FOREST, in law, is defined, by Manwood, a certain territory of woody grounds and fruitful pastures, privileged for wild beasts and fowls of forest, chafe, and warren, to rest and abide under the protection of the king, for his princely delight; bounded with unremovable marks and meres, either known by matter of record or prescription; replenished with wild beasts of venery or chafe, with great coverts of vert for the said beasts; for preservation and continuance whereof, the vert and venison, there are certain particular laws, privileges, and officers.
Forests are of such antiquity in England, that, excepting the New-Forest in Hampshire, erected by William the Conqueror, and Hampton Court, erected by
Henry VIII. it is said, that there is no record or history which makes any certain mention of their erection, though they are mentioned by several writers and in several of our laws and statutes. Ancient historians tell us, "that New-forest was raised by the destruction of 22 parish-churches, and many villages, chapels, and manors, for the space of 30 miles together, which was attended with divers judgments on the posterity of William I. who erected it: for William Rufus was there shot with an arrow, and before him Richard the brother of Henry I.; and Henry nephew to Robert, the eldest son of the Conqueror, did hang by the hair of the head in the boughs of the forest, like unto Abſalom." Blouet.
Besides the New-forest, there are 68 other forests in England, 13 chafes, and more than 700 parks: the four principal forests are New-forest on the sea, Shirewood-forest on the Trent, Dean-forest on the Severn, and Windfor-forest on the Thames.
A forest in the hands of a subject is properly the same thing with a CHASE; being subject to the common law, and not to the forest-laws. But a chafe differs from a forest, in that it is not inclosed; and likewise, that a man may have a chafe in another man's ground as well as his own; being indeed the liberty of keeping beasts of chafe, or royal game therein, protected even from the owner of the land, with a power of hunting them thereon. See PARK.
The manner of erecting a forest is thus: Certain commissioners are appointed under the great seal, who view the ground intended for a forest, and fence it round: this commission being returned into chancery, the king causeth it to be proclaimed throughout the county where the land lieth, that it is a forest; and prohibits all persons from hunting there, without his leave. Though the king may erect a forest on his own ground and waste, he may not do it on the ground of other persons without their consent; and agreements with them for that purpose ought to be confirmed by parliament.
A forest, strictly taken, cannot be in the hands of any but the king; for no person but the king has power to grant a commission to be justice in eyre of the forest; yet, if he grants a forest to a subject, and that on request made in the chancery, that subject and his heirs shall have justices of the forest, in which case the subject has a forest in law.
A second property of a forest is, the courts thereof. See FOREST-COURT, infra.
A third property is the officers belonging to it, as the justices, warden, verderer, forester, agilior, regarder, keeper, bailiff, beadle, &c. See the articles AGISTOR, BAILIFF, FORESTER, &c.
By the laws of the forest, the receivers of trespasses in hunting, or killing of the deer, if they know them to be the king's property, are principal trespassers. Likewise, if a trespass be committed in a forest, and the trespasser dies, after his death, it may be punished in the life-time of the heir, contrary to common law. Our Norman kings punished such as killed deer in any of their forests with great severity; also in various manners; as by hanging, loss of limbs, gelding, and putting out eyes. By magna charta de forſta, it is ordained, that no person shall lose life or member for killing the king's deer in forests, but shall be fined; and
if the offender has nothing to pay the fine, he shall be imprisoned a year and a day, and then be delivered, if he can give security not to offend for the future, &c. 9 Hen. III. c. 1.
Before this statute, it was felony to hunt the king's deer; and by a late act, persons armed and disguised, appearing in any forest, &c. if they hunt, kill, or steal any deer, &c. are guilty of felony. 9 Geo. I. c. 22.
He who has any licence to hunt in a forest or chase, &c. is to take care that he does not exceed his authority; otherwise he shall be deemed a trespasser from the beginning, and be punished for that fact, as if he had no licence. See further, the articles GAME, and GAME-LAW.
Beasts of the forest are, the hart, hind, buck, doe, boar, wolf, fox, hare, &c. The seasons for hunting whereof are as follow, viz. that of the hart and buck begins at the feast of St John Baptist, and ends at Holy-rood day; of the hind and doe, begins at Holy-rood, and continues till Candlemas; of the boar, from Christmas to Candlemas; of the fox begins at Christmas, and continues till Lady-day; of the hare at Michaelmas, and lasts till Candlemas.