FORESTRY 



In 1637 Lord Morley took steps to check the destruction of the woods within the lordship by 

 the customary tenants. In answer to a bill of complaint lodged against him by his tenants he 

 deposes that — 



The great store of timber trees growing in Hornby has been destroyed by the unreasonable 

 felling of trees and the refusal of the tenants to preserve the underwoods of the woods so felled, by 

 the continual felling of woods for the building of new edifices under pretence of their custom of 

 tenant-right and for selling at various market towns adjoining the manor. He is still willing to 

 allow his tenants sufficient timber and stone for the repair of their dwellings, so be it that the trees do 

 not come from within the parks of the manor. He hopes that the court of Duchy Chamber will 

 not admit that the tenants have a right to take ' when, where and what quantity of wood ' they 

 please, for if this is allowed he and future lords will soon be despoiled of wood for their own 

 particular use. He confesses that he has felled and hopes to fell in future such trees as are necessary 

 for his private use and especially for the working of his iron works.'" 



There was an ancient inclosure or dyke between the lordship of Hornby and Bowland Forest 

 in Dr. Whitaker's time denominated ' Harrington Dike.' ^^* 



The woodlands belonging to the barony of Manchester were at one time of some importance. 

 In Horwich Forest there were in 1282 some eight vaccaries worth £1^ s. year. On the outskirts of 

 Manchester was a small park called Aldeparc and Litheak, later known as Aldport, and at Blackley 

 a park yielding ten marks a year in issues.^*' In the latter could be agisted 240 cattle at 6d. per head, 

 and 200 fallow-deer in 1322, at which time the vaccaries of Horwich were farmed for nearly £24. a 

 year.^*' In 1473 Horwich and the parks of Blackley and Aldport were held in fee-farm.'*' 

 Leland observed that in times past iron was made at ' Orwike ' (Horwich), and at Blakele 

 (Blackley) ' wild bores, bulles and falcons bredde in times paste. . . . Now for lakke of woodde 

 the Blow-shoppes (bloomeries) decay there.' '** 



Writing about 1805, Mr. G. A. Cooke makes but trifling reference to the woodlands 

 observed during his tour through the county, but he notices the rapidly increasing demand for 

 alder wood in connexion with machinery for (producing and) drying cotton yarn, and for the bark 

 as an article for dye. The alders planted on the banks of the Duke of Bridgewater's canal had 

 proved a profitable plantation, whilst the osier willow was in such demand for hampers (or skeps) 

 that more than ;^20 a year had been made out of a single acre of land planted with it.'*^ 



In 1750 the woods belonging to Mr. Braddyll's estates at Samlesbury, Portfield, Whalley, 

 Braddyll, Brockhall, Billington, and Dinckley were surveyed and valued by James Bigland.^'" 

 The total value amounted to ^^2,933, the greater part of which lay in Samlesbury and Billington, 

 as the following particulars show : — 



Samlesbury 



Tenant and Tenement 



No. of Oaks 



Feet 



Bushels of 

 Bark 



No. of Ashes 



Feet 



Aggregate Value 



Greenhurst, Jas. Thonoch 

 „ John Ainsworth 



„ Hugh Haydock 



Jas. Anderton .... 

 Wid. Heatley .... 

 Dunkirk — 



High Wood .... 



Low Wood .... 

 Old Hall— 



Near Huntley . . . 



Far Huntley .... 

 2 1 other tenements . . 



6z 

 549 



337 



57 



1 12 



149 



270 



198 



23+ 

 838 



325 

 4.995 

 3>752 



325 

 1.435 



1,521 

 2,489 



2,501 

 2,828 

 5,962 



108 



1.333 



953 



127 



347 



319 

 579 



682 



736 



1,835 



295 

 428 

 274 

 16 

 239 



76 



457 



211 



135 



1,077 



Total . 



24 I 

 312 10 



247 15 



25 4 

 99 7 



261 4 



320 4 3 



367 10 7 



i;i,657 17 5 



'^ Duchy of Lane. Plead. 13 Chas. I, bdle. ijz. ^^ Rkhmondshire,\\, 262. 



^^ Lanes. Inq. (Rec. Soc. xlviii), 244-7. "' Ibid, liv, 56. 



"' Mamecestre (Chetham Soc), 501-2. 



'*' Leland, Itin. vii, 57. Dr. Whitaker records a tradition that the wild cattle from Blackley were 

 transferred to the abbot's park at Whalley, whence they were removed after the Dissolution to Gisburn 

 Park, where their descendants remained until last century ; Hist, of Whalley (ed. 1876), i, 282. 



"^ Cooke, Descript. ofco. Lane. 58. '" Croston, Anct. Hall of Samlesbury, 208, 239. 



463 



