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Rights in a Royal Forest |
The forest of Farndale 1229-1255
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Dates
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Context
and local history are in purple.
Entries in the Close Roll
for 1229, 1253 and 1255 and in the Liberate
Rolls for 1255 refer to the forest of Farndale as an antique forest
and the rights of Hugh de Bigod are defined in it.
In
1229 Henry III decreed, the whole of the
forest of Galtres and the forest between the Ouse and
the Derwent, and the forest of Farndale, are ancient forests. But the
forest was not much used.
The Close Rolls, 13 Henry III for 1229:
[m 21d]. Memorandum quod perambulators foreste
comitatus Eboraci venerunt
et recognoverunt coram rege
quod tota foresta de Gaurtic, et foresta inter Usam et Derewent et foresta de Farendal sunt antique
foreste, et quod decepti fuerunt in perambulacione foreste alias facta, in qua recognitum fuit quod quedam partes earum forestarum de novo fuerunt afforestate, quas modo ad forestam reduxerunt; et inde confectum scriptum suum sigillis eorum
signatum protulerunt. Et mandatum
fuit vicecomiti Eboraci quod clamari facaret per totam ballivam suam quod foresta ita custodiretur
sicut custodita fuit
tempore regis J. in forma qua scriptum fuit aliis vicecomitibus
de hujusmodi forestis in dorso rotuli clausi
de ann etc xij.
It
is to be remembered that the walkers of the forest of the
county of York came and recognized before the king that the whole forest of Gaurtic, and the forest between Usam
and Derewent, and the forest of Farendal, are the ancient forest, and that they were
deceived in the perambulation of the forest, in which it was recognized that
certain parts of those forests were newly afforested, which they have just
brought back to the forest; and thence they brought forth their finished
writing, sealed with their seals. And the sheriff of York was ordered to make a
cry through all his bailwick that the forest
should be guarded as it was guarded in the time of King J. in the form in
which it was written to the other sheriffs about such forests on the back of a
roll closed on the back of ann etc xij
It should be remembered that the walkers
of the forest of the county of York came runt and recognized before the king
that the whole forest of Gautric and the forest
between Usam and Derewent
and the forest of Farendal are ancient forest, and
that they had been deceived in the perambulation of the forest other times in
which it was recognized that certain parts of those forests had been reforested
, which they just brought back to the forest; and thence they brought forth the
finished writing, which was sealed with their seals.
The Close Rolls, 37 Henry III for 1253:
[m. 9 cont] Pro Hugone le Bigod. Rex commisit Hugoni le Bigod totam forestam de Farnedala, quam nuper per consideracionem curie
rex recuperavit versus abbatem
Sancte Marie Ebor, custodiendam usque
ad reditum regis de Vasconi avel quamdiu regi placuerit, eodeum modo quo prefatus abbas forestam iliam habuit; et mandatum est J. de Lessinton quod forestam illam eidem Hugoni liberet
custodiendam sicut predictum
est. Teste ut supra.
For Hugh le Bigod. The King committed to
Hugh le Bigod the whole forest of Farnedala,
which the king had lately recovered by consideration of the court against the
abbot of St. Marie Ebor, to be kept until the return of the King from Vasconi,
or as long as it pleased the king, in the same manner as the aforesaid abbot
had that forest; and J. de Lessinton was ordered to
release that forest to the same Hugh to be kept as aforesaid. Test as above.
For Hugh le Bigod. The King committed to
Hugh le Bigod the whole forest of Farnedala, which
the king recovered by the consideration of the court towards the Abbot of St.
Mary, to be guarded until the King's return from Vasconia,
or as long as it pleased the King, in the same manner as the aforesaid Abbot
had that forest; and J de Lessinton was ordered to
release that forest to the same Hugh to be kept as aforesaid. Test as above.
Hugh
Bigod (c. 1211 1266) was Justiciar of England from 1258 to 1260. He was a
younger son of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk. In 1258 the Provisions of
Oxford established a baronial government of which Hugh's elder brother Roger
Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk was a leading member, and Hugh was appointed Chief
Justiciar. He also had wardship of the Tower of London, and, briefly, of Dover
Castle. But at the end of 1260 or in early 1261 he resigned these offices,
apparently due to dissatisfaction with the new government. Thus in 1263 he
joined the royalists, and was present on that side at
the Battle of Lewes. That battle took place by a village called Fletching,
north of Lewes. Hugh escaped but the King and his son, Prince Edward, were
taken prisoner.
