Act 7
The Poachers of Pickering Forest
Tales of a surprisingly large number
of our forebears who were poachers in Pickering Forest. Their archery skills
would foretell the legends of Robin Hood
and the English army at Agincourt
Having
travelled back in time from our contact with first individual Farndales of the
early thirteenth century, we now pick up the story from the thirteenth century
again, and travel forward in time from the thirteenth century. We will meet the
second generation, who were a little more restless than their fathers.
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Poachers of Pickering Forest Podcast This
is a new experiment. Using Google’s Notebook LM, listen to an AI powered
podcast summarising this page. This should only be treated as an
introduction, and the AI generation sometimes gets the nuance a bit wrong.
However it does provide an introduction to the themes of this page, which are
dealt with in more depth below. |
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Some
introductory music to set the scene. |
Within the
medieval records are significant number of our ancestors and their fellow
inhabitants of Farndale, who
were fined, outlawed and even excommunicated, for poaching and illegally
hunting, particularly within the Royal Forest of Pickering.
Scene 1 – The Control of the Royal
Forests
The Royal
Forest of Pickering
The Domesday Book
recorded that the manor of Pickering
included woodland which covered an area which was sixteen leagues long by four
leagues wide, about 55 miles by 14 miles. Before the Conquest the important
manor of Pickering was held by Earl Morcar, who we
met in Act 6 Scene 1.
By 1168 the
formation of the
honour of Pickering from the manors
of Pickering and Falsgrave, encompassing at that time
the parishes of Hackness and Scarborough, had joined the eastern forest
of Scalby to Pickering Forest, creating woodland extending from the River Seven
to the sea. The original forest of Pickering to the west bordered the forest of
Spaunton, at Lastingham,
which was in the custody of St. Mary's Abbey, York. To the east Scalby bordered
on the forest of Whitby, which in 1086
comprised over twenty-three square leagues of forest in the parishes of Whitby,
Sneaton, and Hackness,
overseen by the verderers of Whitby Abbey. Most of this land was forested, and
it ranged from the rich vale of Pickering in the south to the high moorlands of
northern areas such as Goathland, suitable mainly for sheep grazing.
In 1128,
Henry I had decreed that a huge area from York to the coast, including Ryedale
and Pickering,
should be reserved as Royal Forest, where hart, hind, wild boar and hawk were
preserved solely for the King. Serious punishments were dealt to those who
committed hunting offences, including the removal of body parts for taking of
deer.
A hart
is a male red deer and contrasts with a female hind. The word comes from the
Middle English word hert meaning deer. A soar
sometimes appears in the medieval documents and refers to a sow or female pig
or boar.
The forests
were an important element of the English psyche. Stories of hunting hart
in the forest were embedded in English culture.
The King
was wedded unto Dame Guenever at Camelot with great
solemnity. Just as all were sitting at the high feast that followed the
marriage, there came running into the hall a white hart, followed by a whole
pack of hounds with a great cry, and the hart went about the Table Round. At a
fierce bite from one of the dogs the hart made a great leap, and overthrew a
knight that sat at the table, and so passed forth out of the hall again, with
all the dogs after him. When they were gone the King was glad, for they made
such a noise, but Merlin said, "Ye may not leave this adventure so
lightly. Let call Sir Gawaine, for he must bring again the white hart."
"I
will," said the King, "that all be done by your advice." So Sir
Gawaine was called, and he took his charge and armed himself for the adventure.
Sir Gawaine was one of King Arthur's nephews, and had just been made a knight,
for he had asked of the King the gift of knighthood on the same day that he
should wed fair Guenever.
So Sir
Gawaine rode quickly forth, and Gaheris his brother rode with him, instead of a
squire, to do him service. As they followed the hart by the cry of the hounds,
they came to a great river. The hart swam over, and they followed after, and so
at length they chased him into a castle, where in the chief courtyard the dogs
slew the hart before Sir Gawaine and young Gaheris came up. Right so there came
a knight out of a room, with a sword drawn in his hand, and he slew two of the
greyhounds even in the sight of Sir Gawaine, and the remnant he chased with his
sword out of the castle.
When he
came back he said, "O my white hart, me repenteth that thou art dead, for
my sovereign lady gave thee to me, and poorly have I kept thee. Thy death shall
be dear bought, if I live."
(From the
stories of King Arthur)
Officers
were appointed to guard the royal forests and new administrators were appointed
such as the fee foresters and serjeantes. Some
of these officers were able to hold their land rent free in return for their
service as a forester.
Roger de Stuteville was licensed to have
hounds for taking wolf and hare throughout Yorkshire and Northumberland. The Mowbrays at Kirkbymoorside had
similar privileges.
When Henry I
established the Forest of Pickering as a
deer preserve he gave Guy the Hunter half the Aislaby
estate, in return for training the royal hound. Legend claims that two brothers
were given a falcon’s flight of land, for repelling a Scots invasion. Perhaps
the other brother was William of Aislaby, who had the
other half.
Walter Aspec in Ryedale forest gave three deer a year as a tithe
to Kirkham Priory.
King John
needed funds to pay for his wars in France. He sold off many of the royal
forests and there was significant deforestation in Ryedale. The remaining
forests were Galtres Forest, though reduced in size, Pickering Forest and the small forest of Farndale.
Pickering
Forest became part of the earldom of Lancaster from Henry Ill's reign.
Previously belonging to Simon de Montfort, the honour, castle, manor, and
forest of Pickering had been given in fee
by Henry III to his younger son, Edmund, in 1267, the first earl of Lancaster.
Edmund's son Thomas led the rebellion against Edward II, and following Thomas's
execution at Pontefract, Pickering and
its adjoining territories were confiscated by the crown. The forest and its
appurtenances were not restored to Thomas's brother Henry until the ascension
of Edward III.
Various
under-tenants and local landholders included Rievaulx Abbey, the Gilbertine
houses of Maltón and Ellerton Priory, and the
Hospitallers who held lands in the forest confiscated from the Templars.
