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Medieval Woodland Clearance
It is not straightforward to establish the extent of woodland in the early Middle Ages or the rate at which this was cleared. The extent of modern woodland gives an approximate guide as to the location of earlier woods, particularly where they are on marginal land. However, woodland can easily arise either through neglect or deliberate planting and there have been numerous periods since 500AD when either of these factors could have been at work. Archaeological surveys frequently record remains of field systems in “ancient” woodland. This page attempts to assess the progress of woodland clearance in south-east Shropshire.
Early Saxon Woods
Green circles show placenames which indicate nearby woodland (-ley, -wood, bind, heath). Red symbols indicate potential early/middle English names that do no indicate woodland (-ton, -wick, -bury, -ford). The map demonstrates that when the settlements we...
It is probably safe to assume that following the collapse of Roman Britain and subsequent depopulation, there would have been an expansion of local woodland as farmland was abandoned, although it would be comforting to have confirmatory evidence from pollen records. In the absence of this, evidence for Saxon woodland comes from two sources; documents and place names. There are very few documents of any type relating to south-east Shropshire from the Saxon period, although north-west Worcestershire is much better served and from these it is possible to make some inferences about the likely conditions in Shropshire. In the 8th Century, the Wyre Forest is apparently mentioned as Weogorena Leage, the wood of the Weogoran, west of the Severn and stretching towards the Shropshire border. This is virtually the only direct documentary reference to an extensive wooded area but it is important in confirming the presence of the forest. By contrast there are numerous place names which indicate woodland. Highley, Billingsley, Chorley and Glazeley, all ending in –ley suggest a settlement in a woodland clearing. These names probably date from the 8th or 9th Centuries and indicate that at this date there was extensive woodland stretching north, along the Borle Brook and its tributaries. East of the Severn, Upper Arley, Romsley, Alveley, Astley and Nordley point to a significant wooded area between the later Morfe and Kinver forests. By contrast, west of the Rea, there is an almost complete absence of any name that suggests woodland; most settlements end in –ton (the main exceptions being Netchwood near Ditton Priors, a patch of woodland in Hopton Wafers and Catherton on the lower slopes of the Titterstone Clee and wooded areas between Cleobury and Neen Sollers). Much the same applies to the area of ancient settlement in the Worcestershire parishes such as Bayton, Rock and Ribbesford that border onto Shropshire. There remains a problematic area, between the largely woodless-country west of the Rea and northern extension of the Wyre Forest running to Glazeley. The major settlement names do not reflect woodland, but there are host of minor names of hamlets or isolated farms that indicate woods. Thus between Stottesdon and Chorley there are Woodhouse, Litley, Ribley, Northwood, and Stanley. Care must be taken in assuming that these all indicate the presence of early woodland. The word –ley evolved over time simply to mean grassland; a wood could have been planted at any time. However, the occurrence of these names all close together suggests a significant area of woodland, probably dating back to Saxon times. The map above shows woodland and non-woodland place names and gives an approximate idea of its extent in say 800.
Late Saxon Woods
Green symbols are manors where woodland is recorded; the size of the symbol provides a rough guide as the area. For this, it has been assumed that a wood for 30 swine was 150 acres. Red symbols are manors where no woodland was recorded.
There is no doubt that the population both nationally and locally grew several fold for around 250 years after the Norman conquest and so it is reasonable to assume that this process was also underway in earlier times, not withstanding some reverses due to Danish invasions. Consequently, there would have been woodland clearance to bring more land in cultivation. Domesday book specifically recorded woodland where it contributed to the taxable value of a settlement. The results of this are shown above. Less than 1/3rd of the communities in the area shown had taxable woodland. The distribution of this woodland is broadly consistent with the place-name evidence; it was found in the east and south. The evidence from Domesday needs to be used with care; settlements in Worcestershire seem far more likely to have woodland than their counterparts just a couple of miles away in Shropshire and it may be that the Shropshire commissioners were less ready the value woodland than their Worcestershire counterparts. It is difficult to accept that Neen Savage, which later included part of Cleobury Park and which has numerous place names implying the presence of wood, was totally cleared by 1086. Indeed, many of the manors which the Domesday commissioners thought could accommodate additional plough teams are located close to areas of presumed early Saxon wood. If this still existed in some form or other, then its clearance may have been what lay behind the conclusion that the manors were underdeveloped (although understocked manors are also found in areas where there was no significant wood). It is possible that partially cleared, scrubby or overgrazed woodland was not considered worth a separate assessment, although it might still be largely covered in trees.
