Every three years a regard or view of the Forest was to be made. This entailed an inspection of the
land within the bounds of the Forest to ascertain that the Forest Law was being followed and
particularly that there were no illegal enclosures and that all possible was being done to maintain the
Forest for the benefit of the King's deer. The official who undertook this survey was the Regarder.
The Ranger of the Purlieus was an official whose duty was to look after the purlieus, areas which,
with the redefining of the boundary, had come to be outside the Forest jurisdiction and were thus not
subject to the laws of the Forest, with the exception of certain laws relating to the deer.
There is scant mention of three other Forest officers: the Beadle, who officiated as crier at the Court
of Attachments and also impounded stray beasts and delivered notices issued by the Forest Courts;
the Messenger in Ordinary (CAII p. 54) and the Game Keeper within the Forest to the Chief Justice
in Eyre (CA I p. 188). These latter two posts seem to have been held by individuals holding other
positions in the Forest. Benjamin Stephens, for example, who was Keeper of Loughton Walk in 1743,
was appointed Gamekeeper within the Forest in 1747.
Three other posts are mentioned. The woodwards, appointed by owners of woods, dealt with matters
relating to timber and wood in the Forest. The crown appointed a woodward to look after its interests
in Hainault Forest and the Crown-owned coppiced woodlands. The Reeve was appointed by the parish
to deal with the pasturing of commonable beasts of the Forest. (There was no agister recorded for
Epping Forest, although they existed in other Forests.) Lastly, there was the gaoler of Stratford Gaol,
a building established solely for the purpose of holding offenders against the Forest Law. It existed
from probably the early 17th to the late 18th century.
References
Fisher, W. R. 11887) The Forest of Essex. London.
Sharpe, J. A. (1986) "William Holcroft His Booke" Local office-holding in late Stuart Essex. E.R.O. publication No. 90 Essex Historical
Documents No. 2 p. 31.
Lodges and Standings
by Oliver Rackham
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
The more important Forests had one or more buildings called lodges, belonging to the king. The New
Forest, for example, had at least five, four of which were built or rebuilt by order of Edward III in
1358.1 What lodges were, and how they were used, we do not really know. Contemporary records do
not tell us, for they assume that everyone knew, and the archaeological evidence is also meagre. I shall
make some guesses, based on the kinds of functions which they would have had to acommodate.
Each Forest had a large staff of permanent Foresters. Many of these were sinecurists and never went
near the Forest. The senior active Foresters were hereditary, and were also local gentry.
At the lower end of the scale there were riding-Foresters. foot-Foresters and 'boys', who patrolled
the Forest and caught offenders against Forest Law." Some of these, too, would have had homes of
their own. but there was probably a need for at least overnight accommodation. They would have had
to provide for horses and equipment.
Forest legal proceedings also needed to be provided for. A dry place was needed for at least the Court
of Attachments, which was the most frequent of Forest courts, supposed to be held every six weeks,
supervised by Verderers, local gentry who presumably rode over for the day from their own homes.
In Epping, where the grazing was common to many parishes and manors, the Forest authorities had
the additional duty of supervising the common; they would have needed a pinfold for impounding
unlawful beasts.
Then there was catching of deer. In medieval times this was done mainly by royal hunters,
professionals who rode from Forest to Forest fulfilling the king's orders for venison. A hunting crew
could amount to a dozen men. some if not all on horses, and 80 hounds.3 All these would have had to
be fed and put up for several nights. Tools and salt would have been needed for Butchering the carcases,
and horses and carts to take the venison away. There would also be occasions when deer were to be
taken alive for stocking parks: this might involve half-a-mile of netting to be got out of a store, and
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