridge of wood, 

 as well as pannage for their swine 'sine numero,' both in his park and his forest. 



All these alienations of the woodland of the forest operated, in a manner, as so many imperla in 

 imperio, and could hardly fail to give rise to conflicting claims, with their resultant encounters, legal 

 or personal. And thus, as a matter of fact, such contested rights brought about so many disputes, 

 legal and otherwise, that a great deal of the history of this forest is derived from records of such 

 proceedings. 



When after the death of William, the fourth d'Albini, his heir Hugh succeeded, his long 

 minority having come to an end in 1234, he found the lengthy period during which his estates had 

 been in the hands of the weak king, Henry III, had sufficed for various encroachments as he viewed 

 them to arise within his forest. Chief of these was the claim of the archbishops to hunt, not only 

 in their manor of Slindon and its park, which lay within the forest bounds, but also over the earl's 

 estate, as part of their right to hunt in all the forests of the realm, the archbishop ignoring its limitation, 

 viz., to the occasions when the primates were journeying on visitations. The dispute was at last 

 settled by compromise, twenty years after, and the king's seal confirmed the same. 80 By this 

 agreement it was provided that the archbishop, when going to or from his manor of Slindon, might, 

 after due notice to the earl's foresters, hunt once a year with six greyhounds, and no other kind of 

 hound, neither with bows nor arrows, while if the ecclesiastical hunters took more deer than one, the 

 best should be retained by the archbishop, and the remainder delivered to the forest officers for the 

 earl's use. The earl, on his part, agreed to render annually at the manor house of Slindon thirteen 

 bucks or harts of grece, and thirteen does or hinds from his forest of Arundel. 



Another encroachment suffered by the earls with respect to their forest was at Halnaker, at the 

 hands of John de St. John, 81 its lord, who had enlarged ' Halfnaker parcus ' by annexing sixty acres 

 of his overlord's land, ' to the prejudice of Arundel Chace.' But the earl himself was not innocent 

 of offence, for some years earlier the jurors of the Hundred Rolls complained that 'whereas the lord 

 of Arundel was wont to hold the court of Woodplayt once a year, he now holds it every month ' 

 (per tres septimanas in tribus ieptimanii). It is difficult to see which of the forest-courts is intended 

 by the 'Woodplayt,' since if the complainants meant the ' Woodmote,' monthly session was correct. 

 They could not have referred to the 'Eyre,' held by justices of the forest at more or less generally 

 more lengthy intervals ; nor does it appear likely they intended to say ' Swainmote,' or court of 

 attachment, since that was held three times a year. ' Woodplayt ' sometimes appears as ' Wudplat,' 

 and is a corrupt abbreviated compound of ' Wud ' (for wood), and ' plat ' (for p/acitum, a plea), i.e. 

 pleas in causes relating to the woodlands. 



In 1274, the honour of Arundel was again in the king's hands on the death of its lord, and, 

 together with the custody of the forest, was committed to John de Wanton, 82 ' during the king's 

 pleasure.' This appears to have been short-lived, since two years after it was granted to Ralph de 

 Sandwich, seneschal of the king. 83 In this grant the king calls the forest ' Our wood,' as he does 

 two years later in making Emericus de Cancellario its ' custos,' 84 when reference is also made to yet 

 another keeper of the forest in the clause ' so that he [Emericus] answer for the revenues thence 

 arising, from the time when Henry de Nauberg was its custodian.' 



The profits and perquisites of such keepers were evidently considerable, for in some cases they 

 paid for their posts ; as, for instance, in 1271, the keeper of part of Arundel Forest, the park and 

 'walk' of Ruell, made an annual render of a silver cup worth 135. 4^. (one mark) for his post, 

 which the earl granted him by charter, 85 while the forester of Charlton paid 12s. yearly in lieu of 

 rendering twelve silver spoons. 86 



Some years later the archbishop obtained a commission to try Robert de Morleye, Thomas de 

 Hevere, and others for breaking into the park of his manor of Slindon, hunting and carrying away 

 deer. 67 



Nearly forty years later the earl of Arundel and the archbishop, Simon Islip, came to an agree- 

 ment in the matter of the annual render of the twenty-six deer from his forest to the archbishop. 

 By the payment of 240 marks to the primate he was induced to forgo for ever this perennial due of_ 

 venison. 88 The sum seems excessive, but even if there were no other considerations the actual 

 expenses of this render of venison were considerable, 59*. lid. being paid to archers and hunters 

 with their dogs taking deer for the archbishop in Arundel Forest during the week before Lent, 1274, 

 and another 735. 4^. for eleven days' similar work about the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed 

 Virgin. 89 Similar troubles arose with other neighbours from kindred causes, the existence 

 namely of that imperium in imperio caused by the possession of sporting lands and rights by one lord 



80 Cat. Chart. R. ii, 187. el Inq. p.m. 10 Edw. I, No. 38. "* Orig. R. 3 Edw. I, m. 35. 



83 Ibid. 5 Edw. I, m. i. M Ibid. 7 Edw. I, m. 4. K Escheat Roll, 56 Hen. III. 



66 Mins. Accts. bdle. 1019, No. 22. s; Pat. 17 Edw. II, pt. I, m. 



68 Lit. Cant. (Rolls Ser.), ii, 432. * 9 Mins. Accts. bdle. 1019, No. 22. 



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