Editing Ashdown Forest (section)

===The 1693 division of Ashdown Forest===
During the 17th century, under both the Stuart monarchy and during the [[Interregnum (England)|Interregnum]], there were repeated proposals to ''inclose'' (enclose) and develop the forest. Under James I and Charles I parcels of land were sold off piecemeal. During the Interregnum the condition of the forest deteriorated so much that by the time of the [[English Restoration|Restoration]], in 1660, it was in a state where "the whole forest [is] laid open and made waste".<ref>Straker (1940), p. 124.</ref> Attempts to enclose and improve the forest (for example, by introducing rabbit farming, or sowing crops) were however strongly opposed throughout by the local commoners, who claimed rights of common on the forest, having exercised them "from time out of mind", as well as by neighbouring estates who claimed right of pasture there.

In 1662 the forest was granted to one of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]'s closest allies, [[George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol|George Digby]], Earl of Bristol, and it was formally disafforested to allow Bristol a free hand to improve it. His attempts to do so were however frustrated "by the crossness of the neighbourhood";<ref>Christian (1967), p. 2.</ref> the fences he erected were thrown down and the crops he sowed were trampled by cattle. He defaulted on his rental payments to the Crown and left. Subsequent Lords of the Manor suffered similar opposition from the commoners. Compromise proposals were made to divide up the forest that would leave sufficient common land to meet the needs of commoners, while giving the rest up for improvement.

These unresolved tensions came to a head when, in 1689, a major landowner and 'Master of the Forest', [[Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset|Charles Sackville]], 6th [[Earl of Dorset]], brought a legal suit against 133 commoners in the court of the Duchy of Lancaster. The court decided to appoint commissioners to divide up Ashdown Forest's {{convert|13,991|acre|ha}} in a way that would meet the needs of both defendants and plaintiffs. The commissioners made their award on 9 July 1693. They set aside {{convert|6,400|acre|ha}}, mostly in the vicinity of farms and villages, as common land, where the commoners were granted sole right of pasturage and the right to cut birch, alder and willow (but no other trees). The commoners were however excluded forever from the rest of the forest, about 55 per cent of its area, which was assigned for "inclosure and improvement" (though substantial areas had already been enclosed by then, so in such cases the decree was merely confirming the status quo).

The land award of 1693 is largely responsible for shaping the map of Ashdown Forest today. The common land is highly fragmented and irregular in shape, broken up by many private enclosures, large and small. It tends to lie on the periphery of the forest near existing settlements. Some of the largest enclosures, such as [[Hindleap Warren]], [[Prestridge Warren]], [[Broadstone Warren]] and [[Crowborough Warren]], mostly lying towards the centre of the forest, were used for a time for intensive rabbit farming. Some of these enclosures have today acquired interesting uses: [[Pippingford Park]], in the very centre of the forest, occupied by the army in 1939 as a defence against [[Operation Sea Lion]], remains an important military training area,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pippingford.co.uk/history.html |title=History &#124; Pippingford Park |access-date=23 September 2012 |archive-date=13 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113220047/http://www.pippingford.co.uk/history.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>  Broadstone Warren is a scout camp and activity centre,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.broadstonewarren.org.uk/|title=Broadstone Warren Scout Site & Activity Centre |access-date=23 September 2012}}</ref> while Hindleap Warren is an outdoor education centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.londonyouth.org.uk/|title=London Youth - Supporting and challenging young people to become the best they can be.|website=Londonyouth.org.uk|access-date=16 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128202444/http://londonyouth.org.uk/|archive-date=28 January 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Although the 1693 land award envisaged enclosure and improvement for profitable gain, the land it allotted to private exploitation has in fact largely remained uncultivated; this has helped Ashdown Forest to retain the appearance of being an extensive area of wild country that is so valued today.<ref name="auto">Hinde (1987), p. 66.</ref> That said, there is nevertheless a visible contrast between the areas of common land, maintained by the conservators, which are predominantly heathland, and the extensive privately held lands, which are generally either quite heavily wooded or cleared for pasture.