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Table of Contents

Morfe one of the Five Royal Forests of Shropshire—Its History and Associations—Early British, Roman, Danish, and Norman Mementoes—Legends and Historical Incidents—Forest Wastes—Old Names—Hermitage Hill—Stanmore Grove—Essex Fall—Foresters—Old Forest Lodge, &c.

The hunting ground of the Willey country embraced the sites of five royal forests, the growth of earlier ages than those planted by the Normans, alluded to by Ordericus Vitalis. In some instances they were the growth of wide areas offering favourable conditions of soil for the production of timber, as in the case of that of Morfe. In others they were the result probably of the existence of hilly districts so sterile as to offer few inducements to cultivate them, as in the case of Shirlot, the Stiperstones, the Wrekin, and of the Clee Hills. Some of these have histories running side by side with that of the nation, and associations closely linked with the names of heroic men and famous sportsmen. Morfe Forest, which was separated from that of Shirlot by the Severn, along which it ran a considerable distance in the direction of its tributary the Worf, is rich in traditions of the rarest kind, the Briton, the Roman, Saxon, Dane, and Norman, having in succession left mementoes of their presence. Here, as Mr. Eyton in his invaluable work on the “Antiquities of Shropshire” says,—“Patriotism, civilisation, military science, patient industry, adventurous barbarism, superstition, chivalry, and religion have each played a part.”

The ancient British tumuli examined and described more than one hundred and thirty years ago by the Rev. Mr. Stackhouse have been levelled by the plough, but “the Walls” at Chesterton, and the evidence the name of Stratford supplies as to Roman occupation, to which Mr. Eyton refers, as well as the rude fortifications of Burf Castle, constructed by the Danes when they came to recruit after being out-manœuvred by Alfred on the Thames, remain. At Quatford, a mile and a half west, on three sides of a rock overhanging the Severn, near to Danesford, are trenches cut out of the solid sandstone which, whether Danish or Norman, or in part both, shewed by the vast number of wild boar and red deer remains disclosed a few years ago the success with which the chase had here at one time been pursued.

Within the forest were four manors, the continuous estate in Saxon times of Algar, Earl of Mercia, which after the Conquest were granted in their integrity to the first Norman Earl of Shrewsbury, and which in 1086 were held wholly in demesne by his son Hugh. The predilections of the first Norman Earl of Shrewsbury for this vast forest, lying between those of Kinver, Wyre, and Shirlot,—the whole of which wide wooded district seems to have been comprehended under the old British name of Coed—are shown by the fact that he built his famous’ castle on the Severn close by, and founded there his collegiate church, the stones of which remain to attest its erection by a Norman founder. The legend relating to the erection of the church seems so well to bear out the supposition that Morfe was the favourite hunting ground of the earl that, although frequently quoted, it may not be out of place to give it. In substance it is this:—

In 1082, Sir Roger married for his second wife a daughter of Sir Ebrard de Pusey, one of the chief nobles of France. On coming over to England to join her husband a storm arose which threatened the destruction of the vessel when, wearied with much watching, a priest who accompanied her fell asleep and had a vision, in which it was said:—“If thy lady would wish to save herself and her attendants from the present danger of the sea, let her make a vow to God and faithfully promise to build a church in honour of the blessed Mary Magdalene, on the spot where she may first happen to meet her husband in England, especially where groweth a hollow oak, and where the wild swine have shelter.” The legend adds that upon awaking the priest informed his lady, who took the prescribed vow; that the storm ceased, that the ship arrived safely in port, that the lady met the earl hunting the boar where an old hollow oak stood, and that at her request, and in fulfilment of her vow, Sir Roger built and endowed the church at Quatford, which a few years ago only was taken down and rebuilt.

On the high ground a little above the church there are still several trees whose gnarled and knotted trunks have borne the brunt of many centuries, two of which are supposed to have sprung from the remains of the one mentioned in the legend.