Green symbols indicate manors where the Domesday assessors considered that more ploughs would be possible; the size of the symbol indicates the number of extra ploughs that could be accommodated. Red symbols are where the manor was considered to be fully...
Whilst Domesday probably underestimates the amount of woodland, there is evidence from other sources to suggest that the late Saxon landscape was not one of extensive woods. Parish boundaries were probably laid out around the 11th Century, usually following the lines of existing estates. Where possible these follow streams, but inevitably they also need to cross watersheds. If they were passing through thick forest, then they might be expected to run in a straight line; this is found for the boundary between Kinlet and Neen Savage in Birchen Park. However, if they follow a sinuous course, it is probably because they had to run around pre-existing features, such as might be found in an area of fields. In one case it is possible to test this against a document. A charter, nominally of 994 (although perhaps 50 or so years later) includes a description of the parish boundary between Upper Arley and Alveley. This bends to accommodate a variety of crofts and enclosures; the only woods mentioned are a collection of thorn bushes and a spinney of alder trees. The Saxon landscape was probably largely one of small hamlets and isolated farms, with little to distinguish the principle settlement in any parish beyond the hall of its owner or chief tenant.
Later Medieval Woodland clearance
This is a highly speculative reconstruction of woodland clearance from c700 to 1300 in Highley, Billingsley, Stottesdon, Kinlet and Arley, based on placenames and Domesday book.
The population continued to expand until the early 14th Century and this would have continued to put pressure on woodland. There is clear documentary evidence for clearance (or assarting) in this period. Thus in the 13th Century, the convent of St Wulstans in Worcestershire were granted a virgate (approximately 30 acres) and land and wood in the south of Highley. At the start of the 14th Century, it was noted that a carcuate (~ 60 acres) of waste in Kinlet had recently been brought into cultivation; it is difficult to believe that this was not wooded, even if the trees were largely scrub. By the late 13th Century, Northwood in Stottesdon was laid out in open fields, probably surrounded by private assarts. There remains significant problems in dating many assarts. As a guide, hamlets and settlements with early or middle English elements such as –cot are consistent with Saxon expansion; farms apparently with personal names such as Scots (Stottesdon) or Jenkin Harries (Highley) are more likely to be late medieval. Possibly the numerous “green” place-names especially common in Alveley may be later in date. However, particularly an isolated farm can change its name; on the other hand, there is a good chance that Weston Farm in Cleobury may take its name from the Weston family who lived in the parish in the 16th and 17th Century.
The rise of deer parks (from at least the 13th Century locally) may well reflect the need to protect areas of woodland from land-hungry farmers. By the middle of the 14th Century it was felt worth recording the presence of a 6 acre in wood in Stottesdon in a valuation. There was a substantial fall in population with the Black Death in 1348/9. In principle this could have released more land for woodland but it is difficult to find much evidence either way. Accounts for Earnwood do indicate that a number of crofts had been absorbed into the chace of Wyre by the 1370s and there is evidence for new coppices from this period. On the other hand, manor court rolls from Highley reveal tenants being fined for cutting wood belonging to the manor; not something that suggests that it was everywhere abundant and a century later the wood of Pickthorne was a mere 10 acres. The probability is that unwanted arable land was put out for sheep grazing and extensive plantations and coppices had to wait until the growth of the iron industry in the 16th Century.