Pickering was a private forest, but the
justices of Lancaster were still compelled to enforce the crown's forest law.
Even within
Pickering Forests, parks were allowed for leading nobility. We know that the Stutevilles began a campaign of clearing the land
in Farndale for agriculture from the early thirteenth century and after
paying a substantial sum, effectively revived their dominion over the Farndale lands. It seems likely
that there were areas of the larger Pickering Forest which were predominantly
the preserve of royal hunting grounds. The smaller forests in Farndale, and perhaps Spaunton seem to have been used for hunting, but were also
places of monastic grant lands and aristocratic economic activity. Initially
the great forested estates were of little worth except for hunting, but as the
elite landholders started to clear the forest for agriculture, an inevitable
tension arose between the landholders, but more particularly their grafting
tenants, and the upholders of the ancient rights of the forest.
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The sombre Norman castle of Pickering, where you will
be taken to the law court where our ancestors were fined, imprisoned,
outlawed and excommunicated |
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A
study of the nature of poaching in Pickering Forest |
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The Great Yorkshire Forest Drive A drive through Dalby Forest, the modern Pickering
Forest, where our forebears took game in contravention of forest laws, or
were caught and punished by the verderers and regarders of the forest |
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Glance up at a remarkable medieval mural, which
includes archers who might remind us of our poacher ancestors |
Forest
Law
A complex
forest law developed, and large numbers of officials were appointed such as Verderers
and Regarders.
Verderers were forestry officials who
administered royal hunting areas which were the property of the Crown. The
office was developed in the Middle Ages to administer forest law on behalf of
the King. Verderers investigated and recorded minor offences such as the
taking of venison and the illegal cutting of woodland, and dealt with the
day-to-day forest administration. Verderers are still to be found in the
twenty first century in the New Forest,
the Forest of Dean, and Epping Forest, where they protect commoning
practices, and conserve the traditional landscape and wildlife. Verderers
were originally part of the ancient judicial and administrative hierarchy of
the vast areas of English forests and Royal Forests set aside by William the
Conqueror for hunting. The title Verderer comes from the Norman word vert
meaning green and referring to woodland.
The royal
forests were divided into provinces each having a Chief Justice who travelled
around on circuit dealing with the more serious offences.
Regarders were generally knights sworn to
carry out the regard of the Forest, which preceded the eyre. In old English law, they
were ancient officers of the forest whose task was to take a view of the forest
hunts. Regarders and agisters were responsible for guarding the
royal deer.
Old forest
customs were codified in Forest
Law, perhaps pioneered by the Assize of the Forest, also known as the
Assize of Woodstock, in 1184. Under the Norman kings, the royal forest grew
steadily, probably reaching its greatest extent under Henry II when around
thirty per cent of the country was set aside for royal sport. The object of the
forest laws was the protection of the beasts of the forest, including
red, roe, and fallow deer, and wild boar, and the trees and undergrowth which
afforded them shelter. The Assize of the Forest provided that none could carry
bows and arrows in the royal forest, and dogs had to have their toes clipped to
prevent them pursuing game. Savage penalties for any infringements were often
imposed. Discontent with the laws ensured that the forest became a major
political issue in John's reign.
The sixty
three clauses of Magna Carta in 1215 mainly did not deal with fundamental legal
principles but instead related to the regulation of feudal customs and included
clauses on the extent and regulation of the royal forest. Forestry regulation
culminated in the Charter
of the Forest in 1217. Only in the fourteenth century, when large areas
were deforested, did the political tension of the control of forests, start to
subside.
Officials of
Pickering forest used offences to raise income, by means such as pannage
payments for pigs taken into the woods. Ownership of large dogs was controlled.
Customary
rights to timber were overseen by the supervision of forest officers. These
rights came to be written as forest organisation became more elaborate. The
right to wood was referred to as bote. Pickering
folk could use green or dray wood for housebote, dry wood for firebote, or haybote
for fencing.
Forest offences
were numerous. Many saw poaching as a pastime. The nobility took to hunting for
sport, whilst more ordinary folk were often simply trying to survive. We have
records of large numbers of poaching parties from Farndale,
which we will explore soon, in more detail.
The
courthouse at Pickering Castle is the place where many of the Farndale
renegades were sentenced for forestry offences.
Scene 2 – the Farndale Poachers
The
Poachers from Farndale
In 1280, five
individuals of Farndale were indicted for poaching and paid bail, or had
bail paid for them by their families. From sureties of persons indicted for
poaching and for not producing persons so indicted on the first day of the Eyre
Court in accordance with the suretieship due to
Richard Drye. There follows a long list of names including,…..1s 8d from
Roger
son of Gilbert
of Farndale, bail from Nicholas de
Farndale, 2s from William
the Smith of Farndale, 3s 4d from John
the shepherd of Farndale, and 3s 4d from Alan
the son of Nicholas
de Farndale.
It seems
that a band of sons of the hard working first generation who had cleared new land for
agriculture Farndale, including Roger, William the Smith, John the Shepherd
and Alan, had gone hunting in the forest, but were caught, and had to be bailed
out by Nicholas
and perhaps his brother Gilbert.
A little
over a decade later, in 1293, Peter de
Farndale’s son Robert
was fined at Pickering Castle and Roger milne (“miller”) of Farndale, also a son of Peter
slew a soar in the forest.
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c1265 to c1340 Roger slew a soar
in Pickering Forest in 1293 |
In a
separate incident, Roger milne (“miller”) of Farndale, son of Peter,
together with Walter Blackhous and Ralph Helved, all
of Spaunton on a Monday in January 1293, killed a soar and slew a hart with bows and arrows at some unknown
place in the forest. All were outlawed on 5 April 1293. Spaunton
is a short distance south of the entrance to Farndale, near Lastingham and Spaunton
Moor stretches north and was likely to have been treated as the same vicinity
as the Farndale lands. We will meet the restless Walter Blackhous
and Ralph Heved several more times. Ralph de Heved may be the same person as the Ralph de Capite of the 1301
Lay Subsidy levy.
