''Chase'' is a term used in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to define a type of

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

reserved for

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

use by its owner. Similarly, a ''Royal Chase'' is a type of Crown Estate by the same description, where the hunting rights are reserved for a member of the British Royal Family. The term ‘chase’ is also used in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

to describe some national parks. Flinders Chase National Park is on Kangaroo Island in South Australia and Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is in New South Wales.

Rights and history

The '' Victoria County History'' describes a chase as:

"like a forest, uninclosed, and only defined by metes ouses and farmsteads withinand bounds ills, highways, watercourses etc but it could be held by a subject. Offences committed therein were, as a rule, punishable by the
common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
and not by forest jurisdiction."

Chases are often identified by open clearings, soil type, and retaining additional heath rather than forests for hunting purposes. Chases faced mass

enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

by Private (specifically local) Acts of Parliament. This type of privatization primarily occurred through the heyday between 1600 and 1850. Enclosure converted many chases from public to private lands to some extent. After these conversions, in many areas the private lands were converted for residential, commercial, industrial or transport infrastructure use. However, the chases listed (see examples) remain largely undiminished by staying a Common, or by a gift to a public body whether to avoid inheritance tax or motivated by philanthropy.

Examples

Some examples of chases in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

include Wyre Forest, which straddles

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

and

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, Malvern Chase in Worcestershire, Pensnett Chase near

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 ...

and Cranborne Chase spanning Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire. Cannock Chase in Staffordshire had once been previously recognized during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

as a Royal Forest; however, it has since been reverted to a chase and merged with Beaudesert, a property originally belonging to the Bishop of Lichfield.

Comparative status

Chases and Royal Chases are beneath the status of forests designations and Royal Forests, respectively. Since the late Medieval Period, the word "

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

" has come to mean any large woodland. Virtually all of the National Parks, AONB forests or significant other forests have officers and laws that apply only to them.

References

{{Hunting topics Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom

Rights and history

Examples

Comparative status

See also

References