THE HAMPSHIRE ANTIQUARY & NATURALIST. 



37 



county, and the products made from them, concern- 

 ing which I shall be glad to receive any information 

 which I do not already possess. 



A curious little decayed Hampshire manufacture, 

 which is evidently a survival of a larger trade, viz., 

 that of edged tools, is carried on at Conford and 

 Bramshott. It is but a small industry, for the tools 

 are all made by hand from wrought iron, but they are 

 much sought after by harvestmen, copse cutters, and 

 hoop-makers, and they fetch a higher price than the 

 Sheffield articles sold in the shops. Axeheads, hooks, 

 and hoes, &c., are made in these villages. A similar 

 industry formerly existed at Wickham, close to Bere 

 Forest, and I suspect that the supply of charcoal had 

 some connection with the origin of this industry. 



No place in Hampshire appears to have made a 

 braver fight for its local industries than the little town 

 of Fordingbridge, which in addition to its old worsted 

 and canvass trade, formerly carried on calico printing 

 in a small way in various buildings in that town. The 

 manufacture of straw plaited goods used to be a 

 considerable industry at Overton and Christchurch. 



The manufacture of glass which appears to have 

 been carried on in Hampshire for centuries is now 

 extinct, but as late as about 1840 there was some 

 manufactured. Although this county has lost its glass 

 trade, it still supplies raw material for the manu- 

 facture. Some thousands of tons of white sand are 

 annually exported from the Isle of Wight to the glass 

 works in London, Bristol, and elsewhere, and 

 formerly a similar sand was shipped at Eling. 



T. W. SHORE. 



THE NEW FOREST AND ITS VERDERERS. 



Before the reign of King Canute there were no 

 settled laws regarding Royal forests ; kings and their 

 officials then punished those offending, at will. The 

 first Forest Laws are found registered in the "Red 

 Book " of the Exchequer, compiled by Alexander de 

 Swereford, Archdeacon of Shrewsbury, who died 

 i4th November, 1246. These laws (or Charta de 

 Foresta) were enacted at a Parliament held at Win- 

 chester in the first year of Canute, and virtually with 

 amending Acts of 9 Hen. Ill, 21 Edw. I, 33 Edw. I, 

 statute 5 ; 34 Edw. I, i Ed. Ill, cap. 8, st. i ; 32 Hen. 

 VIII, cap. 13 and cap. 35 ; 17 Car. I, cap. 16 ; 9 and 10 

 Will. Ill, cap. 36 ; 48 Geo. Ill, c. 72 ; 14 and 15 Viet., 

 c. 76 (some of which affected the New Forest only) 

 served to regulate the Royal forests until the statute 

 of 1877. 



By section i of this ancient Act of 1016, four free- 

 holders were appointed to administer justice in the 

 Royal forests, the same number as had been used to 

 do so before this date. These four officials were later 

 termed Verderers, so named from their chief duty 

 being to guard the vert, or trees, of the forests. They 

 were regarded as the chief men of the forest, and 



received as their fees two horses, a sword, five lances, 

 a shield, and two hundred shillings annually. They 

 were free from all taxation and liability to serve at 

 Courts outside their own jurisdiction. At first the 

 Verderers held four Svvainmote Courts in 

 the year, to try cases against Vert and 

 Venison, which terms covered everything in the 

 forests. The forest laws greatly regarded the 

 preservation of the Vert of the forest, as without Vert 

 there would have been no shelter for the Royal beasts 

 of the forest. The Vert was of two natures: i. 

 Over Vert or Hault Boys, great timber, trees that 

 bore fruit or no fruit (o\d hollies were included in 

 this term) ; 2. Nether Vert or South Boys, that is 

 underwood, bushes, gorse, etc., and as some think 

 (but improperly) fern and heath. This served and 

 was necessary as covert for the deer. The grace and 

 beauty of the forest depended on the woods then as 

 they do now. The Red Book of the Exchequer tells 

 us that the maintenance of this Vert was necessary to 

 the end that Kings and Princes might be refreshed 

 when laying aside all cares, and be able to breathe 

 awhile refreshed by free liberty. In these later times, 

 it is no less the duty of the Verderers, under statute, 

 to duly preserve ornamental timber and the ancient 

 woods, to refresh not only Royalty but the Com- 

 monalty of the realm. Now, as of old, as was then 

 recorded, if Vert be cut down the forest would soon 

 be no forest, but assarted and a waste. 



Such was the law when William the Conqueror en- 

 larged the then Royal domains in South Hants, which 

 he afforested and called the New Forest. It was 

 enacted, 9 Henry III, that only three Svvainmote 

 Courts should be held annually. By 32 Henry VIII, 

 cap. 13, the enactments regarding drifts of the forest 

 were amended. No stallions over the age of two 

 years, not being 15 hands of 4 inches high, might be 

 turned out after the last day of March. When drifted, 

 any mare or foal deemed not good enough for breed- 

 ing purposes was to be forthwith killed and buried. 

 It is clear that then, three hundred and fifty years 

 ago, attention, as is now, was paid to breeding horses 

 in the New Forest. Tenants, owners and occupiers 

 of de-afforested land enjoyed common rights, if living 

 within the purlieus of the forest, by a clause in 17 

 Charles I, cap. 16 (1641). 



Anciently Verderers were chosen by King's writ, 

 de viridario eligendo, directed to the Sheriff" of the 

 county, who ordered an election by choice or vote of 

 the freeholders. They were selected from esquires, 

 gentlemen of good account, ability, and learning, wise 

 and discreet men, learned in Forest law. The names 

 of the successful candidates by the return of the writ 

 were certified to the Ceurt of Chancery. This procedure 

 was by statute of 34 Edward I. (1306). Verderers, 

 unless by death, could only be discharged from office 

 by Royal writ. Then the chief duties of Verderers 

 were to guard the rights of the Crown ; now their 

 chief concern is to protect the rights of the 

 Commoners from encroachments of the Crown in- 



