| Summary : The By 1086 the Earl of Chester had increased the extent of the woodland later known as Delamere Forest. The name 'foresta de la mara' ie forest of the mere or lake, first appears in 1153-60, usually referred to in conjunction with the adjoining Forest of Mondrum. Between them, these two seem to have covered the whole area between the rivers Gowy and Weaver and to have extended as far south as Nantwich. With the assumption of the Earldom by the Crown in the early 14thC, the land became a royal hunting forest. Assarting within the woodland began as early as the 12thC and was intense under the Vale Royal Abbey in the 13th-14thC. There were two enclosures within the forest- The Old Pale and The New Pale - the former enclosed in 1237 and the latter in the 17thC. The administrative centre, known after 1354 as The Chamber in the Forest, was located near the centre of the forest, within Eddisbury Iron Age hillfort. The deer were killed off during the Civil War, as clearance for agriculture progressively diminished the wooded area. A map of 1687 depicts the state of the woodland at that time. By the early 19thC, the 'forest' was essentially heathland. An Act of Inclosure received royal assent in 1812, though there were so many public claims on the land that the last award was not made until 1820. The Crown was allotted 4096 acres, and the remainder was given over for agricultural improvement. In most of the Crown land, the planting of beech, Scots Pine and oak to supply the Royal Navy began at once. This woodland accounts for most of the forest currently under the management of the Forestry Commission. |