William III, 1697-8: An Act for the Increase and Preservation of Timber in the New Forest in the County of Southampton. [Chapter XXXIII. Rot. Parl. 9 Gul.III.p.6.n.2.]

(fn. 2) 2000 Acres, Part of New Forest, inclosed for Growth of Timber, &c; and set out by Commissioners, &c

Inclosures how to be made; 200 Acres more to be inclosed yearly for 20 Years, &c.; and to remain in Possession of the Crown for ever, as a Nursery for Wood only.

Forasmuch as the Woods and Timber not only in the said New Forest but in this Kingdom in general hath of late Years been much wasted and impaired and the said Forest that might be of great Use and Conveniency for Supply of His Majesties Royal Navy is in danger of being destroyed if some speedy Course be not taken to restore and preserve the Growth of Timber there Be it therefore enacted by the Kings most Excellent Majesty by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and the Commons in this present Parliament assembled and by the Authority of the same That Two thousand Acres part of the Waste Lands of the said New Forest shal be inclosed and kept in severalty for the Growth and Preservation of Timber for Supply of His Majesties [said (fn. 1) ] Navy Royal and that it shal and may be lawful to and for His Majesty His Heirs and Successors to inclose sever and improve within and out of the Parts or Places of the Waste Lands of the said New Forest (the whole containing by Estimation Eighty five thousand four hundred fifty four Acres) the full Quantity of Two thousand Acres Statute Measure the same to be set out by virtue of His Majesties Commission to be directed to six or more such Persons as His Majesty shal think fit (whereof Two which shal execute such Commission to be Justices of the Peace for the said County of Southampton (not being Officers of the said Forest) out of such Part & Places in the said Forest as shal be found or esteemed by the said Commissioners or any Three or more of them to be most convenient to be inclosed and to be most apt and meet to produce Wood and Timber for the future Benefit of the Kingdom and may be best spared from the Commoners and High-ways of the County which said Inclosure of Two thousand Acres [shal be made in manner following (that is to say) One thousand of the said Acres (fn. 3) ] shal be forthwith admeasured by a sworn Surveyor and set out and inclosed butted and bounded and the Quantities Butts and Boundaries thereof returned into His Majesties Court of Exchequer there to remain of Record for [ever and the remaining One thousand Acres from and immediately after the Determination of the First Session of Parliament which shal be held after the Year of our Lord One thousand six hundred ninety nine shal be in like manner admeasured by a sworn Surveyor and set out and inclosed butted and bounded and the Quantities Butts and Boundaries thereof returned into the said Court of Exchequer there to remain of Record (fn. 3) ] and also it shal be lawful in like manner to inclose Two hundred Acres more of the Waste in the said Forest yearly and every Year for the terme or space of Twenty Years from and after the time that the several Inclosures of the said Two thousand Acres above mentioned shal be made and compleated as aforesaid and the said Inclosures so set out and made as aforesaid to remain in severalty in the actual Possession of the Crown for ever freed and discharged of and from all manner of Right Title and Pretence whatsoever according to the Purport and Intent of this present Act and shal be called made and kept a Nursery for Wood and Timber only.

II. Decayed Trees to be set out for making the Inclosures.

And for making the said Inclosures to be set out and made as aforesaid be it further enacted by the aforesaid [aforesaid (fn. 4) ] That the said Commissioners so to be authorized as aforesaid or any Six of them together with the Assistance of one of the Purveyors of His Majesties Navy shal set out so many decayed Trees (not being Ship Timber) as shal be necessary to make the said Inclosure.

III. Whenever the Woods growing in the said Inclosures are past danger of browsing of Deer, &c. so that the same may be laid open, the King may inclose the like Quantity of Acres for so much laid open, &c. free from Common, &c.

Wood not to be felled unless allowed, &c. by Officer; Nor Coppice Woods cut, &c. until marked, &c. by Officer; Penalty £50.

