THE BIRDS 



OF 



SHERWOOD FOREST. 



CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



THE ancient forest of Sherwood was, in days gone by, 

 of far greater extent than it is at present, spreading 

 northwards from Nottingham to beyond Worksop, a 

 distance of from twenty-five to thirty miles, and ranging 

 from seven to ten miles in breadth. Its capabilities for 

 the chase were indeed so great as very early to attract 

 the attention of royalty, and the estate surrounding the 

 palace of Clipstone (which, indeed, having been a park 

 before the Norman Conquest, is one of the oldest in 

 England), was seized by William the Conqueror, and 

 made a royal demesne. I am not aware whether he 

 enlarged or rebuilt the residence of Clipstone, but he 

 was partial to its seclusion when he relaxed from the 

 cares of government, though now a few shapeless ruins 

 alone stand to attest its former grandeur and importance. 

 It was here, on his return from the Crusades, that 

 Richard Cceur de Lion received the congratulations of 

 the King of Scotland, and it was a favourite resort of 

 both John and Edward I. Edward II. kept his Christ- 



B 



