Leicester Forest facts for kids

Leicester Forest was once a huge, wild area of land, like a big park or woodland, located west of the city of Leicester in England. For many years, it was a "Royal Forest," which meant it was owned by the King or Queen and used mainly for hunting.

Where Was Leicester Forest?

This ancient forest stretched about fourteen miles long and four miles wide. It was located between two rivers, the River Soar and Rothley Brook, covering a huge area of 5,000 acres. Long, long ago, in a very old book called the Domesday Book, this area was known as 'Hereswode'.

Who Owned the Forest?

For a while, a powerful person named Hugh de Grandmesnil owned the forest. Later, it was passed down to different Earls of Leicester. In the 1200s, people living in Leicester were allowed to collect wood from a part of the forest called the Frith. This area is now where some western parts of Leicester city and Glenfield are located.

Over time, the amount of woodland started to shrink. To protect what was left, some areas were fenced off, and special hunting parks were created. In 1265, the forest became the property of Edmund Crouchback, and by the 1300s, it was a very important place for hunting.

Why Did the Forest Shrink?

During the 1400s and 1500s, the forest continued to lose trees. This happened because too many trees were cut down without permission, and sheep were allowed to graze there, which stopped new trees from growing.

A famous traveler named John Leland wrote about four main parks within the forest:

• 'The Parke of St. Mary Abbey' (now Abbey Park)
• 'Bellemonte's Leye' (now Beaumont Leys)
• 'Barne Park' (also called Barrons Park, found between Desford and Kirby Muxloe)
• 'Tooley Park' (near Earl Shilton)

Other parks in the area included Frith Park (also known as the 'New Park', now part of the New Parks housing area), Lubbesthorpe Park, Brokensale Park (west of Thurlaston), and Newhall Park at Normanton.

End of the Royal Forest

What Was Disafforestation?

In 1628, King Charles I decided to "disafforest" the area. This meant it would no longer be a Royal Forest. Instead, parts of the forest were sold off to different people during the 1600s.

This change caused a lot of anger and led to riots. People who lived near the forest had always had rights to use its resources, like grazing their animals or collecting wood. When the land was sold and fenced off, they lost these important rights. Similar riots happened in other parts of England at that time.

How Did the King Take Control?

The King sent a person named Sir Miles Fleetwood to survey the forest and arrange for its disafforestation. This happened in late 1626 and early 1627. People who could prove they had a legal right to use the forest were supposed to get some payment. However, many people who had lived there for a long time might not have had official papers.

In 1628, the King's court approved the plans. The King then rented out about 1,600 acres of land to nearby landowners. They had to pay a large one-time fee and small yearly rents.

The Riots and Protests

People were very upset by these changes. In the spring of 1627 and again in 1628, riots broke out, and people tore down the new fences. There were also legal challenges against both the rioters and the new fences.

Local people, including the Corporation of Leicester (the city's government), sent petitions to the King and his advisors, asking them to stop the enclosures. However, the King's advisors found nothing wrong with Sir Miles Fleetwood's actions. So, people took their complaints to the House of Lords in June 1628. Even there, the Lords supported Fleetwood.

Eventually, an agreement was reached: if the people stopped rioting and complaining, the government would stop taking legal action against them.

Did Everyone Get Paid?

The King did give some money and land to local lords and tenants as payment for their losses. For example, five lords claimed about 2,755 acres were used by their estates. A portion of this went to the King, and the rest went to the lords, who then had to pay their tenants.

About 554 acres were given to tenants based on the size of their land. Even people with small cottages received a few acres. The city of Leicester also received 40 acres to help its poor citizens.

However, many families who had built homes in the forest without official permission did not receive any payment. A petition in June 1628 stated that families in over 100 old cottages, and many more in newer ones, would not be compensated.

What Happened Next?

In the centuries that followed, most of the former Leicester Forest was cleared away. The land was used for farming and to build new homes. Even today, the name of the old forest lives on in the names of two nearby places: the village of Leicester Forest East and the small settlement of Leicester Forest West.

Images for kids

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  A47 road towards Earl Shilton in Leicester Forest.