The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1885-11-12
William tho Conqueror aud tho Eng.
lish Forests.

William the Conqueror, like King
Canute. took much Delight in Hunt
ing, and" according to eighteenth CEN
tury historians, chad such n Fury for
gratifying that Passion that ho reseryed
all Hunting and Sporting in his Forests
to himself, or to such rs ho thought
proper to indulge" Tbeso chronicicrs
then proceed to give terrible picture
OF the King depopulating largo tracts
OF Hampshire 10 order to form o Now
Forest. although no already had sever
al in tho ocountry-'turning e out all the
Inhabitants, destroying tho Houses,
Gardens. and oven Churches, which
stood In that tract of land in order to
make 1t IL desert" This view of Will
liam's conduct with regard to tho Now
Forest has fallen before modern oxam-
ination of the district. Tho Keltio
and West Saxon barrows arc still to bo
seon; tho sites of tho dwelling of tho
Romans arc clearly visible. The pot
tors work, loft carelcssly upon tho
ground by the Roman pottors, is found
undisturDed and unbroken but q few
inches below tho surface. What can
account for tho total disappearance of
every trace of these houses and church.
es which William dcstroycd-some SO
churches. as it is stated in certain
chronicles, and. of necessity, q number
OF villages to house the people who
worshiped there. Tho only two church,
es entered in "Domesday," those az
Brockenhurst and Milford, still stand.
and Immediately after tho aiforestation
two now onos worc bui!t in the vcry
heart OF tho wild forest, one at Do!dra
and n H1rilo Al.
ties in tho forests wore merely earthen
intrenchments made by the Kelts and
West Saxons: aud though few for,
est names end in ton, which indicate
the existence of somo scattered home,
steads, many moro end with hurst,
which means "wood." Then thoro arc
such names rs Roydon, tho rough
ground; Bramshaw, the bramblewood; :;
Denny. tho furry ground; Stockleigh,
tho woody place; and Staneswood,
Arnowood, and Tostwood. Modern
authorities consider that William did
not commit tho folly of turning high
ly cultivated district into q desert,
where tho doer would have found no
shelter for many years; but that ho
SIMPLY converted wild woodland into
royal forest Yteno. tho "furzy coun-
try" became the Now Forest. A great
part OF this district which he afforested
he already held in demcsnc. 1t all now
bocamc subject to forest laws. There
were Inhabitants. even manors, within
the forest: those had to submit to its
rule, and were also granted its privi-
leges. In the Charta dc Foresta of Ca
mute montion Is made of horses, COWS.
and wild goats, which werc protected
in tho forest, and also of cortaiu privi-
leges of the people. So, under Will
lam, there were homesteads to which
rights werc attached of pasturing cat.
tie, feeding swine, and cutting Of tim
Der and turf. Srverc laws existed il
respect to hunting tho deer, as they die
in the days of Canutc. But it is yer,
doubtful whether William did not rath
er benefit tho district in making it .
royal forest than otherwise He wa.
hated because ho wished to make of tho
English race of slaves; and in the for
est it was we'll understood to be a much
lighter offenso to kill man than 9
deer. And SO tho story grew of his
cruelty and tyranny. In this fores,
William the Red was killed, and hi.
brother and nephew; the records O
their strange and sudden deaths ar,
very unsatisfactory, and tradition ha!
attributed them to tho vengeance O
Heaven, visiting William the Conquer
or's cruelty upon his descendants. i
seems most probable that Rufus wa.
the victim of conspiracy, and tha
his brother 8 and nephew's deaths wer,
merely accidents in name.-IHe Ina
H8h illustrated Aidqdzii,e.