In this year’s ninth Lord of Bowland Annual Lecture, Dr Bill Shannon will explain how hunting rather than trees traditionally define a Royal Forest like Bowland.
Medieval kings and nobles established forests and chases for pleasure and prestige, for the preservation of the deer and to provide gifts of venison for their followers.
The Forest of Bowland under the Tudors and Stuarts will chart the gradual decline of Bowland as a Forest; beginning with Henry VII's desire to put Crown lands on a sound business footing in order to maximise his revenues and ending when James I completed the process a hundred years later.
Taking place on the evening of Tuesday 1 October in the wonderful surroundings of Browsholme Hall's Tithe Barn, attendance is free but places need to be booked in advance by contacting the Forest of Bowland National Landscape on 01200 448000, or by emailing sandra.silk@lancashire.gov.uk or enquiries@slaidburnarchive.org
The lecture starts at 7.30pm with a pay bar available from 7.00pm.
Donations are invited on the evening and will go to Slaidburn Archive to support its important work in recording the history of the Forest and to Champion Bowland, which supports projects benefiting the environment, local communities and visitors.
The Forest of Bowland National Landscape is grateful to the Parker family for kindly hosting this lecture at Browsholme Hall and to William, Lord of Bowland for his continued support.
(Deer leap cover illustration by Jennie Anderson)