The Forest
law impacted on the folk of Farndale even when they did not intentionally
pursue game. In 1310, Nicholas de Harland of Farndale was fined because his
cattle had strayed in the forest.
Richard
de Farndale and Thomas de Farndale were excommunicated in 1316 and the
church sought the assistance of the secular authority on 12 August 1316 when
the pride and continued contempt of the rebels could not be otherwise
suppressed by the church. Sentence was passed at Pickering Castle and this
might have been the consequence of an offence under canon law. The sentence of
Excommunication must have been devastating.
To the
Most Serene Prince, his Lord Edward by the Grace of God, King of England,
illustrious Lord of Ireland and Duke of Aquitaine, his humble and devoted
clerks, the Reverend Dean and Chapter of the Church of St Peter, York;
custodians of the spiritualities of the Archbishopric while the See is vacant;
Greetings to him to serve whom is to reign for ever. We make known to your
Royal Excellency by these presents that John de Carter, William of Elington, Adam of Killeburn, John
Porter, Hugh Fullo, Peter Fullo,
John of Halmby, Adam Playceman,
John Foghill, Thomas Thoyman,
Robert the Miller, Adam of the Kitchen, Richard Mereschall,
John Gomodman, John Wallefrere,
Alan Gage, Henry Cucte, Nicholas of the Stable, John
the baker, Adam of Craven, John son of Imanye,
Michael of Cokewald, Thomas of Morton, John of Westmerland, Thomas of Bradeford,
Adam of Craven, John of Mittelhaue, John called Lamb,
William Cowherd, Simon of Plabay, William the Oxherd,
Henry of Rossedale, John of Carlton, Peter of Boldeby, Thomas of Redmere,
Walter of Boys, William of Fairland, John of Skalton,
John of Thufden, Henry the Shepherd’s boy, John of
Foxton, Thomas
of Farndale, John of Ampleford, John Boost,
Roger of Kerby, John of Stybbyng, William of Carlton,
Richard of Kilburn, Adam Scot, Peter of Gilling, John of Skalton,
Stephen of Skalton, Richard
of Farndale, Richard of Malthous, John the
Oxherd, Robert of Rypon, Walter of Fyssheburn, Adam of Oswadkyrke,
William of Everley, Hugh of Salton, William Robley, William of Kilburn,
Geoffrey the Gaythirde, John of the Loge, Robert of Faldington, Nicholas of Wasse, William of Eversley, Robert
of Habym, John of Baggeby
and William Boost, our Parishioners, by reason of their contumacy and
offence were bound in our authority by sentence of greater
excommunication, and in this have remained obdurate for 40 days and more,
and have up to now continued in contempt of the authority of the Church.
Wherefore we beseech your Royal Excellency, in order that the pride of these
said rebels may be overcome, that it may please you to grant Letters,
according to previous meritorious and pious custom of your Realm, so that the
Mother Church may, in this matter, be supported by the power of Your Majesty.
May God preserve you for His Church and people. Given at York 12 August 1316.
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Richard and Thomas
of Farndale Two brothers who
were excommunicated for poaching and contempt of the authority of the church
in 1316 |
By the
1320s, poaching offences, involving many Farndale inhabitants amongst large
numbers, started to mount in the records.
On 22 August
1323 an edict was declared at Pickering
by the forest officials. To the sheriff of York. Whereas it is found by an
inquisition taken by William de Ayremynne, Humphrey
de Waleden, and John de Kylvyngton,
by the oath of the foresters, verderers, regarders, and other ministers at
the forest of Pickering, and of other lawful men of that county, that the
following persons committed trespass of venison in the forest after it came
into the King's hands as escheat by forfeiture of Thomas, late earl of
Lancaster... that on Friday the morrow of Martinmas, in the aforesaid year,
Robert Capoun, knight, Robert son of Marmaduke de Tweng, and eight unknown men with bows and arrows and four
greyhounds came to a place called ‘Ellerbek’, and there took a hart and two other deers (feras), and carried the venison away; and that on Thursday
before the Invention of the Holy Cross, in the aforesaid year, Robert Capoun and seventeen unknown men came with bows and arrows
and greyhounds to the place called ‘Ellerbek’ against the assize of the forest
for the purpose of doing evil, but they took nothing; and that on Friday after
the Translation of Saint Thomas last, Adam,
son of Simon the
Miller of Farndale, Richard
son of John
the Miller, and three unknown men came to a place called ‘Petrenedle’, and there took two hinds, and when they were
proclaimed by the foresters, they left one hind, which the foresters
carried to Pykeryng castle and the said malefactors carried
the other away with them;... the King orders the sheriff to take with him John
de Rithre, and to arrest all the aforesaid men and
Juliana, and to deliver them to John de Kylvynton,
keeper of Pykeryng castle, whom the king has ordered
to receive them and to keep them in prison in the castle until further orders.
In July 1323, Adam, son of Simon the Miller was fined 25s 8d for taking two hinds.
The 1301
subsidy was levied on those who paid as little as only threepence. The list
of the taxpayers in Farndale
in the 1301 record can be reconciled with some of the poachers, such as Simon the Miller,
but not all. Perhaps this suggests that there were tenants in Farndale who, for
some reason, or other escaped paying Edward's levy. Perhaps though many were
the sons of the Farndale tenants, and so didn’t appear in the subsidy list.
John de
Farndale was released
from excommunication at Pickering Castle on 23 February 1324. To the
Most Serene Prince, His Lord Edward, by the Grace of God, King of England, Lord
of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine, William by Divine permission Archbishop of
York, Primate of England, Greetings in him to serve who is to reign for ever.