Not only legends, but traditions, and some historical incidents, as those brought to light by the Forest Rolls, afford now and then an insight of the sporting kind of life led within the boundary and jurisdiction of the forest and upon its outskirts. The bow being not only the chief weapon of sport but of war, those with a greater revenue from land than one hundred pence were at one time not only permitted but compelled to have in their possession bows and arrows, but, to prevent those living within the precincts of the forest killing the king’s deer, the arrows were to be rounded. These were sometimes sharpened, and disputes arose between their owners, the dwellers in the villages, and the overseers of the forest, the more fruitful source of grievance being with the commoners, who, claiming pasturage for their cows and their horses, often became poachers. On one occasion a kid being wounded by an arrow at Atterley, on the Willey side of the Severn, and the culprit not being forthcoming, a whole district is in misericordiâ, under the ban of the fierce Forest Laws of the period. On another occasion a stag enters the postern gate of the Castle of Bridgnorth, and the vision of venison within reach proving too strong for the Castellan, he is entrapped, and litigation ensues. Sometimes the stout foresters and sturdy guardians of the castle, and burgesses of the town, indulge in friendly trials of skill at quarter-staff or archery, or in a wrestling match for a cross-bow, a ram, or a “red gold ring.” In Ritson’s “Robin Hood” we read:—

“By a bridge was a wrastling,

And there taryed was he:

And there was all the best yemen

Of all the west countrey.

A full fayre game there was set up,

A white bull up y-pight,

A great courser with saddle and brydle

With gold burnished full bryght;

A payre of gloves, a red golde ringe,

A pipe of wyne good fay:

What man bereth him best I wis,

The prize shall bear away.”

In 1292, a wrestling match at a festive gathering on Bernard’s Hill takes place, when from ill blood arising from an old feud a dispute ensues, and a forester named Simon de Leyre quarrels with Robert de Turbevill, a canon of St. Mary’s, Bridgnorth, over a greyhound, which the latter, contrary to the regulations of the courts, had brought within the forest; and a jury of foresters, verderers, and regarders, in pursuance of the king’s writ, is empowered to try the case. The evidence adduced shows that the foresters were to blame, the verdict come to being that the men of Brug, although at the wrestling match with bows and arrows, were in no way chargeable with the assault upon the forester. “They had been indicted for trespass,” the jurors said, “not under any inquest taken on the matter, but by one Corbett’s suggestion to the Justice of the Forest; they had been attacked and imprisoned under the warrant of the said Justice, Corbett’s grudge being that two men of Brug had once promised him a cask of wine, a present in which the corporate body refused to join.” Corbett was pronounced by the jurors “a malevolent and a procurer of evil.”

To correct evils like these the “ordinatio” of Edward I. was introduced, containing many beneficial regulations, and stating that proceedings had been taken in the forest by one or two foresters or verderers to extort money, also providing that all trespassers in the forest of green hue and of hunting shall be presented by the foresters at the next Swainmote before foresters, verderers, and other officers. In the same year the king confirmed the great charter of liberties of the forest.

Various official reports of this Chace, drawn up from time to time, show how the great forest of Morfe gradually diminished, as the vills of Worfield and Claverley, and other settlements, extended within its limits, causing waste and destruction at various times of timber. During the Barons’ War the bosc of Claverley was further damaged, it was said, “by many goats frequenting the cover;” it suffered also from waste by the Earl of Chester, who sold from it 1,700 oak trees. Other wastes are recorded, as those caused by cutting down timber “for the Castle of Bridgnorth,” and “for enclosing the vill before it was fortified by a wall.” The report further states that “there were few beasts,” because “they were destroyed in the time of war, and in the time when the liberty of the forest was conceded.” By degrees, from one cause or another, and by one means or another, this, the “favourite chace of English kings and Norman earls,” which, so late as 1808, consisted of upwards of 3,820 acres, disappeared, leaving about the names of places it once enclosed an air of quaint antiquity, the very mention of some of which may be interesting. Among them are Bowman’s Hill, Bowman’s Pit, and Warrener’s Dead Fall—names carrying back the mind to times when bowmen were the reliance of English leaders in battles fought on the borders, and before strongholds like the Castle of Bridgnorth. Gatacre, and Gatacre Hall, suggest a passing notice of a family which witnessed many such encounters, and which remained associated with a manor here from the reign of Edward the Confessor to the time when Earl Derby sought shelter as a fugitive after the Battle of Worcester. As Camden describes it, the old hall must have been a fitting residence truly for a steward of the forest. It had, in the middle of each side and centre, immense oak trees, hewn nearly square, set with their heads on large stones, and their roots uppermost, from which a few rafters formed a complete arched roof.