The
Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia was a duchy
located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area
encompassing the modern region of Gascony. The Duchy of Gascony, then known as Wasconia, was originally a Frankish march formed to hold
sway over the Basques. However, the duchy went through different periods, from
its early years with its distinctively Basque element to the merger in personal
union with the Duchy of Aquitaine to the later period as a dependency of the
Plantagenet kings of England.
Crusading
was a popular cause in the 13th century, and in 1248 Louis joined the ill-fated
Seventh Crusade, having first made a fresh truce with England and received
assurances from the Pope that he would protect his lands against any attack by
Henry. Henry III might have joined this crusade himself, but the rivalry
between the two kings made this impossible and, after Louis's defeat at the
Battle of Al Mansurah in 1250, Henry instead announced that he would be
undertaking his own crusade to the Levant. He began to make
arrangements for passage with friendly rulers around the Levant,
imposing efficiency savings on the royal household and arranging for ships and
transport: he appeared almost over-eager to take part. Henry's plans reflected
his strong religious beliefs, but they also stood to give him additional
international credibility when arguing for the return of his possessions in
France.
Henry's
crusade never departed, as he was forced to deal with problems in Gascony,
where the harsh policies of his lieutenant, Simon de Montfort, had provoked a
violent uprising in 1252, which was supported by King Alfonso X of neighbouring
Castile. The English court was split over the problem: Simon and Eleanor argued
that the Gascons were to blame for the crisis, while Henry, backed by the Lusignans, blamed Simon's misjudgment.
Henry and Eleanor quarrelled over the issue and were not reconciled until the following
year. Forced to intervene personally, Henry carried out an effective, if
expensive, campaign with the help of the Lusignans
and stabilised the province. Alfonso signed a treaty of alliance in 1254, and
Gascony was given to Henry's son Edward, who married Alfonso's half-sister
Eleanor, delivering a long-lasting peace with Castile.
On
the way back from Gascony, Henry met with Louis for the first time in an
arrangement brokered by their wives, and the two kings became close friends.
The Gascon campaign cost more than £200,000 and used up all the money intended
for Henry's crusade, leaving him heavily in debt and reliant on loans from his
brother Richard and the Lusignans.
1255
The Close Rolls, 39 Henry III for 1255:
Pro Hugone le Bygod. Mandatum est
Johanni de Lexinton, justiciario forester egis ultra Trentam,
quod cartam quam rex fieri fecit Hugoni le Bygod de forestaria foreste de Farendale coram eo legi faciat, et concessionem illam teneri secundum quod in eadem
carta continetur: et forestarios,
viridarios et alios ministros
foreste pro quibus idem
Hugo respondere voluerit ad presentacionem suam in predicta foresta admittat. Test ut supra.
For Hugh le Bygod. John
de Lexinton, the justiciar of the forests beyond Trent, was ordered to make the
charter which the king made to Hugh le Bygod concerning the forest of Farendale
to be read before him, and that the grant should be held according to what is
contained in the same charter: and the foresters, greenkeepers, and other
ministers in the forest for whom the same Hugh is willing to answer for his
presentation in the aforesaid forest. Test as above
For Hugh le Bygod.
It was ordered to John de Lexinton, justiciar of the
king's forest beyond Trent, that the charter which the king caused to be made
to Hugh le Bygod concerning the forestry of the forest of Farendale he shall
make a law before him, and that grant shall be held according to what is
contained in the same charter: and he shall admit the foresters, greenkeepers
and other ministers of the forest for whom the same Hugh is willing to answer
for his presentation in the aforesaid forest.
The Calendar of the Liberate Rolls, 1251 to 1260, Page 212, 1255: Allocate to Hugh le Bygot, in his fine of 500
marks for the forestership of Farndale, 100 l, paid at Westminster to Ernald de
Mone Pesaz. The associated index entries: Farndale, Farendale [co York
NR], foresterhip of, 212. Forests (i), chaces, hays, parks, warrens and woods
named
Farndale
forestership of Farndale, 212.
The Keeper of the Royal Forests reported. the forest of Spaunton between the Dove and the Seven is so confined that deer do not oft repair thither .. (The Close Rolls)