We make known to Your Royal Excellency, by these presents that William de Lede
of Saxton, John of Farndale and John Brand of Howon,
our Parishioners, lately at our ordinary invocation, according to the custom
of your Realm, were bound by sentence of greater excommunication and,
contemptuous of the power of the Church, were committed to Your Majesty’s
Prison for contumacy and offences punishable by imprisonment; and have
humbly done penance to God and to the Church, wherefore they have been deemed
worthy to obtain from us in legal form the benefit of absolution. May it
therefore please Your Majesty that we re-admit the
said William, John and John to the bosom of the Church as faithful members
thereof and order their liberation from the said prison. May God preserve you
for His Church and the people. Given at Thorpe, next York, 9 April 1324.
The date of the following extract from the Coucher Book, is
probably from about 1330. Richard Mosyn, of that
part of Rossedale which belongs to the Abbot of S.
Mary's (i.e. Rosedale West), William Troten of Spaunton, Roger del Mulne of Farndale, Robert son of Peter of Rossedale, Walter Blackhous of
Farndale, went on a Monday in January to some unknown place within the
forest and killed a soar and slew a hart with bows
and arrows. All are outlawed.
The Coucher Book also tells of how Thomas de Hamthwaite,
Robert de Bolton, Richard of Helmsley, John de Skipton, Robert Moryng, Abraham Milner, Stephen Moye, and Peter son of
Henry, with others unknown, on Thursday, 7th of March, 1331, went to a place
called Hamclifbek, with two leporariis
(gazehounds or greyhounds), and belonging to John de Kilvington and Robert
Spink, and with bows and arrows, and there slew one soar and one hind and one
stag, and were fined, etc. In the same folio we have an account of how Roger
son of Emma, John de Bordesden, Robert Moryng, John son of William Fabri (Smith) of Farndale, Robert Stybbing,
and William Bullock, about the feast of S. Bartholomew, captured one hind
and one calf at Rotemir and Hugh de Yeland and John de Yeland, Thomas Hampthwait,
William de Langwath, Peter son of Henry Young,
William de Hovingham, forester of Spaunton, William
Burcy (or Curcy), Robert de Miton,
sergeant of Normanby, and six others unknown, captured at Leasehow,
with bows and arrows and hounds, a young hart.
In September
1332, Robert
son of Simon of
Farndale, in company with four others "hunted a hart
and carried it off''. Robert's four companions were fined, he himself being
outlawed. Robert
Farndale, son of Simon the miller of
Farndale and Robert
Farndale, son of Peter of
Farndale, were both fined for poaching at Pickering Castle in 1332. Pleas
held at Pickering on Monday 13 Mar 1335 before Richard de Willoughby and John
de Hambury. The Sheriff was ordered to summon those
named to appear this day before the Justices to satisfy the Earl for their
fines for poaching in the forest of which they were convicted before the
Justices by the evidence of the foresters, venderers
and other officers. They did not appear and the Sheriff stated that they
could not be found and are not in his bailiwick and he had no way of
attacking them. He was therefore ordered to seize them and keep them safely
so that he could produce them before the Justices on Monday 15 Mar 1335. A long
list of names follows including……Robert filium
Simonis de Farndale, Rogerum de milne
de Farndale, Robertum, filium
Petri de Farndale.
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c1266 to c1340 Robert was fined
for poaching in Pickering Forest in 1293 and 1332 |
Nicholas
of Farndale, gave bail for Roger
son of Gilbert
of Farndale who had been caught poaching in 1334 and 1335.
1334 was the year of the Eyre Court. It was therefore time to catch up
with the Farndale misbehaviour of the preceding years. A mainpernor
was a person who gave a guarantee that a prisoner would attend court. Westgill is the area of Farndale around West Gill Beck
which flows down to the River Dove at Low Mill. The folk of Farndale had
clearly been out in significant numbers to engaging in poaching. The hearing
dealt with offences of some antiquity, the reference to the seventeenth regnal
year of Edward I indicating an offence that took place in 1288 to 1289. So
these records were catching up with several years of activity in the forest.
Fines, amercements and issues of
forfeitures at Pikeryng before Richard de Wylughby
[Willoughby], Robert de Hungerford and John de Hambury,
itinerant justices assigned to take the pleas of the forest of Henry, earl of
Lancaster, of Pickering … Roger, son of Gilbert de Frandale [Farndale], one of the mainpernors of John, son of Albe,
indicted of hunting. … John Alberd,
another mainpernor of the same Robert, son of
Richard de Westgill, indicted of hunting. The
same John Alberd, one of the mainpernors
of John, son of Richard de Westgill, indicted
of hunting. John, son of Walter, one of the mainpernors
of Robert, son of Richard de Westgill, indicted of
hunting. John le Shephirde of Farndale, one of the mainpernors
of John, son of Richard de Westgill, indicted of
hunting. Alan, son of Nicholas de Farndale, one of the mainpernors
of Richard, son of John de Farndale, indicted of hunting. The same Alan, son of Nicholas de Farndale, one of the mainpernors
of Adam, son of Simon the miller of Farndale, indicted of hunting. Nicholas Laverok, one of the mainpernors of Richard, son of John de Farndale, indicted of hunting. The same
Nicholas Laverok, one of the mianpernors
of Adam, son of Simon the miller, indicted of hunting. John, son of John the
miller, one of the mainpernors of Richard, son of John the miller of Farndale, indicted of hunting. The same John, son of John the miller, one of the mainpernors
of Adam, son of Simon the miller, indicted of hunting. William le Smyth of
Farndale, one of the mainpernors of Robert,
son of Richard de Westgill, indicted of hunting. The same William le Smyth of
Farndale, one of the mainpernors of John,
son of Richard de Westgill, indicted of hunting. John, son of John the miller, one of the mainpernors
of Richard, son of John the miller of Farndale, indicted of hunting. The same John,
son of John the miller, one of the mainpernors of
Adam, son of Simon the miller, indicted of hunting. Nicholas Brakenthwayt,
one of the mainpernors of Richard, son of John the miller of Farndale, indicted of hunting. The same Nicholas Brakenthwayt, one of the mainpernors
of Adam, son of Simon the miller, indicted of hunting. Alan de Braghby, one of the mainpernors
of Richard, son of John the miller of Farndale, indicted of hunting … Nicholas de Repyngale [Rippingale], one of the mainpernors
of Richard, son of John, and Adam, son of Simon the miller of Farndale, indicted of hunting. The same Alan de Braghby, one of the mainpernors of Adam, son of Simon the miller, indicted of
hunting. John de Braghby, one of the mainpernors of Richard, son of John the miller of Farndale, indicted of hunting. … Pleas of the forest of Henry, earl of Lancaster, of Pikeryng [Pickering], held at Pickering before Richard de Wylughby [Willoughby], Robert de Hungerford and John de Hambury, justices itinerant on this occasion assigned to
take pleas of the said forest in Yorkshire: People mentioned … Adam, son of Simon the miller of Farndale, and Richard, son of John the miller: It is presented that they and
three unknown men, on Friday next after the feast of the Translation of St
Thomas 17 Edw I, came in the said forest in a place called Petroneldel,
and there took two deer. And when they had been proclaimed by the
forester, they sent away one deer, which the foresters carried to the castle of
Pikeryng [Pickering], and another deer the wrongdoers
carried away with them and thereupon did their will. They do not now come, but
it is witnessed that they are staying in the country. Therefore the sheriff is
ordered to make them come … John, son of Richard de Westgil of Farndale, and Robert, his brother: On
Sunday the eve of the Nativity of St John the Baptist 18 Edw II, they came in
the said forest in a certain place called Soterlund,
with one mastiff, bows and arrows, and took there one fawn and carried away the
game with them and thereupon did their will. They do not now come, nor were
they previously attached, but it is witnessed that they are staying in the
country. Therefore the sheriff is ordered to cause them to come.
