Officers of the Forest

The Officers of Royal Forests are neither huntsmen nor woodland managers, but legal officers who oversee, enforce and occasionally judge the application of Forest Law.

Chief Forester

The Chief Forester, also known as Chief Justice of the Forests, is the minister responsible for all the forests of England. The role involves supervising the whole forest administration, holding special inquisitions on the expediencys of proposed grants of liberties, and all executive work relating to the forests. Despite the alternative name of Chiuef Justice, the role is not judicial, and the Chief Forester is not required to attend any forest court in person or by deputy, though they are included in royal commissions to justices to hear and settle forest pleas. One of their principal duties is to release on bail prisoners held in custody for offences in the royal forests - any poacher caught in the act, or with venison in their possession, could only be released on the orders of the king or chief forester.

The Chief Foresters of the late 12th and early 13th century are:

• Alan de Neville, chief forester to Henry II of England, held office fom 1166 to his death in 1176.
• Geoffrey FitzPeter, chief forester to Henry II and Richard I, in office from 1176 to 1198
• Hugh de Neville, chief forester to KIngs Richard I, John and Henry II, in office from 1198-1216 and 1224-1229 (or 1234).

From 1238 the office of Chief Forester was split geographically, and there was a Chief Forester North of the Trent and a Chief Forester South of the Trent.

Warden

The office of warden (also known as keeper, steward, bailiff or, confusingly, chief forester) was responsible for the administration of one or several forests. Matilda de Caux and Ralph Fitzstephen, for example, are wardens for all the forests of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, not merely for Sherwood Forest.

Wardens might hold their office hereditarily (as in the case of Mathildsa de Caux and Ralph Fitzstephen), or by appointment by a letter patent under the great seal. Hereditary wardens generally serve for life and con only be removed if misconduct is proven; appointed wardens serve at the king's pleasure. Appointed wardens are usually also appointed constables of a castle within their forest.

Wardens are the king's executive officers within their forest(s). They receive writs relating to the administration of forest business, and to the delivery of venison and wood. They sually attend the variuous forest courts, though their presence was not strictly required. Wardens might grant all or part of their repsonibilities to a deputy with the king's consent.

Wardens are usually unpaid, but gain certain rights within their forests specified in their appointment later or confirmation charter. Hereditary foresters are often excused from providing knights for the king's service or the corresponding scutage as they are expected to pay their foresters from their own purse. Many do not pay their foresters, and some even demand foresters pay for their office.

Verderers

Verderers are judicial officers of the forest, as distinct from foresters, who are law enforcers. The verders' role is to observe and keep to assizes and laws of the forest, and to receive, view and record the attachments and presentments of trespasses against vert or venison in order to present them to the court. Forests typically had four verderers. Sherwood Forest has six, spread between its three bailiwicks.

Verderers are elected in the county court, and hold office for life unless they are removed by the Crown (which miught happen through age or infirmity, or because they were insufficiently qualified).

The primary qualifiaction of a verderer was that they hold land within the forest. As a consequence, verderers were usually knights or other persons with considerable estates. Verderers are unpaid, and there are no perquisites attached to the office, though they are excused from sitting on assizes, recognitions and juries.

The verderers' oath is:

You shall truly serve our sovereign lord the King in the office of Verderer of the Forest of [XXX]. You shall to the utmost of your power and knowledge, do for the profit of the King, so far as it doth appertain unto you to do. You shall preserve and maintain the Ancient Rights and Franchises of his Crown. You shall not conceal from his Majesty any Rights or Privileges, nor any Offence either in Vert or Venison, or any other thing. You shall not withdraw nor abridge any Defaults; but shall endeavour yourself to manifest and to redress the same. And if you cannot do that of yourself, you shall give Knowledge thereof unto the King, or to his Justice of the Forest. You shall deal Indifferently with all the King's Liege People. You shall execute the Laws of the Forest and do equal Right and Justice, as well unto the Poor as to the Rich, in that appertaineth unto your Office. You shall not oppress any Person by colour thereof, for any Reward, Favour, or Malice. All thes Things you shall, to the utmost of your Power, observe and keep.

