THE RED DEEKS HOME u 



members of the herd. In old days these individuals 

 would no doubt have fallen an easy prey to the packs 

 of wolves which once infested our English forests. 

 Indeed it seems not unlikely that some at least of 

 the stags which perished in the sands of Morecambe 

 Bay were driven out into the open parts of the 

 estuary when pursued by wolves, which were once 

 extremely numerous in Furness. In feudal days our 

 Lakeland deer were hunted alike by clergy and laity. 

 A number of lawsuits originated in hunting disputes, 

 which naturally roused keen feeling on both sides. 

 The law no doubt often adjusted the differences of 

 neighbours in a friendly fashion. Thus, when a 

 decision was given in the King's Court at West- 

 minster between Alan de Muleton and his wife Alicia, 

 plaintiffs, and Lambert de Muleton and his wife 

 Amabilis, concerning the moiety of the manors of 

 Egremunt, Aspatric, Caudebek, and Brathwayt, a 

 clause was inserted expressly stipulating that if a deer 

 should be roused on the lands of Lambert and 

 Amabilis, their huntsmen and hounds should have the 

 right to follow and take the quarry in the land of 

 Alan and Alicia, without hindrance, as well as the 

 converse. The deer in those days were fenced in 

 by hunting * hays.' The fences were repaired by the 

 smaller tenants in obedience to the request of the 