… Pleas of the forest of Henry, earl of Lancaster, of Pikeryng [Pickering], held at Pickering before Richard de Wylughby
[Willoughby], Robert de Hungerford and John de Hambury,
justices itinerant on this occasion assigned to take pleas of the said forest
in Yorkshire: … Richard Moryn of Rossedale
[Rosedale] on the behalf of the abbot of St Mary, William Trotan
of Spaunton, Roger del Mulne of Farndale, Robert, son of Peter of the same, Walter Blakhous of
the same, and Ralph de Heued of the same: On Monday next after the feast of the Epiphany, they came in the forest
in an unknown place with bows and arrows and killed one four-year-old buck and
hunted one stag and carried away with them the game and thereupon did their
will. They have not now come, etc. Therefore the sheriff is ordered to cause
them to come … Roger son of Emma, John de Bordesden,
Robert Moryng, John, son of William the Smith of Farndale, Robert Stybbyng,
and William Bullok: Around the feast of St Botolph 10 Edw [III], they came in the forest
in a place called Rotemir [Rutmoor],
and took there one deer and one calf, and carried away that game …. Roger Sturdy, Thomas de Hippeswell, Robert, son of Simon de Farndale, John le Caluehird
and Peter son of Henry: On Thursday next before Michaelmas 6 Edw III, they came
in the said forest in a place called Flaskes and
there hunted one stag and took it away with them. They have not now come, nor
were they previosuly attached, but it is witnessed
that they are living in the country. Therefore the sheriff is ordered to make
them come … Richard, son of John the miller of Farndale, and Adam, son of Simon the miller of Farndale: After they trespassed about hunting
in this forest, Richard and Adam were sent away by the mainprise of Nicholas de
Repynghale [Rippingale], Adam, son of Nicholas de Farndale, Nicholas Laverok,
John, son of John the miller, Nicholas de Brakenthwayt
[Brackenthwaite[, Alan de Wraghby
[Wragby] and John Wraghby of Farndale, who mainperned to have them on the first day of the eyre, and
they so not now have them, etc … John, son of Richard de Westgille of Farndale: John was sent away by the mainprise
of William le Smyth of Farndale, Richard de Westgill,
John le Shephird of Farndale, John Alberd
of the same, Nicholas, son of Walter of the same, John del Heued of the
same, and Robert de Westgill, who mainperned
to have him on the first day of the eyre, and they do not now have him, etc. Robert, son of Richard de Westgill of
Farndale: Robert was sent away by the mainprise of William le Smyth of Farndale, John, son of Walter of the same, John Alberd of the
same, and Nicholas, son of Walter of the same, who mainperned to have
him on the first day of the eyre, and they do not now have him, etc … John son of Abba: John was sent away by the mainprise of Roger, son of Alfred de Farndale, Roger, son of Gilbert of the same, Richard de Beverle [Beverley] of the same, William Kyng of the same, John de Hoton of
the same, Thomas Makand, Hugh the clerk of Cropton,
William de Birkheued of Hartoft, Henry del Tung,
Peter son of Gervase, Hugh Broun [Brown], smith, and William Hare, who mainperned to have him on the first day of the eyre, and
they do not now have him, etc.
In 1335, on the Pleas of the forest of Henry, earl of
Lancaster, of Pikeryng, held at Pickering before the said Richard de Wylughby
[Willoughby] and John de Hambury, justices itinerant
on this occasion assigned to take pleas of the said forest in Yorkshire there was a very long list of names which included Robert, son of Simon de Farnedale [Farndale], Roger del Milne of Farnedale [Farndale], Robert, son of Peter de Farndale, Walter Blachose, regarding whom the sheriff
is ordered to cause the aforesaid people to come before the justices here on
this day to make satisfaction to the earl about their redemption for trespasses
of hunting made in this forest, whereof they are convicted before the said
justices by the foresters, verderers and other ministers. And they have not
come.
The
unbalanced nature of medieval justice is illustrated by the fact that Lady Blanche Wake, whose tenants
all these men were, was convicted in 1335 taking a soar
and two hinds and carrying them off for her own use. Afterward continued
the record, the Earl , that is the Earl of Lancaster, directed his
Justices to stay all further proceedings against the Lady Blanche, wherefore
they stayed proceedings.
In 1336 Fines
at Pikeryng before Richard de Wylughby
[Willoughby] and John de Hambury were imposed on
another long list of names which included John, son
of William
fabri of Farndale. William was the fabri, or blacksmith of Farndale.
John de
Farndale was
bailed for poaching at Pickering before Richard de Wylughby
and John de Hainbury on Monday 2 December 1336.
William,
smith of Farndale
was reported to have come hunting in Lefebow with bow
and arrows and gazehounds, or greyhounds, on Monday 2 December 1336.
|
c1295 to c1370 William was the poacher of a hind and a calf in 1330 and repeat
offender in 1336 |
In 1337 on Pleas of the forest of
Henry, earl of Lancaster, of Pikeryng, held at
Pickering before the said Richard de Wylughby
[Willoughby] and John de Hambury, justices itinerant
on this occasion assigned to take pleas of the said forest in Yorkshire
another long list of names was presented including Robert, son of Simon de Farnedale, Roger del Milne of Farnedale, Robert, son of Peter de Farndale, Walter Blachose, Ralph del Heued, and William de Ergom [Argam], chaplain, regarding whom the sheriff is
ordered to cause the aforesaid people to come before the justices here on this
day to make satisfaction to the earl about their redemption for trespasses of
hunting made in this forest, whereof they are convicted before the said
justices by the foresters, verderers and other ministers. And they have not
come.
In 1338 on the Pleas of the forest of Henry, earl of
Lancaster, of Pikeryng, held at Pickering before the said Richard de Wylughby
[Willoughby] and John de Hambury, justices itinerant
on this occasion assigned to take pleas of the said forest in Yorkshire, another long list of names included Robert, son of Simon de Farnedale [Farndale], Roger del Milne of Farnedale [Farndale], Robert, son of Peter de Farndale, Walter Blachose, Ralph del Heued, and William de Ergom [Argam], chaplain, regarding whom once again the
sheriff is ordered to cause the aforesaid people to be exacted from county to
county, until, etc, they are outlawed, if they do appear. And if they do
appear, he is then to take them, in such a way that he has their bodies here at
this day to make satisfaction to the earl about their redemption for trespasses
of hunting whereof they are convicted before the said justices by the
foresters, verderers and other ministers.
Clearly
efforts were made to apprehend Robert,
son of Simon of
Farndale, Roger
the miller of Farndale, Robert
son of Peter of
Farndale, Walter Blackhaus, Ralph Heved and apparently even the chaplain in 1335 and 1337 and
in 1338 they were outlawed with orders that they be apprehended and brought
before the forest officers if found.
In English
law, oyer and terminer, from the French oyer et terminer, literally
means to hear and to determine. It was one of the commissions by which a
judge of assize sat. By
the commission of oyer and terminer the commissioners, the judges of assize,
along with others also listed, were named in the commission, and commanded to
make diligent inquiry into all treasons, felonies and misdemeanours whatever
committed in the counties specified in the commission, and to hear and
determine the same according to law. The inquiry was by means of a grand jury.
After the grand jury had found the bills of indictment submitted to it, the
commissioners proceeded to hear and determine by means of the petit jury.
The words oyer and terminer were also used to denote the court that had
jurisdiction to try offences within the limits to which the commission of oyer
and terminer extended.
In 1347, the
twenty first regnal year of Edward III, at Westminster, Commission of Oyer
and terminer was ordered to Henry de Percy, Thomas de Rokeby, William
Basset, William Malbys, William de Broclesby, Thomas de Fencotes and
Thomas de Seton, on complaint by the same Peter that Edmund de Hastynges against a number of individuals including William
Smyth of Farndale the younger who had broke
his park at Egton, Co York, hunted therein, carried away his goods with deer
from the park and assaulted his men and servants, whereby he lost their service
for a great time. By fine of 1 mark. There was also a reference to Richard Ruttok of Farendale in the long
list of names.
The value of
a mark was 13s 4d. There is a webpage about the value
of medieval money.
Again, on 17
January 1348 at Westminster, there was a commission of oyer and terminer
to a long list of names including William
Smyth of Farndale the younger and Richard Ruttok
of Farendale for breaking in to the park at
Egton, hunting and carrying away the property of the owner with deer, and for
assaulting the owner’s men and servants causing their inability to work for a
long time, for which they were fined 1 mark.
Breaking the
close refers to the unlawful entry to another person’s land. It is common law
trespass.
In the
twenty seventh regnal year of Edward III, on 6 December 1353, Commission of
oyer and terminor was ordered to William de Greystok … touching the evildoers who lately broke
to closes, houses and parks of William son and heit
of William Latymer, tenant in chief at Daneby, co York, while these were in the king’s hands by reason of
the nonage of the said heir, entered his free chace there, hunted therein and carried away deer, and assulated his men and servants whereby he lost their
service for a great time. The like complaint by William Latymer that John,
prior of Gisborne, Robert de Thornton, his fellow canon, Nicholas Rosels … John Colinman of Farnedale …
and others broke etc (as above).
William Blakhose of Farndalde, John Cokrell the Younger of Farnedale
and Hugh Moigne of Farnedale were all fined 20s for poaching fish
in 1366, in the fortieth regnal year of Edward III. On February 10, At
Westminster. Commission of Oyer and Terminer to John Mourbray,
Thomas de Ingleby … on complaint by Peter de Malo Lacu, ‘le sisme’,
that William Birkhead of Wasdale …William Blakhose
of Farndale, John Cokrell the younger of Farndale….
broke park at Grenhowe and entered his free warrens
at Semar in Clyvelande, Whorleton
in Clivelande, Seton in Whitebystrande,
Boynton ‘on the Wolde’ and Killyngwyk by Braken, co York, hunted in these,
fished in his stews and other several fisheries there, took fish therein, and
carried away fish as well as other goods and hares, conies, pheasants and
partridges, and assaulted and wounded his servants. For 20s paid in the hanaper.
A hanaper
is a drinking vessel, so perhaps there was a collection pot for the fines.
Violent
poaching and cattle rustling
William
Blackhous was involved in another incident in
1366 involving Roger milne of Farndale.
Seemingly on something of a rampage, in the following year William
Blackhouse and William of Farndale trespassed, hunted, felled trees, fished,
trod down and ate corn and assaulted the servants of the complaining knight,
William Latimer. In the forty first regnal year of Edward III, on 8 November
1367, at Westminster, Commission of Oyer and Terminer was ordered to John
Mourbray, Thomas de Ingleby … on complaint by
William Latymer, knight, that whereas the king lately took him, his men, lands,
rents and possessions into his protection while he stayed in the king’s service
in the parts of Brittany, Master John de Bolton, clerk, Thomas de Neuton, chaplain, William Rede … William of Farndale
… William Blakehose of Farndale … broke
his closes at Danby, Leverton, Thornton in Pykerynglith,
Symnelyngton, Scampton, Teveryngton
and Morhous, Co York, entered his free chace at Danby and his free warren at the remaining places,
hunted therein without licence, felled his trees there, fished in his several
fishery, took away fish, trees, deer from the chace,
hares, conies, pheasants and partridges from the warren departured,
trod down and consumed the corn and grass there with certain cattle and
assaulted and wounded his men and servants. By K And be it remembered that the
said William has granted the king a moiety of all the profit which he shall
recover for damages by pretext of the said commission.
On 6 March
1370, William Latimer’s complaint was reheard since at Westminster. Commission
of Oyer and Terminer was ordered to John
Mourbray, Thomas de Ingleby … on complaint by
William Latymer, knight, that whereas the king lately took him, then stayed in
his service in Brittany, and his men,
lands, rents and possessions into his protection, into his possession for a
certain time, Master John de Bolton, clerk, Thomas de Neuton,
chaplain, William Rede …John Cockerell of Farndale … William Blakhose of Farndale … broke his closes at Danby,
Leverton, Thornton in Pykerynglith, Symnelyngton, Scampton, Teveryngton
and Morhous, and entered his free chace
at the said town of Danby and his free warren at the remaining places, hunted
in these, felled his trees there, fished in his several fishery there, carried
away his fish, trees, deer from the chace, hares,
conies, pheasants and partridges from the warren, trode
down and consumed with cattle his crops and assaulted his men and servants.
7 May 1370,
at Westminster, a pardon was given to William
Farndale of Caleys of the King's suit for the
death of John de Spaldyngton, whereof he had been
indicted, and he was pardoned of any consequent outlawry. Spaldington
is a village about twenty kilometres southeast of York and Caleys
is probably a place in that vicinity.
On 20
November 1372 at Westminster, Commission was given to Ralph de Hastynges, John Moubray, Thomas de Ingleby, Roger de Fulthorp and John de Laysyngby, on
complaint by William Latymer that John de Rungeton,
John son of John Percy of Kildale, John de Grenhowe,
chaplain, John de Grenhow, parson in the church of
Kildale, John Porter of Farndale, Hugh Bailly of Farndale, Adam
Bailly of Farndale, and others, entered his free chace
at Danby co York, hunted therein without licence and took deer therefrom, and
assaulted his men and servants. By C.
The hapless
knight William Latimer was suffering once again at the whims of the reckless
folk of Farndale.
Things seem
to be getting out of hand when on 10 December 1384, at Westminster, a
Commission of Oyer and Terminer related to John Farndale and others who broke their close,
houses and hedges at Wittonstalle and Fayrhils, Co Northumberland and seized 30 horses, 20 mares,
100 oxen and 100 cowes valued at £200 and carried
them off with goods and chattels, assaulted his men, servants and tenants and
so threatened them that they left his service.
The scale of
the rustling expedition is breathtaking. Perhaps the poaching tradition,
initially driven by famine and hunger, had turned into something akin to
organised crime, a foretaste of the Border
Reivers who were starting to harass the border areas at about the same
time.
|
c1365 to c1450 John took poaching
to a new scale when he was involved in a significant cattle and horse
rustling expedition in 1384 |
On 21 August
1385 at Durham, Commission of Oyer and Terminer was ordered to investigate an
allegation that John
Farndale, and others broke their close, houses and hedges at Wittonstalle and Fayrhils, Co
Northumberland.’ John seems to have got a taste for his adventures north.
On 19 April
1396, a pardon was given to Robert
de Wodde of Farndale, for the death of John Hawlare
of Kirby Moorseved, killed there on Monday, the eve
of the Purification in the eigtheenth year. The
eighteenth year must have been a reference to the eighteenth regnal year of
Richard II, so the death must have occurred on 1 February (the eve of
Candlemas, also known as the Purification) 1395.
There was another
serious armed robbery on 2 May 1398. At Westminster. Commission of Oyer
and Terminer to Henry de Percy, earl of Northumberland, John Depeden, knight, Thomas Colvyle
the elder, knight, John Markham, William Gascoigne, Richard de Norton, John de
Burgh, William de Nenson, and Miles de Stapilton, on complaint by High Gascoigne, parson of Staynegreve, that Peter de Clay, son of John de Clay of Fadmore, Richard de Thornton of Neuton,
Thomas Wolthwayt of Farnedale,
William Irpe, John de Bolton, ‘coseur’,
Robert de Thornton of Neuton, John del Clay of Fadmore, Richard del Clay, Richard Candy, Thomas de
Crathorne the elder, Adam Helmeslay, and other
armed malefactors broke his close and houses at Steingreve,
assaulted him, fished in his several fishery there, and took away his fish
and goods and chattels to the value of 200 marks as well as 1000 marks in
money, and assaulted his men and servants. For 4 marks paid in the hanaper.’
This was
armed robbery at scale, it seems. Four marks into the collection pot doesn’t
quite seem to do justice to the scale of the crime.
On 16 April
1445 at Westminster…..for not appearing before William Babynton
and his fellows when impleaded with Richard Coke of Cokewald,
Co York…. Lawrence Hoggeson of Farndale and John Farndale
of Stillyngton Co Durham, wright, to answer
Thomas Bishop of Durham touching trespass.
Robin
Hood
There is a
Sky documentary, the British,
of which Episode 2, People
Power, depicts two brothers, called Philips, poaching in Pickering Forest.
The Philips brothers in the Sky documentary might as well have been Farndales.
The documentary observes that it was stories of folk such as the poachers of
Pickering Forest who, a few centuries later, would inspire the tales of Robin
Hood.
|
|
|
The
legend of Robin Hood explored for its Yorkshire roots, and the Farndale
connection with the legends, first as the class of poachers who gave rise to
the inspiration, and later their fifteenth century descendants who lived in
the place where the stories emerged |
Whether you
perceive these folk as petty criminals or heroic merry men, you will
find plenty of such characters amongst our medieval forebears and in the early
history of the folk of Farndale.
We might
have some sympathy for our forbears. There were large
numbers of landless folk exacerbated by the Great Famine following bad weather
and poor harvests in 1315 which gave rise to widespread unrest, crime and
infanticide. The Black Death hit
Yorkshire in March 1349. The Normans had deprived our ancestors of their
traditional forest hunting grounds by which their own forebears had survived by
finding meat and subsidence, when they reserved vast areas of Pickering stretching into Farndale, as royal forest.
It happens
that descendants of the Farndale outlaws, came to live at Campsall in
Barnsdale Forest two centuries later, in the place and at the time when the
ballads and tales of Robin Hood started to be formally recorded and written
down. So on a separate page we explore the association of the thirteenth and
fourteenth century poachers, with the fifteenth and sixteenth century
storytellers of the legends of Robin
Hood.
Poachers
turned game keepers
Victorian
Britain was a place of contradiction. On the one hand there was a cultural
emphasis on politeness and cultural achievement. On the other hand, there was
ruthless treatment of criminals and the poor. In rural areas, there was harsh
punishment of poaching, which was probably still at that time a continued sign
of rural inequality in times of enclosure, which deprived the poor of common
land for pasture and fuel.
By then
however more innocuous signs of desperation were mixed with organised crime,
particularly in urban areas. More widely there were violent armed gangs,
involved in smuggling, poaching and housebreaking. Dick Turpin, later
romanticised, began his criminal career as a gang member in Essex. Most crime
however was petty. There were few prisons or police at the start of the
nineteenth century. Victims generally had to take matters into their own hands.
Local power depended on deference, but by the early eighteenth century,
deference had to be earned. There was a growing confederacy between those
working on the land who increasingly saw the Squire’s property as fair booty
and who colluded to help each other against punishment. Attempts to enforce
ancient Game Laws which reserved all game to the lord of the manor, led to
serious confrontation.
Descendants
of the medieval Farndale family were both associates of the smugglers and enforcers of the law. As
farmers in their own right, they often came to encounter their own
problems with poachers and had little option but to vigorously pursue
poachers, trespassers and damage causers. From the 1870s we find extensive
records of Martin
Farndale being involved in criminal proceedings against poachers,
trespassers and damage causers on his land. Since this was a time of
depression, we might have sympathy with those who were acting out of
desperation and remember Martin’s ancestors, who had been fined, outlawed and
excommunicated, around Pickering Forest, for poaching in the King’s forest. On
the other hand, we must recognise the difficulty for farmers in protecting
their livelihood. Martin had to rely on the criminal courts to protect his
livelihood.
Medieval
poaching was certainly a sign of the desperation encountered by many of our
forebears. As time went on, the issues behind poaching became far more
complicated, but it continued as a component of the historical story, into
modern times.
or
Go Straight to Act 8 - Pathfinders
Before you
do that you might like:
· To Explore Pickering Church, with its
medieval mural depicting archers amongst other things, visit Pickering Castle, where our
ancestors were put on trial, and perhaps drive through the Yorkshire
Forest, in the lands of the once vast Pickering Forest where these
offences took place.
· To meet some of the poachers
themselves including Richard
and Thomas Farndale, Roger Milne
of Farndale, Robert
de Farndale, William
Smyth of Farndale and John Farndale.
If you’d
like to read some more about poaching in Pickering Forest, there are many
articles including
· The
Poachers of Pickering Forest 1282—1338, Derek Rivard, Medieval Prosopography, Vol.
17, No. 2, Autumn 1996, pp. 97-144.
· An article about Medieval Forests in
North East Yorkshire written in 1988 in the Ryedale Historian.
· The Honor
and Forest of Pickering, edited and translated by Robert B. Turton, 4
vols., North
Riding Record Society, n.s.,1-4 (1894-97), 2: 60-62.
· Elizabeth C. Wright, Common
Law in the Thirteenth Century English Royal Forests [Philadelphia,
1928]).
· Charles R. Young, The
Royal Forests of Medieval England (Philadelphia, 1979)
· Raymond Grant, The
Royal Forests of England (Wolfeboro Falls, 1991).
· Jean Birrell, Forest Law and the
Peasantry in the Thirteenth Century, Thirteenth Century England II:
Proceeding of the Newcastle upon Tyne Conference 1987 , ed. Peter R. Coss and
Simon D. Lloyd (Woodbridge, Suff., 1988), pp. 149-64.
· Who Poached the King's Deer? A Study
in Thirteenth Century Crime, Midland History [1982]: 9-25.
· Hunters and Poachers: A Social and
Cultural History of Unlawful Hunting in England 1485-1640, Roger B. Manning, August 1993.
· Forest Laws from Anglo-Saxon England
to the Early Thirteenth Century, chapter 19 of The Oxford History of the Laws of England:
871-1216, John Hudson.
· The
Extent of the English Forest in the Thirteenth Century, Margaret Ley Bazeley,
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Vol. 4 (1921), pp. 140-172.
· The
Forest Eyre in England during the Thirteenth Century, Charles Young, The American Journal
of English History Vol 18 No 4, October 1974
The
underlying historical research is at the Poachers of
Pickering, with chronological records and references to source material.