The Hermitage, with its caves hewn out of the solid sand rock, by the road which led through the forest in the direction of Worfield, meets us with the tradition that here the brother of King Athelstan came seeking retirement from the world, and ended his days within sight of the queenly Severn. Besides tradition, however, evidence exists to shew that this eremetical cave, of Saxon origin, under the patronage of the crown, was occupied by successive hermits, each being ushered to the cell with royal seal and patent, in the same way as a dean, constable, or sheriff was introduced to his office; as in the case of John Oxindon (Edward III., 1328), Andrew Corbrigg (Edward III., 1333), Edmund de la Marc (Edward III., 1335), and Roger Boughton (Edward III., 1346). From the frequency of the presentations, it would appear either that these hermits must have been near the termination of their pilgrimage when they were inducted, or that confinement to a damp cell did not agree with them: indeed, no one looking at the place itself would consider it was a desirable one to live in.

Other names not less significant of the former features of the country occur, as Stoneydale, Copy Foot, Sandy Burrow, Quatford Wyches, and Hill House Flat,—where the remains of an old forest oak may still be seen. In addition to these we find Briery Hurst, Rushmoor Hill, Spring Valley, Stanmore Grove, and Essex Fall, the latter being at the head of a ravine, half concealed by wood, where tradition alleges the Earl of Essex, grandson of the Earl who founded St. James’s, a refuge, a little lower down, for sick and suffering pilgrims, which had unusual forest privileges allowed by royal owners, was killed whilst hunting. Here too, higher up on the hill, may still be seen the remains of the old Forest Lodge, which, with its picturesque scenes, must have been associated with the visits of many a noble steward and forest-ranger. Many a hunter of the stag and wild boar has on the walls of this old Lodge hung up his horn and spear, as he sought rest and refreshment for the night.

The names of some of the stewards and other officers of the forest are preserved, together with their tenures and other privileges. By an inquisition in the reign of Henry III., it was found that Robert, son of Nicholas, and others were seized of “Morffe Bosc.” [28] In the 13 Hen. IV., “Worfield had common of pasture in Morffe.” Besides many tenures (enumerated in Duke’s “Antiquities of Shropshire,” p. 52), dependent upon the forest, the kings (when these tenures were grown useless and obsolete) appointed stewards and rangers to take care of the woods and the deer; in the 19 Rich. II., Richard Chelmswick was forester for life: in the 1 Henry IV., John Bruyn was forester; and in the 26th Henry IV., the stewardships of the forest of Morfe and Shirlot were granted to John Hampton, Esq., and his heirs. Again, we find 9 Henry VII., rot. 28, George Earl of Shrewsbury, was steward and ranger for life, with a fee of 4d. per day. Orig. 6 Edward VI., William Gatacre de Gatacre, in com. Salop, had a lease of twenty-one years of the stewardship; and in the 20th Elizabeth, George Bromley had a lease of twenty-one years of the stewardship, at a rent of 6s. 8d., et de incremento, 12d.; and 36 Elizabeth, George Powle, Gent., was steward, with a fee of 4d. per day.

One of the descendants of George Earl of Shrewsbury sold at no very distant period the old Lodge and some land to the Stokes family of Roughton, and the property is still in their possession. The remains of the old Lodge were then more extensive, but they were afterwards pulled down, with the exception of that portion which still goes by the name. As we have said, these places have about them interesting forest associations, reminding us that early sportsmen here met to enjoy the pleasures of the chase, with a success sometimes told by red-deer bones and wild-boar tusks, dug from some old ditch or trench. Where the plough-share now cleaves the sandy soil, the wild-boar roamed at will; where fat kine feed in pastures green, stout oaks grew, and red-deer leaped; where the Albrighton red-coats with yelping hounds now meet, the ringing laugh of lords and ladies, of bishops and their clergy, hunting higher game, was heard. Then, as good old Scott has said,—

“In the lofty arched hall

Was spread the gorgeous festival,

Then rose the riot and the din

Above, beneath, without, within,

For from its lofty balcony,

Rang trumpet, shawm and psaltery.

Their clanging bowls old warriors quaff’d,

Loudly they spoke and loudly laugh’d,

Whisper’d young knights in tones more mild,

To ladies fair, and ladies smiled.

The hooded hawks, high perch’d on beam,

The clamour join’d with whistling scream,

And flapped their wings and shook their bells,

In concert with the stag-hounds’ yells.”