Savernake Forest - A Short History of The Forest and Its Wardens

A Short History of The Forest and Its Wardens

First mention of a woodland "Safernoc" was made in AD 934 in the written records of the Saxon king Athelstan, but the land passed into Norman ownership soon after the Norman invasion of 1066.

The royal forest was established in the 12th century, and it covered an area of some 150 square miles (390 km2). As such it would have extended to the villages of East Kennett, Inkpen and the Collingbournes (west, east and south) while the River Kennet was its northern delimiter. But it was not continuously wooded. Early Royal Forests were a mixture of woodland, copses, common land and rough pasture.

This was the area of land put into the care of Richard Esturmy, one of the victorious knights who fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Since then Savernake estate and forest has passed down from father to son (or daughter, on four occasions) in an unbroken line of hereditary "forest wardens". In 31 generations, it has never once being bought or sold in a thousand years, and today it is the only ancient forest in Britain still in private hands.

One early high point of the estate's fortunes was in Tudor times. The head of the family (Sir John Seymour) was used to welcoming King Henry VIII to the forest, where the king was very keen on deer-hunting. King Henry stayed at Savernake in 1535, where it is believed that his eye was then taken by his host's daughter, Jane Seymour. They actually met at Littlecote House which is close by to the forest. There is a stained glass window in the Great Hall with their individual crests on and also one royal one with H & J on it. After the execution of Anne Boleyn in May 1536, they were subsequently married, and Jane was crowned Queen just months later, causing the head of the family at Savernake to suddenly find himself father-in-law to Henry VIII.

Jane died in childbirth and after marrying a further three wives, Henry himself died a ten years later. So it fell to Jane's brother Edward Seymour to leave his estate of Savernake Forest in 1547 and to go up to Hampton Court, where for the next five years with the title 'Lord Protector' he was King of England in all but name, while his late sister's young child Edward VI grew old enough to reign alone.

The mid 17th century to mid 18th century saw variations in the size of the forest. English deer parks were subject to dis-parking whereby sections of forest and parkland were converted to agriculture.Note 1 During parts of this period it was reported that the King's naval officers were far from happy with the state of the forest, finding "but 3 or 4 trees fit for his use". The open spaces were found to be "infested with heath, furze, fern " and had "coarse turfe".

In fact dis-parking was very much an on-off affair and it was only the Battle of the Atlantic (commencing 1940) that saw the final dis-parking of England's old deer parks.

A second high point for the forest was under the wardenship of Charles Bruce and his nephew Thomas Bruce-Brudenell (wardens from 1741 to 1814) Lord Thomas Bruce, the Earl of Ailesbury, as head of the family, made a great success of himself, and had risen at Court to be Governor to the King George IV. The Bruce Tunnel which carries the Kennet and Avon Canal under the estate is named after him. He employed Lancelot 'Capability' Brown to plant great beech avenues in Savernake Forest, which was then some 40,000 acres (160 km2), nearly ten times its present size. These included the Grand Avenue, running through the heart of the forest, and which at 3.9 miles (6.3 km) dead straight stands in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest tree-lined avenue in Britain.

Two large structures date from this time. First, and within the public access part of Savernake, there is the stone column some 90 feet (27 m) high, and purchased by Thomas Bruce Brudenell, the Earl of Ailesbury, as an impressive viewpoint at the end of a vista from Tottenham House. Tottenham House had existed in various forms (and in various stages of decay) over the years, but the Earl had it rebuilt by Lord Burlington in 1820, and it looks much the same today.

The house is no longer the family seat, and the forest and the estate is set to change once more. Savernake survived World War II remarkably intact (it was used as a munitions dump) and re-planting with conifer plantations was modest by 1950s' standards. Today the Forestry Commission has engaged in a programme more sympathetic to the restoration and preservation of the ancient trees. David Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan,Note 2 the current and thirty-first warden of Savernake Forest has initiated the renovation of Tottenham House and a golf course is planned for the southern part of Savernake estate.