THE HAMPSHIRE ANTIQUARY . NATURALIST. 



directly made. By the old forest law the four 

 Verderers or judicial officers of the Crown, one for 

 each \vard or precinct of the forest, were sworn to 

 maintain and keep the assize or laws of the forest ; 

 also to view, receive, and inrol the attachments and 

 punishments of the trespasses of Vert or of Venison ; 

 of Assarts, or conversions of land into arable by 

 destruction of Vert ; of Purprcstures, or building 

 houses in inclosures by which the forest would 

 become populated, or the wrongful occupation of 

 land ; of Agistincnt, or taking in of cattle, &c. , to 

 graze in the King's domains ; of Pannage, or feeding 

 of swine on mast in the King's woods ; of Fcnccmontli 

 for fawning, fifteen days before Midsummer day to 

 fifteen days after, when all cattle were drifted and 

 turned out of the forest and no one allowed to 

 wander there ; of Common and Commoners and of 

 Drift, which were always twice in the year, viz., in 

 fence-month and on Holy Rood day (i4th Sept.), and 

 as often as deemed necessary. Verderers by the 

 Charter or Act of 1016 held full power. If assaulted 

 by a person, the latter lost his freedom and all his 

 goods ; if he were not a freeman, his right hand was 

 cut off. On a second offence his life was forfeited. 

 It" anyone brought a suit against a Verderer he 

 forfeited all he was worth. Verderers by this ancient 

 la\v had the right of trying an offender by ordeal, or 

 trial of fire or of water. The former was that the 

 prisoner had to carry in his hand a hot piece of iron 

 so many paces, or to walk barefooted over so many 

 red hot plough-shares. If he did so without harm to 

 himself he was considered innocent ; but if otherwise 

 guilty. The trial by water was to totally immerse the 

 prisoner in hot or cold water. If the accused person 

 remained there without struggling for a certain time 

 he was free ; if otherwise he was punished. 



There were three kinds of Courts held in the forest, 

 formerly ; i, the Court of Attachments or Woodmote, 

 to receive the attachments, and to enter them in the 

 rolls ; 2, the Court of Swainmote, where offenders 

 were tried and remanded for judgment (all matters 

 for the management of the forest were also considered 

 in this Court) ; 3, the Court of Chief Justice in Eyre, 

 or Justice Seat of Forest, which was the General 

 Sessions, where judgments were given and fines 

 assessed. The Verderers held the Woodmotes once 

 every forty days during the year. No one could be 

 attached personally, unless taken within the forest, 

 otherwise by his goods only at this Court ; on due 

 evidence prisoners were remitted for trial to the 

 Swainmotes (i Ed. Ill, c. 8). Three Svvainmotes 

 were held in each year : (i) i5th day before Michael- 

 mas, when matters connected with agistments in the 

 woods were gone into ; (2) on the feast of St. Martin 

 (loth November) ; (3) fifteen days before the feast of 

 St. John Baptist (241!! June), to arrange for fence 

 month. At these Courts freeholders had to attend to 

 serve on juries. The Court of the Chief Justice in 

 Eyre was held once every three years, or as often as 

 requisite, on receipt of the King's Commission, 



when a precept was sent to the Sheriff of the count}-. 

 At this Court all Verderers had to appear under fine, 

 with all high officials of the county, and a jury was 

 sworn. The Verderers presented the rolls of offences 

 passed at the Woodmotes and Swainmotes under 

 their seals ; all matters appertaining to the forest 

 were looked into, especially those connected with the 

 Verderers' duties, to ascertain whether these were 

 properly carried out ; all strangers who had turned 

 cattle or horses into the forest were presented aud 

 fined, but an appeal was allowed if demanded. At 

 this Court only were judgments delivered and fines 

 assessed. The law differed from the usual law of the 

 realm, as shown in the Red Book of the Exchequer. 

 The Chief Justice in Eyre could at this Court depute 

 his authority to another, but this could not be done 

 elsewhere than in Royal forests ; this was by 32 Hen. 

 VIII, cap. 35. 



Until the passing of the New torest Act, 1877, Ver- 

 derers from the first afforestation were elected by the 

 freeholders of the countyasabove stated, and the}' acted 

 more or less under the old forest laws, matters being 

 for many years before this date carried on very easily. 

 The Courts of Woodmote and Swainmote were, or 

 should have been, held as has been described. The 

 office of Chief Justice in Eyre at last fell into abey- 

 ance ; Mr. Thomas Grenville was the last of them, he 

 died circa 1847. At this latter period, the chief duties 

 of the Verderers were to prevent encroachments on 

 the herbage by the Crown and to maintain the rights 

 of the Commoners. The vigorous action of the New 

 Forest Commoners' Association, maintained for some 

 years, at last brought about a better state of affairs. 

 By the New Forest Act, 1877, six elective Verderers 

 were appointed instead of four, as formerly, and, in 

 addition, one Official Verderer, who was to act as 

 Chairman of the Court; these, unlike their prede- 

 cessors, were to take no oath or declaration on enter- 

 ing office. The duties of the new Verderers by this 

 Act are chiefly : 



1. To see that no more land is inclosed than authorised 

 by the Act, i.e., 16,000 acres at one time. 



2. To maintain the picturesque character of the forest. 



3. To preserve the ancient ornamental woods and trees, 

 and to provide wood for fuel rights without sacrifice of 

 these or ornamental timber. 



4. To expend the purchase money paid by the London 

 and South-Western Railway Company, which was set 

 apart for her Majesty and the commoners, and to see it so 

 expended for their benefit within a certain specified 

 period. 



5. To appoint and dismiss forest officials and servants. 



6. To order drifts of the forest, as thought expedient. 



7. To levy sums from commoners by rate and payments, 

 not exceeding a schedule, in order to pay the expenses of 

 their Court and officials ; the expenses of an election of 

 Verderers to be paid out of the Verderers' funds. 



8. To inquire into unlawful inclosures, purprestures, 

 encroachments, and trespasses within the forest, and to 

 levy fines for such offences. 



9. To punish offenders, and to perform all acts, powers, 

 &c., as the Verderers in their Courts of Attachment or 

 Swainmotes are by any law, statute, or custom authorised 



