Act 7
The Poachers of Pickering Forest
And then the justice, in
fair round belly with good capon lin’d, with eyes severe
and beard of formal cut, full of wise saws and modern instances and so he plays
his part[1].
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Some introductory
music to set the scene. |
Prologue
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
to meet the second generation, who were a little more restless than their
fathers.
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.
Their archery skills would foretell the
legends of Robin Hood and the
English army at Agincourt.
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[2]. Before the Conquest the important manor of
Pickering was held by Earl Morcar.
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[3]. 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." [4]
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.
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.
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 Croachback, 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.
|
The Duchy of Lancaster and the Honour and Forest of Pickering The surprising association of our early family
history with the House of Lancaster |
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 had begun their 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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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 |
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
We
are given a sense of a hard working first generation who settled in Farndale
from the early thirteenth century, who had acquired some comparative wealth by
turn of fourteenth century, and an adventurous, reckless or sometimes desperate
younger generation who increasingly came into contact with the burgeoning royal
jurisdiction.
It
is through the poaching and trespassing activities of the medieval inhabitants
of the dale, that we can add further depth to our understanding of the
fourteenth century landscape and its actors.
On
a cold Monday in January 1293, five men, including Roger the Miller of Farndale
and Walter Blackhous of Farndale went hunting in a
part of West Rosedale that belonged to St Mary’s Abbey and at an unknown place
in the forest they killed a soar[5], and a hart[6], with bows and arrows[7]. They were all outlawed.
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Roger the Miller of Farndale, the “Hard Bear” c 1255 to c 1345
The miller of
Farndale who probably worked at High Mill A poacher by 1293 who was probably the person described as burly
as a bear |
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In
1315, one of Britain's worst storms halved the crop yield. Half a million
perished. As the price of crops increased many were driven to supplement their
diets by hunting. Where common rights had been previously exercised, in royal
forests such as Pickering it was a criminal offence. Such men must have been
skilled bowmen, potentially also those who may be called upon to fight for
their king. However when they hunted in the royal forests they faced onerous
penalties. The hunters were chased by the king's foresters and were often
caught, tried, fined and sometimes excommunicated or outlawed.
Richard
de Farndale and Thomas of Farndale, were excommunicated for stealing at
Pickering Castle on 12 August 1316. 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 …
Thomas of Farndale, … Richard of Farndale … 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.
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c 1275 to c 1345
John had a gift of land
in Marton in 1300 However he was
excommunicated for stealing on 12 August 1316 From 1323 he was
in trouble for a string of poaching offences |
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Excommunication in the Middle Ages
There is a podcast
in the Gone Medieval series on the impact, or sometimes lack of impact, of
excommunication. King John was excommunicated in 1307 and initially at least
ignored it. |
On
1 July 1323 Adam, son of Simon the Miller of Farndale, and Richard, son of John
the Miller, with three other unknown men, came into Pickering Forest in a place
called Petreneldel, and took two deer. When
they had been chased by the forester, they sent away one deer, which the
foresters carried to the castle of Pickering, but the wrongdoers carried away
the other deer with them and thereupon did their will. They did not come
to a hearing on 3 October 1334 and the sheriff was ordered to apprehend them.
Later, Adam and Richard came before the justices and asked to pay for licence
to make concord for their offence so that they could be redeemed. Adam paid 26s
8d and Richard paid 40s for this licence, and they found mainpernors
(guarantors) for these amounts[8].
John
de Farndale was released from excommunication at Pickering Castle on 23
February 1324. This may have related to a prior poaching offence. We make
known to Your Royal Excellency, by these presents that … John of Farndale … 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 … 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[9].
On
23 June 1325 John, son of Richard de Westgil of Farndale, and Robert, his
brother came into Pickering Forest in a certain place called Soterlund, with one mastiff, and bows and arrows, and they
took there one fawn and carried away the game with them and thereupon did their
will. They were ordered to appear at a hearing of the matter on 3 October
1334, but did not appear and the sheriff was ordered to apprehend them. They
later paid for a licence to make concord for their redemption. They
acknowledged that from that time, they would not forfeit anything in the
said forest[10], a promise which they were unable to keep.
In
1330, Richard Mosy of Rosedale, William Troten of Spaunton,
Roger del Mulne of Farndale, Robert, son of Peter of
Rosedale, and 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 were
outlawed. In 1331 John, son of William Fabri (the Smith) of Farndale,
and many others captured a young hart at Leasehow, with bows and arrows
and hounds[11].
Robert
Farndale, son of Simon the Miller of Farndale, and Robert Farndale, son of
Peter of Farndale, were fined for poaching at Pickering Castle in 1332. Robert
was outlawed with others for killing a hart in the forest. On 24 September
1332, Robert Farndale, son of Simon, hunted a stag at Flaskes
in Pickering Forest[12].
The
eyre justices (the old French word erre, means
journey) were judges who were sent out from the central courts at Westminster
Hall around the counties. Generally they travelled out every seven years, but
the interval changed from time to time. They considered a miscellany of cases,
known as pleas arising during the period since the last eyre. The first
eyre was in 1166, when Henry II appointed Geoffrey de Mandeville and Sir
Richard de Lucy. Henry’s policy of asserting the legal rights of the Crown
did not make him popular. Eyres were sudden, frightening descents that not only
tried legal cases, but generally asserted royal power, including by aggressive
imposition of higher taxes and feudal extractions[13]. The eyres were the primary source for local
justice until the reign of Edward II.
A
Forest Eyre had taken place at Pickering under a commission to Alexander de
Kirketon and Ralph de Dacre on 10 June 1280. Since little administration
occurred during the chaotic reign of Edward II, another Eyre did not take place
until the early reign of Edward III (1327 to 1377). An eyre hearing picking up
cases over many preceding decades took place at Pickering on 3 October 1334[14] and continued to sit at six monthly intervals
until 1339. The President of the Court was Sir Richard Willoughby, a successful
lawyer whose legal career had made him rich. He was briefly Chief Justice
between 1338 and 1340, but was demoted and charged with corruption. He threw
himself on the King's mercy and was pardoned on payment of 1,200 marks.
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The
1334 to 1339 Eyre of Pickering Forest The itinerant
court which picked up about 40 years of prior business. |
Under
medieval forest law, mainpernors were
individuals who acted as guarantors for others. Mainpernors
vouched for the accused's future appearance in court, preventing them from
fleeing justice within the forest jurisdiction.
A
significant amount of business was dealt with during the October 1334 Eyre,
with regular appearances by the folk of Farndale including:
|
Poacher |
Amount of
Fine |
Mainpernor |
Payer of
fine |
|
Roger,
son of Gilbert of Farndale |
1s 8d |
John son of Abbas |
Nicholas de Repyngale |
|
John
de Hutton |
2s |
John Albred |
John Albred |
|
Thomas Makaunt |
1s |
Roger
son of Gilbert of Farndale |
Roger
son of Gilbert of Farndale |
|
Peter son of Gervase |
2s |
Elias Cokerell |
Elias Cokerell |
|
Peter son of
Gervais |
2s |
Roger merchant of Pickering |
John Cokerell |
|
Robert Westgyll |
3s 4d |
John,
son of Richard de Westgill |
Nicholas de Farndale |
|
John Shepherd of Farndale |
3s 4d |
Nicholas de Repyngale |
Nicholas de Repyngale |
|
William the Smith of Farndale |
2s |
Nicholas de Farndale |
Nicholas de Farndale |
|
John Alberd |
2s |
Robert son of Richard de Westgill |
William the Smith |
|
John, son of Walter |
2s |
John Alberd |
John Alberd |
|
William the Smith of Farndale |
2s |
Nicholas de Repyngale |
Nicholas de Repyngale |
|
Alan son of Nicholas
of Farndale |
3s 4d |
Richard
son of John the Miller of Farndale |
John Alberd |
|
Alan son of Nicholas
of Farndale |
3s 4d |
Adam son of Simon the
Miller of Farndale |
John Alberd |
|
John son of John Miller |
2s |
William the
Smith |
William the
Smith |
|
Nicholas de Repyngale |
5s |
Adam son of Simon the
Miller of Farndale,
Richard son of John Miller |
Walter Trusseleygh |
At
that same hearing, Thomas Wake was summoned to account for fines for straying
animals at Middleton on an unknown date. He claimed that the fines had already
been paid. John de Farndale gave his evidence in the matter[15].
Roger
the Miller of Farndale; Robert, son of Peter of Farndale; Walter Blakhous of Farndale, and Ralph de Heued
of Farndale came into Pickering Forest at an unknown place with bows and arrows
and killed a four year old buck and hunted a stag and carried away with them
the game and thereupon they did their will. They were ordered to appear at
the hearing of the Eyre on 3 October 1334, but although they were living in
the country, they did not appear. Therefore the sheriff was ordered to make
them come. However the Sheriff failed to apprehend them, since they had
withdrawn into hiding, and so the search was continued while meantime they were
declared to be outlaws[16]. The case was heard at six monthly intervals
seven times until September 1339 when the sheriff was ordered to hunt them from
county to county and if they were still not found, they were to be permanently
outlawed[17].
