Kinver Forest was a

Royal Forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

, mainly in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

Extent

References to "forest" in

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

suggest that the forest was of similar extent in 1086 and in the 14th century. Its precise extent in the intervening period can only be deduced from the places summoned to attend forest courts in the 13th century or which were declared disforested in whole or part in the Great Perambulation of 1300. At its greatest extent its boundaries met those of Feckenham Forest on the southeast and Morfe Forest on the northwest. However, it probably included

Wolverley Wolverley is a village; with nearby Cookley (1 mi northeast), it forms a civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. It is 2 miles north of Kidderminster and lies on the River Stour and the Staffordshire a ...

and

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

, which were not in the post-1300 forest. It stretched north to Lower Penn and Seisdon and thus occupied much of the lower stour and Smestow valleys, stretching west to the Shropshire boundary and east approximately to the road from

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

, through

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

and

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

. To its east was Pensnett Chase of the lords of

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

. In the 13th century,

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England cathedral in Worcester, England, Worcester, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Worcester and is the Mother Church# ...

Priory was authorised to appoint its own officers to keep the woods in Wolverley, which weakened the impact of the forest law on that manor. Under the Great Perambulation of 1300, the bounds were greatly reduced. The new area seems to have consisted just of the parish of

Kinver Kinver is a large village in the District of South Staffordshire in Staffordshire, England. It is in the far south-west of the county, at the end of the narrow finger of land surrounded by the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and the ...

with Ashwood Hay in

Kingswinford Kingswinford is a town of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands (county), West Midlands, situated west-southwest of central Dudley. In 2011 the area had a population of 25,191, down from 25,808 at the 2001 Census. T ...

parish and Chasepool Hay. These hays (together with Iverley Hay (in Kinver) were hedged hunting areas. The manor of Kingsley, near Tettenhall remained a detached part of the forest and of the manor of Kinver. It is called the Hay of Kingesley in 1358.

Officers

The wardenship of the forest was an office annexed to the manor of Kinver and Stourton, which was held from the king by a rent of £9 per year and the serjeanty keeping the forest. A separate office of Riden of the forest occurs from 1388. The office of bailiff of Ashwood Hay was also hereditary, the farm of Prestwood being held by the performance of this office. The herbage, pannage and other perquisites of Chasepool Hay was granted to John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley in 1454. His grandson Edward Sutton, 2nd Baron Dudley was made Lieutenant of the Forest on his death in 1487. He was succeeded both in the Lieutenancy and in custody of Chasepool Hay by the Duke of Norfolk, who was in turn succeeded by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland. This reverted to the crown on his

attainder In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...

in 1553. When his ancestral estates were restored to

Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley Edward Sutton, 4th Baron Dudley (circa 1515 – 12 July 1586). The oldest son and heir of John Sutton, 3rd Baron Dudley. He was an English nobleman and soldier. Contemporary sources also refer to him as ''Sir Edward Dudley''. Early life Sir Edw ...

, he was granted Chasepool and Ashwood Hays, though not Prestwood. This led to a dispute between his son and Gilbert Lyttelton as owner of Prestwood, over the boundary between Ashwood Hay and Prestwood Hill at the end of the century. Iverley Hay had a keeper in the 16th century.''Victoria County History, Staffordshire'', XX, 142. In addition, the forest had the usual verderers and regarders.

References

{{Reflist 1080s establishments in England English royal forests John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland