woodcutting had been limited to the winter, wood might be removed only on a
sledge and not a cart, and sheep were forbidden; the earlier more liberal
practices had been forgotten, and it was even supposed that the rights had been
granted by Queen Elizabeth — so short are people's memories! We do not know
whether the restrictions were imposed by landowners wishing to increase their
own profit in the Forest, or by the commoners themselves wishing to protect
their interests against an increase in their numbers. A dated instance of a
restriction is a manorial order in Loughton in 1570 that lopwood might only be
removed on a sledge with two horses (24). An order on the Crown estates in
1581, however, merely prohibits the use of "unreasonable great Carts, made of
purpose, to carry away double Loads" drawn by more than six horses (27).
LAND-USES, 1610 - 1800
Forest organization
James I and especially Charles I reactivated the Forest system. By the 1630s
Charles was applying the Forest Laws with the full severity which he imagined
his predecessors had used. This was largely for the money which might be raised
either by enforcing or by extinguishing the ancient jurisdictions. Forests were
also seen as actual or potential sources of timber for the naval dockyards, thus
saving the expense of buying it on the open market. Both factors operated in
Essex, but in addition James I seems genuinely to have enjoyed hunting and to
have been within easy reach of Epping Forest from his palace at Theobalds.
In practice the laws were enforced more severely than they had been 400
years before. Venison fines included one of £5 for killing a fawn in 1632 and one
of £30 which the court of 1670 tried to impose. In 1670 a fine of £10 was im-
posed for cutting oaks valued at £1 (24). Horses and carts were confiscated.
Charles I even tried to restore the Forest jurisdiction to its pre-1301 bounds
encompassing most of Essex; he briefly introduced expectation — the fee
anciently paid by owners of dogs in some other Forests for not cutting off part of
one of the animal's feet lest it run after the deer.
The practice was revived of requiring owners of private woods within the
jurisdiction to get felling licences before doing any coppicing. The law reached
its greatest severity in 1723, when the Black Act made deer-stealing a capital
crime. Thereafter the system seems rapidly to have declined, though felling
licences continued until 1770 (24).
Deer
The fallow deer seem at first to have declined and the red to have remained
steady. In 1670, on about two-thirds of the Forests, there were said to be 90
fallow and 140 red (67).
42