A
decade later such low level poaching activity had blossomed into organised
crime. On 17 January 1348 at Westminster, there was a commission of oyer and
terminer to determine allegations relating 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[18].
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c 1284 to c 1350
William probably
continued a family business at the Smithy which was probably located at Low
Mill William and his sons enjoyed a spot of poaching, but his sons
took poaching to a new level and were later engaged in violent raiding
expeditions |
A
Commission of Oyer and Terminer was a legal commission to judge serious
offences. It literally means to hear and determine in Anglo-French. The commissioners
were the judges of assize, commanded to make diligent inquiry into
misdemeanours committed in the counties specified in the commission, and to
hear and determine the cases arising according to law. The inquiry was by means
of the grand jury. After the grand jury had filed the bills of
indictment, the commissioners proceeded to hear and determine by means of the petit
jury.
Another
Commission of oyer and terminor was given to
William de Greystok on 6 December 1353 touching a
list of evildoers, including John Colinman of Farnedale,
who had lately broke the closes, houses and parks of William son and heir of
William Latymer, tenant in chief at Danby and hunted therein and carried
away deer, and assaulted his men and servants whereby he lost their service for
a great time[19].
William
Blakhose of Farndale, John Cokrell the Younger of Farnedale
and Hugh Moigne of Farnedale were all fined 20s for
poaching fish in 1366[20].
There
was another Commission of Oyer and Terminer ordered on 8 November 1367
on another complaint by the hapless William Latymer, knight, that various
individuals including John Cokerell of Farndale and William Blakehose of
Farndale broke his closes at Danby, Leverton, Thornton in Pykerynglith, Symnelyngton,
Scampton, Teveryngton and Morhous,
in the County of 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[21]. The matter was to be heard afresh on 6 March
1369 at Westminster[22].
On
20 November 1372, at Westminster another
Commission, once again on the complaint by the harassed William Latymer,
investigated an allegation that a number of individuals including 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[23].
There
was a significant cattle and horse rustling expedition in 1384 in
Northumberland involving John Farndale. On 10 December 1384, at Westminster,
a Commission of Oyer and Terminer
investigated a serious raid in which various individuals including John
Farndale broke their close, houses and hedges at Wittonstalle
and Fayrhils, in 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[24]. The scale of this heist was extraordinary.
|
John de Farndale,
“The Cattle Rustler” c 1315 to c 1390
John Farndale was another
of the family poachers. He slew a hart in Leashow in 1331, promised
to behave in 1334, but took a hind and calf in Rotemir
in 1336. Then, in 1384, having raised his game to a new scale, he took
part in a major cattle rustling expedition in Northumberland, assaulting and
threatening the landlord’s servants |
On
19 April 1396 a pardon was allowed to Robert de Wodde of Farndale, for the
death of John Hawlare of Kirby Moorseved,
killed there on Monday, the eve of the Purification[25].
On
2 May 1398 at Westminster, a Commission of Oyer and Terminer was granted
to Henry de Percy, earl of Northumberland and others, on a complaint by Hugh
Gascoigne, parson of Staynegreve, that several
individuals including Thomas Wolthwayt of Farnedale, 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 1,000 marks in money,
and assaulted his men and servants. For 4 marks paid in the hanaper[26]. A hanaper was a medieval cup or drinking
vessel, no doubt used as a receptacle for fines.
On
16 April 1445 Lawrence Hoggeson of Farndale and John Farndale of Stillyngton, in County Durham, were to answer the complaint
of Thomas Bishop of Durham touching on trespass[27].
The
extent of this activity, all involving folk of the dale, reflects the
continuing tension between the indigenous communities, deprived of their
ancient common law rights, and the impositions upon them of the Crown and the
nobility. It provides perspective on the sense of unfairness that gave rise to
the Robin Hood stories, and to new ideas of basic human rights that started to
emerge in Magna Carta. However perhaps justifiable misdeeds seem over
time to have evolved into more sinister crime.
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.
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|
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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 in a later Act, 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.
Go Straight to Act 8 - Pathfinders
or
The underlying historical research is
at the Poachers of
Pickering, with chronological records and references to source material.
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