And it is hereby further enacted and declared That at all times hereafter whensoever the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury Lord Treasurer of England or Chancellor of the Exchequer for the time being shal be satisfyed and shal determine that the Woods and Trees which shal be growing on the said Two thousand Acres or any part thereof within the Inclosures which shal afterwards be made as aforesaid are become past danger of browsing of Deer Cattell or other Prejudice and shal think fit to lay the same or any part thereof open and in common and shal cause the same so to be done that then and so often it shal and may be lawful to and for His Majesty His Heirs and Successors from time to time to inclose out of the said Forest in lieu of so much as shal be so laid open of the said Two thousand Acres or of the said Number of Acres authorized to be inclosed as aforesaid the like Quantity out of any other part of the Residue of the said Wasts to be set out and made in like manner and by the like Commission and Admeasurement as aforesaid and to be holden inclosed freed and discharged of and from all manner of common Herbage and Pannage or other Rights for so long time as the same shal remain and continue inclosed according to the Direction Purport and Intent of this present Act to be a Nursery for Timber as aforesaid instead of so much as shal be laid open as aforesaid and whensoever any Wood or Timber shal at any time or times hereafter be directed to be felled in any part of the said Forest Two or more of the Verderers and Four or more of the Regarders of the said Forest shal have notice thereof and the same shall be first viewed and allowed to be felled by a Commissioner or Officer of His Majesties Navy and shal not be cut or felled until such View and Allowance nor shal any Coppice Woods hereafter to be raised be cut or drawn until the Surveyor of the Woods for the time being or such Officer or Purveyor of the Navy shal have marked with a broad Arrow and Crown so many and such Trees as are fit to be reserved and kept standing for Timber upon every Acre intended to be cut or drawn and shal also certify (as he or they are hereby impowred and required to do) unto the Lord High Treasurer or Commissioners of the Treasury for the time being the Names of the Places and the Number of the Trees so viewed and allowed to be felled and so marked to be preserved for the use of the Navy as aforesaid and if any Person or Persons shal at any time or times hereafter either fell or cut down any Wood or Trees upon the Premises or any part thereof before such View and Allowance made thereof as aforesaid contrary to the true meaning of this present Act or shal after cut down any of the said marked Trees without good Warrant for the same the said Person or Persons shal for every Tree so felled forfeit the Sum of Fifty pounds one Moiety whereof to his Majesty his Heirs and Successors and the other Moiety to him or them that wil inform and sue for the same in any of his Majesties Courts of Record wherein no Essoign Wager of Law or Protection shal be allowed the Defendant.

IV. Inclosures not to be plowed or sowed, &c.

[And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid That the said Inclosures shall not be plowed or sowed with any Corn or fed with any Cattel or be at any time or times hereafter kept for Underwood but in such Manner only as shal be fit for the raising and preserving of Timber for the use of the Navy. (fn. 3) ]

V. Forester, Keeper, &c. browsing or lopping any Oak or Beech Tree,

Penalty £10. and Incapacity.; Charcoal not to be made in the Forest within 1000 Paces of any Inclosure, &c; Coal Hearths to be fenced with Heath, &c; Penalties; 32 H. VIII. c. 13. § 6.

And for further preservation of the Timber now growing or that at any time or times hereafter shall or may grow in the said Forest or any part thereof be it enacted That if any Forest Keeper or Under Keeper or other Officer or any Person by the Order Direction or Procurement of the said Forester Keeper or Under-Keeper or other Officer or any other Person whatsoever shal top lop or browse any Tree of Oak or Beech in the said Forest such Officer Keeper or Under Keeper [for every such Offence (fn. 4) ] shal forfeit and lose the Sum of Ten Pounds and be utterly incapable of being a Keeper Under Keeper or Officer in any Forest, Chase or Park belonging to His Majesty nor shal any Collier presume to make or any Keepers or Under Keepers suffer any Coal-Hearths or Coal-Fires for making Charcoal within the said Forest to be made (as hath of late been practiced contrary to Law) [ (fn. 3) except in the wast Ground of the said Forest to be then appointed by one or more of the Verderers and two or more of the Regarders and the Surveyor or Woodward and not within One thousand Paces of any Inclosure to be made by this Act nor shal any of the said Coal-Hearths or Coal-Fires be fenced with Bushes but with Heath or Furse only] but every Collier making such Coal-Hearths or Coal-Fires and every Forester and Under Keeper or other Officer permitting the same to be made within the said Forest shal forfeit and lose for every Offence the Sum of One hundred pounds and the said Under Keeper or Foresters respectively shal also forfeit and lose the Sum of Twenty pounds for every neglect in not making the Drifts of the said Forest (for preventing Surcharges and uncommonable Cattle) as directed by the Statute made in the Two and Thirtieth Year of the Reign of King Henry the Eighth in that behalf.

VI. Breaking down Inclosures, &c.

Penalty and Imprisonment.

And for the more effectual raising Wood and Timber in the said Forest and preserving the Covert in the same be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid That all and every Person or Persons who shal break down any of the Inclosures to be made for raising Nurserys of Wood and Timber as aforesaid (which Inclosures are intended and shal be kept up and carefully maintained and preserved for the space of Twenty Years at least from and after the respective times whereon the same shal be made) or shal burn Heath or Fern destroy any of the Covert or steal any of the Wood of the said Forest every such Person at the next Attachment or Swain-mote Court to be held for the said Forest be presented for the same and upon proof made thereof by any credible Person or Persons whatsoever the Verderers of the said Forest or any Two or more of them shal have Power and are hereby authorized to fine any Person or Persons so offending for every such Offence in any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds and to commit the Party to the next common Goal for Three Months or until Payment of the Sum set as aforesaid which Fine and Fines so to be set and paid shal be received by the High or Under-Steward of the said Forest one Moiety whereof to be to the Informer and the other Moiety to be accounted for by the said High or Under Steward as his Majesty shal think fit.

