THE RED DEER'S HOME 17 



North country. The most famous of these was 

 Inglewood. This forest belonged to the Crown, and 

 included a large portion of the Eden Valley. West- 

 ward it stretched away towards the marshes of the 

 Solway, which have often engulfed fine stags in their 

 fatal quicksands. It was on the edge of this forest 

 that the monks of Holme Cultram Abbey felled the 

 timber required for the purposes of their large estab- 

 lishment. The monks were required to guard the 

 safety and convenience of the royal quarry. These 

 animals frequently quitted the glades of the oak 

 woods to ravage the standing crops in the vicinity. 



It was as a compensation for the damage caused 

 by roving deer that Edward III. bestowed certain 

 privileges of grazing upon the inhabitants of towns 

 like Penrith, which chanced to be situated in prox- 

 imity to the forest. The same monarch found it 

 difficult to protect his deer from the incursions of 

 Scottish noblemen who proved apt in extending the 

 royal grants with more freedom than probably pleased 

 the English foresters. The exploit of 'Hartshorn 

 Tree ' illustrates the splendid endurance of a West- 

 morland stag. This animal was found in Whinfell 

 Park where the osprey used to nest, and was coursed 

 by a single hound. The stag took a northerly 

 course, and crossed the Esk and the smaller tributary 



c 



