Ch. IV. 



WIL T SHI RE. 



lOI 



third in Blackmore Forest, and so re- 

 turned to Windsor. Also" he was at 

 Ramsbury with the Bishop of Salisbury.' 

 Fastern was granted by patent, in 1555-6, 

 to Sir Francis Englefield, who presently 

 fumed 'the great park' into enclosures, 

 leaving about 100 acres, called Wotton's 

 Lawn, to be used as common, &c.' In 

 1583 ' the little park of Vasterne,' belong- 

 ing to Her Majesty, is estimated as two 

 miles in compass, and was in the keeping 

 of Sir Henry Knyvett.' 



In 1583 there was a park at Liddiard 

 Tregose, belonging to Nicholas St. John, 

 Esq.,' and another at Burdrope, near Swin- 

 don, belonging to Thomas Stevens, Esq.' 

 A very ancient park existed at Elcombe, 

 fn this neighbourhood, which belonged, in 

 the reign of Edward I., to the Lords 

 Lovell, of Titchmarsh. Sir Thomas 

 Wroughton owned also a park at Odehill, 

 or Over-Wroughton, one mile in compass, 

 as appears by the return of 1583. ,y- 



At Dantsey, to the west of Wotton Bas- 

 set, was 'a stately park with admirable 

 Oakes,' in 1583, the property of Sir John 

 Danvers, and four miles in circuit.' 



To the north again, near Malmesbury, 

 were the parks of Okesey aiid Charleton. 

 The former was a Royal park, but of 

 limited extent, being but one mile in cir- 

 cuit; in 1583 it was in the keeping of Sii^ 

 Giles Poole. Aubrey describes it ' as 

 admirably well wooded ; the best oakes 

 in the county.' 



Charleton Park was two miles in cir- 

 cuit, and belonged to Sir Henry Knyvett 

 in 1583.' 



' Aubrey's Collections, pp. 204-216. 

 ' Note of Parks in the County of Wilts, 

 Sept 24, 1583. S. P. O. Domestic. 

 ' I find the park in Little Somerford, called 



Pinckney is a small existing park in 

 this neighbourhood, containing 100 acres 

 and a herd of 70 fallow-deer. 



Cole Park, which is given in Saxtpn's 

 Survey, but not represented as impaled, 

 belonged to the Abbot of Malmesbury. 

 Another, ancient disused park was at 

 Somerford-Mauduit in this vicinity, which 

 had belonged to the Hungerfords of Far- 

 ley Castle.^ ' There is a parke by Far- 

 ley Castle,' writes Leland in his ' Itine- 

 rary' (vol. ii. p. 60, fol. 32), besides the 

 park of Stoke near Bradford, a small park 

 belonging to Anthony Hungerford in 

 1583.' 



Draycot Park, between Malmesbury 

 and Chippenham, is not given by Saxton, 

 but is thus mentioned in Leland's ' Itine- 

 rary,' ' Draicote, where Sir Henry Long 

 hath a fair manor place, and a park about 

 a mile from Avon streeme.'* It is repre- 

 sented as three miles in circuit in the 

 return of 1583. 



The Abbot of Cirencester had a park 

 at Stanton St. Quintan, near Draycot, 

 which appears to have been disparked at 

 the period of the Reformation ; it is thus 

 described by Aubrey, writing about 1659, 

 'The parke, very large, comes to the 

 house. Yet is remaining part of the wall 

 of it, built with mortar, and overgrown 

 with ivy ; the highest that I know to any 

 park, likely of old here were kept stagges. 

 Martens in the parke in my grandfather 

 Lyte's remembrance.' * 



At Castle Combe, on the borders of 

 Gloucestershire, there was also an ancient 

 park, as appears by the Court Rolls of 



Mareditch Park, mentioned in the will of 

 Anthony Hungerford, Esq., in 1654. 



' Itin. vol. ii. pp. 54, 55, fol. 29. 



' Aubrey's Collections, p. 288. 