VII. No Double Penalty.

Provided always That all and every Person and Persons which shal be punished for any the said Offences in the manner specially directed in this Act shal not be prosecuted nor incur the Penalty of any other Law or Statute for the same Offence.

VIII. Proviso for Forest Laws, &c.

Provided also and be it further enacted That neither this Act nor any thing herein contained shal extend or be construed to extend to the taking away or altering the Forest Laws (except as before mentioned) but that the said Forest and every part thereof shal be subject to and under the Laws of the Forests as if this Act had never been made Any thing herein contained to the contrary in any wise nowithstanding.

IX. and for Right of Common of Pasture, &c. in the Forest.

After Michaelmas 1716, Right of Common of Pasture continued in Waste Ground; Times excepted; Right of Fuel to adjacent Inhabitants, provided they do not sell the same, &c.

Provided always and it is hereby enacted and declared. That all and every Person and Persons having any right of Common of Pasture or Pannage or any Priviledges within the said Forest or any Part thereof shal hold and enjoy the same in manner following (that is to say) their said right of Pannage (viz) between the Fourteenth [Day (fn. 5) ] of September and the Eleventh Day of November yearly from and after the Feast of S^t. Michael the Arch Angel which shal be in the Yeare of our Lord God One thousand and seven hundred and sixteen and not before on Forfeiture of any Hog Pigg or Swine that from and after the Feast of S^t. Michael the Arch Angel next and before the time aforesaid shal be found in the Wasts of the said Forest and their said right of Common of Pasture shal be and is hereby continued to them in and through such of the said Waste Ground of the said Forest at such time and times as the same shal not be inclosed as aforesaid the time of the Fence-month (that is to say) Fifteen Days before and Fifteen Days after the Feast of Saint John the Baptist yearly and the time of the Winter Heyning (that is to say) from the Eleventh Day of November to the Twenty third of April yearly excepted under and subject to the Forest Laws in as ample manner as he or they or any of them might lawfully claim or might have held & enjoyed the same before the making of this Act saving also unto the several adjacent Inhabitants their ancient right of Fuel provided that such Inhabitants do not sell or otherwise dispose of any part thereof nor that any Person or Persons presume to receive or take the same in other manner than they ought nor by reason of any Claim or Pretence of Right that was not allowed according to the Laws of the Forest before the Seven and twentieth Year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth.

X. Grant of any the said Inclosures, Trees, &c. void.

And to the end the said Forest and Premisses may be perpetually estated and preserved in the Crown for publick Use as aforesaid and may not be granted to any private Use or Benefit be it further enacted That in case any Person or Persons whatsoever shal presume to take or shal obtain any Gift Grant Estate or Interest of or in the said Inclosures or Wasts or any Woods or Trees growing thereon every such Gift Grant Estate or Interest shall ipso facto be null and void and the Person or Persons so taking or obtaining the same shal be and is hereby made and declared utterly disabled and incapable to have hold or enjoy any such Gift Grant Estate or Interest and shal also forfeit treble the Value of any such Gift or Grant to him or them which shal first sue for the same in any of His Majesties Courts of Record wherein no Essoign or Wager of Law shal be allowed the Defendant and shall also be incapable of holding or enjoying any Office or Imployment whatsoever.

XI. When Sale of Wood in the Forest, &c. Notice, and Officer to value before Sale. Best Bidder the Purchaser.

[ (fn. 6) And be it further enacted That at all times hereafter when any Sale of Wood shal be ordered to be made within the said Forest publick Notice thereof-shal-be given by the proper Officers of the Forest in all the adjacent Market Towns Three Weeks at least before such Sale of the Time and Place where such Sale shal be made and that the Officers who are usually in that case intrusted do set a Valuation before Day of the Sale of the Wood to be sold of which Valuation to be made Notice shal be given to Two or more of the Verderers of the said Forest and the Person or Persons who at the Time and Place aforesaid shal offer most Money for the Parcel of Wood then to be sold over and above the same was valued at making his Proposal in Writing and giving good Security for Payment of the said Money shal be the Purchaser.

XII. No Fee, &c. for felling of Trees, &c.

And be it further enacted That no Officer whatsoever shal take any Fee Poundage Gratuity or Reward for the felling of any Trees to be cut down for the Inclosures to be made by virtue of this Act or for or upon the Sale of the Residue or Remainder of such Trees as shal be cut down for the Purposes aforesaid if any such there be or for the Sale of the Lopps Topps or Roots of the said Trees.

XIII. Penalty.

And be it further enacted That if any Officer whatsoever shal offend in cutting down and disposing of any Trees contrary to the Intent of this Act such Officer shal for such his Offence forfeit his Office.]