194 Gilpin's forest scenery. 



length, tte liberties of tlie fair seem to be in a 

 desponding condition. Tlie honour however is 

 great. But honours are often accompanied with 

 inconveniences, and Fairlop has suffered from its 

 honourable distinctions. In the feasting that 

 attends a fair, fires are often necessary, and no 

 places seemed so proper to make them in as the 

 hollow cavities formed by the heaving roots of the 

 tree. This practice has brought a speedier 

 decay on Fairlop than it might otherwise have 

 suffered. 



Gilpin remarked in a note at the end of the first 

 volume of the edition of the ' Forest Scenery ' published 

 in 1791, — T am doubtful whether the/air here mentioned 

 has not been for some time discontinued.' This note 

 does not appear in the two following editions. Fairlop 

 Fair is still regularly held at the same time of the year, 

 but no longer around the Fairlop Oak, which was blown 

 down during high winds that prevailed in the year 

 1820.— Ed. 



Not far from Blandford, in Dorsetshire, stood 

 very lately a tree known by the name of Damory's 

 Oak. About five or six centuries ago, it was pro- 

 bably in a state of maturity. At the ground its 