Foresters

The foresters are sworn officers of the crown who patrol their bailiwicks to guard both the beasts of the hunt (venison) and their habitat (the vert, or greenery), investigate offences against the venison and the vert, identify offenders, and charge the culprits. They might be considered England's first police officers. The process of charging a suspect was known as attachment - this might be done by taken the suspect's pledge to present themselves at the next Forest Eyre to answer the charge, by taking personal property in lieu of a pledge, or by distraining (imprisoning) the suspect until the next Eyre, a process also known as attachment of the body. Attachment of the body is only to be used if an offender is caught in the act within the forest.

A forester's badge of office was his horn. This is so closely associated with the office that graves of foresters may be identified by the horn carved on them.

Foresters swore a five-part oath to perform their duties well.

1. That they shall be Loyal and True to the Master of the Forest
2. That they shall truly walk and keep the Office of the Forestership, and true Watch make both Early and Late, both of Vert and Venison.
3. To truly attach, and true presentment make, of all manner of Trespasses done within the Forest, to their Knowledge; and especially within their Bailiwick.
4. The KIng's counsel, their fellows', and their own they shall truly keep
5. No concealment make for no favour, mead, or dread, but well and truly behave themselves therein.
6. It's clear from the above oath that foresters were sworn to watch for trespasses throughout the forest, not merely their own particular bailiwck. However, their jurisdiction ended at the forest boundary (but see Ranger below).

Many foresters were corrupt. Although it as expected that wardens would pay foresters, many did not, and some even demanded payment from foresters for the privilege of holding the office. This meant foresters had to find a way of making a living from the role. Inquests in the 13th and 14th centuries found foresters taking bribes to overlook offences, or waylaying travellers to demand tolls they were not entitled to levy, or threaten to attach people who had committed no offence unless they were paid. It is unlikely the situation was any different in the 12th century, merely that no inquests into foresters' activities were held then. While honest foresters enforced the Forest Law impartially, dishonest ones were thugs with a badge.

Foresters in Fee

Some forests had hereditary foresters who held land or other privileges in return for their service. Usually they are attached to a particular bailiwick. They were subortinate to their warden, but might have considerable influence with them.

Agisters

Agisters oversee pannage in the royal forests. Pannage is one of the Rights of Common, the right to pasture animals (usually swine) in common woodlands at a specific time of year - usually a six-week period in September and October, with the exact timing set each year depending on the falling of acorns and beech-mast. For this valuable right, which fattens pigs before the Martinmas slaughter, people usually pay a fee known as avagium or agistment.

Agisters oversee this right in the royal forests , collecting fees from those who want to pannage their beasts, ensuring everyone pannaging has paid, and ensuring no one pannages their beasts before or after pannage-time.

The primary purpose of the agisters is to ensure that the right of pasture does not adversely impact the deer herds.

Woodwards

Private landholders who held woodlands within a royal forest were required to provide a woodward to ensure the woods were maintained in a manner that would not harm the habitat of the beasts of the forest. Those who did not appoint such an officer risked having their woods taken back into the king'sd hands.

This official, in effect a private forester, was the woodward. Their primary responsibility was to attach trespassers and compel them to asnwer for their offences at the forest courts. Though employed by local lords, they were also to serve the king's interests by preserving both venison and vert. SHould an offence be discovered by a royal forester before the woodward, the wood might be taken into royal hands. Landholders therefore had a vested interest in ensuring their woodwards were vigilant.

Beadles

Beadles, as officers of the Forest, let people know when the Forest Eyre will be held, ensure the process of the court is executed properly, and make proclamations relating to the forest, both within the Forest eyres and moots and outside them.

Rangers (Regarders)

In the 13th century the idea of the Purlieu was developed. This was land that had been under Forest Law in the reigns of King Henry II, King Richard I or King John , but which had been diafforested by Henry III.

By the late 14th century each forest was to have 12 Rangers (also known as Regarders) to patrol the Purlieu. and drive venison straying out of the forest back into it. They were also to patrol the Purlieu to watch for poachers, and inquire after any poacking that may have happened. Their patrols and inquirires were concerned solely with the venison - deer - and offences against it. Since the Purlieu was no longer part of the Forest, owners of lands inside it might cut, fell or even grub up trees, pasture and meadows to convert them to arable land as they saw fit, or enclose land as they saw fit. There were no offences against their habitat (the vert, or greenery), as there were in the Forest proper.

Sources
Coke, Sir Edward, The Great Charter of the Forest (London, 1680)
Turner, G.J., Select Pleas of the Forest (Selden Society, 1899)
Young, Charles R., The Royal Forests of England (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1979)