94 



DEER AND DEER PARKS. 



Ch. IV. 



with a stone wauUe.' ' This park contains 

 340 acres, and is well-stocked with deer." 

 In 1583, it belonged to Sir John Horsey, 

 and contained deer, being in compass two 

 miles.' Within the ancient forest now 

 called the Valeof Blackmoreor Blakemore, 

 is Stock, where William de Cantilupe is 

 recognised as the possessor of a park in 

 the thirty-second of Henry HI.* This ap- 

 pears to be the oldest existing park in the 

 county; it is an enclosure of 116 acres, 

 with a herd of 70 fallow-deer. 



Another ancient park exists at Melbury, 

 the seat of the Earl of Ilchester, which 

 belonged to his ancestors in the female 

 line, the ancient family of Strangways. It 

 is thus mentioned in Leland's ' Itinerary :' 

 ' This is a fair park hard by the manor 

 place of Milbyri, and yn this park is a pond, 

 out of the wich issueth a broketh, that with 

 the course of a right few miles goith into 

 Ivelle Ryver;'* and again : ' Mr. Strang- 

 ways now and late began to builde richely 

 at his commune dwelling House in Mil- 

 byri Parke, and caussed three thousand 

 lode of free-stone to be fetched from 

 Hamden Quarre nine myles of thither.' ^ 

 'Thens,' continues Leland, 'a myle to 

 Tonmer Parke, encompasyd with a stone 

 wauUe.' This park does not appear in 

 the old surveys. Melbury Park contains 

 160 acres, with a herd of about 400 fallow- 

 deer. It contained deer and was in cir- 

 cuit one mile and a half in 1583.' 



Hooke or Hoke Park, now disparked, is 

 also noticed by Leland, 'having an aun- 

 cient manor place, an it is but a mile 



' Leland's Itin. vol. vii. p. 109, fol. 79 b. 



* New Display of the Beauties of England, 

 vol. il. p. 340. 



' S. P. O. Domestic, 1583. 



• Cal. Pat. Rolls, p. 22. 



and i by est south est to Bemistre." In 

 1583, this park, containing deer, and in 

 compass one mile, belonged to the Mar- 

 quis of Winchester.' 



On the confines of Devonshire, not far 

 from Axminster, were two parks, called 

 Crekelade and Marshwood, adjoining. 

 They once belonged to Geoffrey de Mag- 

 neville. Earl of Essex, and afterwards to 

 Lionel, Duke of Clarence.' Crekelade be- 

 longed to one Mr. Baker, in Kent, in 1583. 

 The park was in compass two miles or 

 thereabouts, but was then disparked and 

 converted into pasture and tillage.' 



Marshwood, at the same period, was 

 the property of Sir Amias Paulet. It was 

 also disparked and converted into divers 

 tenements, and had been three miles in 

 circuit.' Near these parks, on the sea- 

 coast, is Chadiocke, where there was a 

 disparked park in compass a mile and 

 a half in 1583, belonging to Sir John 

 Arundel, Knight f and another at Wotton, 

 near Cricklade, also without deer in 

 1583.' 



Returning westwards, towards Dor- 

 chester, a small park at Milton Abbey 

 may be noticed. Though it was not an 

 ancient park, having been enclosed about 

 seventy years ago, it contained 90 acres 

 and 300 fallow-deer, and was disparked 

 about the year i860. 



Both Saxton and Speede recognise a 

 park at Athelhampton, or Addlemaston, 

 west of Dorchester. It was an ancient 

 seat of the Martin family ; but no traces 

 or tradition of a park exist here at pre- 



° Itin. vol. iii. p. 77, fol. 47 ; and vol. vi. pp. 

 12, 13, fol. 13. 

 ' Itin. vol. iii. p. 75, fol. 45. 

 ' Coker's Survey, p. 13. 



