162 ASHDOWN FOREST. 
Dorset and his son, Lord Buckhurst, were appointed 
Keepers of the Forest in succession for their lives. 
The Earl took the side of the King in his struggle with 
the Parliament, and his office of Keeper of the Chase, 
together with other privileges which he enjoyed in the 
Forest, were forfeited to the Commonwealth. 
In 1650, a careful survey of the Forest, under the 
name of the Great Park of Lancaster, was made by 
order of the Commonwealth, on behalf of the trustees 
for the sale of the Crown rights. The surveyors on this 
occasion reported that, according to the usual rate of 
the pasturage, there was a surplus of forest, and that 
part should be allotted to the Commoners, and part 
appropriated by the State. This suggestion appears 
to have been adopted by the Commonwealth, for in 
1658 a further survey was made, under which the 
Forest was allotted between the State and the 
Commoners, each parish extending into the Forest 
having a Common Allotment set apart for it, based 
upon the number of cattle turned out in respect of lands 
situated within it and conferring a right, the rate of 
allotment being one acre and a half for every head 
of cattle. The scheme of allotment, however, was 
not completed at the time of the restoration of the 
monarchy, when all the proceedings by the Common- 
wealth respecting the Forest were annulled. 
After the Restoration, in 1660, a grant was again made 
by Charles IT., under the Great Seal, of the Keepership 
of the Chase to the Earl of Dorset and his son, Lord 
Buckhurst, for their successive lives. The Earl was 
