172 MALVERN HILLS. 
Commoners and the Crown Surveyor, the order of the 
Court of Exchequer contained the following passage :— 
“Forasmuch as the Court is nowe informed that the 
Comoninge in the said Chase concerneth tenne thousand poore 
people, and that the not havinge and enjoyinge thereof maye 
turne to their utter overthrowe and undoinge ; therefore, it is 
now ordered by the Court that the said inhabitants and 
Commoners there shall be at libertie to take and receive such 
reasonable comon within the said Chase as they have been 
accustomed and of rights they ought to have.” 
An Act of Parliament was passed in 1664 confirming 
the disafforesting. In recent years encroachments have 
been made on the Commons in various parts, not only 
by the Lords of Manors, but by outsiders and squatters ; 
and actions were from time to time successfully instituted 
against them. These acts culminated about the year 
1878 in the erection of a building on the summit of the 
Worcestershire Beacon, the most prominent of the 
Malvern Hills. This was followed by a number of 
petty encroachments on other parts. There appeared to 
be danger of the permanent loss or disfigurement of the 
magnificent open space which these Hills afford. , The 
matter was taken up with spirit by the inhabitants of 
Great Malvern. The Commons Society was consulted, 
and their solicitor was employed. Fortunately litigation 
was avoided, as the Messrs. Hornyold, who claimed as 
Lords of the Manor of that part of the Hills, and had let 
the summit to the person who had built on it, when 
they became aware of the strong feeling of their neigh- 
bours, came forward and agreed to dedicate their rights 
