1818 Pasturage to Let. Prosecutions for trespass.
Were the Vellacotts at Hoar Oak affected?
The sale of the Royal Forest of Exmoor in 1818 caused some anxiety to those farming families who held century’s old Commoners Rights to take their cattle and sheep up on to the Exmoor Hills for summer pasturage. In Roger Burton’s file of research notes – kindly gifted to the Friends for safe keeping – are two interesting references to newspaper articles at the time. The first is from the 27th August 1818 and is a notice posted in the Taunton Courier by John Knight – the new owner of Exmoor – offering pasturage for a fee on Exmoor. The notice reads: ‘Exmoor Forest Notice is hereby given, that the Royal Allotment on the above Forest will be CONTINUED as a PUBLIC SHEEP PASTURE. The Price of the Summer Keep of Sheep and Lambs will soon be inserted in this paper. JOHN KNIGHT. Simons Bath. August 6, 1818.’
Clearly the new owner, John Knight, intended to keep earning income from farmers using their old right to use the Forest as ‘public sheep pasture’. However, by October of the same year it looks like relations between Knight and the farmers have soured – or maybe this is just a warning shot from Knight across the local farmers’ bows. In the October 29th, 1818 edition of the Taunton Courier the tone has changed slightly. See below. This notice reads: ‘Exmoor Forest. Qualified persons are hereby requested not to destroy the GAME and FISH on the above forest. Poachers will be punished as the law directs. Those who cut turf, heath or commit any other trespass will be prosecuted without any further notice. JOHN KNIGHT. Simons Bath Sept 30, 1818.’
Elsewhere on these newspaper pages can be seen several types of warnings to ‘qualified’ people to not do what they weren’t ‘qualified’ to do. In this case ‘qualified’ would probably be more accurately read as ‘allowed’ to do……in other words those farmers allowed to take their beasts up onto the moor for summer pasture were not allowed to fish, shoot game, cut turf or heath or do anything else Knight deemed as trespass.
These two little newspaper clippings cast an interesting insight into the shaky period of changeover from Exmoor Forest being a Royal Forest to becoming a private estate.
During this period the Vellacotts of Furzehill had secured their foothold and rights by converting the shepherd’s hut they had built at Hoar Oak into a permanent cottage for Charles Vellacott and his new wife Elizabeth. More on this link: https://hoaroakcottage.org/vellacotts-2 Their ‘allotments’ under the sale of the Royal Forest (Nos 279 and 280) meant they were fairly secure in terms of their security on Exmoor and with established rights to take turf and heath and water etc off the moor. Presumably, however, they were just as susceptible to prosecution for poaching deer and fish – if they got caught!
Thanks to Roger A Burton for his research which led us to these two items. Thanks to the British Newspaper Archive for use of images BL_0000348_18180827 and of BL_0000348_18181029. All Rights Reserved.
Follow this link to another blog which talks more about the costs for locals to pasture their beasts on Exmoor. Pasturage of livestock on Exmoor – hoaroak
