Ch. VIII. 



5 TA FFORDSHIRE. 



179 



seat and park of the Duke of Sutherland. 

 It is a park of 540 acres, and a herd of 

 320 fallow-deer. This park appears to 

 have been enclosed by Lord Gower about 

 the year 1735. The Gower family had 

 also a park at Stone at the same period, 

 which in Degge's time had belonged 

 to Mr. Grompton. He notices also parks 

 at Stoke and, Sandon ' stocked with 

 deer.' 



On the borders of Shropshire was the 

 Park of Willowbridge, in the parish of 

 Meare, noted in all the old maps, and 

 about the time of the Civil Wars be- 

 longing to the Earl of Shrewsbury, but 

 without deer. Gerards-Bromley, and 

 Broughton are a little to the south ; both 

 are marked as parks in Plot's Survey : 

 the former belonged to Lord Gerard, the 

 latter to Mr. Broughton. 



The Bishops of Lichfield had also a 

 large park at Blore, in the neighbourhood 

 of their residence at Eccleshall Castle. 

 It has been long disparked. And another 

 at Brcwood, noticed below. Leland men- 

 tions ' the wonderful fair wood ' in Blore 

 Park. 



Near Eccleshall \% Ellenhall, the site 

 of an ancient park, noticed by Saxton ; 

 and south of it Knightley and Norbury 

 Parks, which occur in the same survey. 

 There were deer in the latter belonging 

 to the Skrymshire family, in the middle 

 of the seventeenth century, and at Hors- 

 ley, belonging to the Peshalls, at the 

 same period ; and also at Aqtielate, south 

 of Norbury, a park, still existing, and 

 which belonged also to the Skrymshires 

 in former times. 



In the neighbourhood of Stafford were 

 the parks of Ingestrie and Tixall, besides 



that which was attached to the castle of 

 Stafford. The first is an existing park, 

 belonging to the Earl of Shrewsbury and 

 Talbot, and formerly to his ancestors of 

 the Chetwind family. The latter has been 

 disparked since the year 1735. 



South of Stafford is the forest, or more 

 properly, chase of Cannock, generally 

 called Cannock (pronounced Cank) Wood. 

 Leland describes it as 'a great thing, 

 merely longging to the Bishoprick of 

 Lichfield. . There is Bewdesert his place 

 and parke, and Shucborough his place 

 (where is a park now of red dere) is yn 

 the side of Cankwoode.' This, observes 

 Harwood, in his edition of ' Erdeswick's 

 Staffordshire," is probably Heywood Vaxk, 

 which belongs to the Marquis of Angle- 

 sey, and is remarkable for the beautiful 

 woody dingles that wind into the sides of 

 the forest.' Near this is Oakedge Park, 

 belonging to Lord Lichfield. 



Adjoining Cannock Chase were the 

 Parks of Cotton, Hawksyard, Pillerton, 

 Teddestey, and IVolseley, the last an ex- 

 isting park with the right of deer-leap from 

 the chase. The park was originally en- 

 closed by license granted to Ralph Wol- 

 seley, one of the Barons of the Exchequer 

 in the reign of Edward IV. This right 

 of saliory or deer-leap was once not un- 

 common throughout the realm, but the 

 present instance of a chartered deer-leap 

 still exercising its privileges is believed to 

 be unique.^ 



The origin of the park which once be- 

 longed to the Bishops of Lichfield and 

 Coventry at Brewood, on the borders of 

 Shropshire, is preserved in Mr. Eyton's 

 admirable history of that county. ' King 

 John,' he says, ' on April loth, 1200, after 



' See page 14 for a note on deer-leaps, and hereafter, p. 191, for a view of this at Wolseley, 



