by Daniel Defoe
laying all open for his deer. The same histories likewise record
that two of his own blood and posterity, and particularly his
immediate successor William Rufus, lost their lives in this forest-
-one, viz., the said William Rufus, being shot with an arrow
directed at a deer which the king and his company were hunting, and
the arrow, glancing on a tree, changed his course, and struck the
king full on the breast and killed him. This they relate as a just
judgment of God on the cruel devastation made here by the
Conqueror. Be it so or not, as Heaven pleases; but that the king
was so killed is certain, and they show the tree on which the arrow
glanced to this day. In King Charles II.'s time it was ordered to
be surrounded with a pale; but as great part of the paling is down
with age, whether the tree be really so old or not is to me a great
question, the action being near seven hundred years ago.
I cannot omit to mention here a proposal made a few years ago to
the late Lord Treasurer Godolphin for re-peopling this forest,
which for some reasons I can be more particular in than any man now
left alive, because I had the honour to draw up the scheme and
argue it before that noble lord and some others who were
principally concerned at that time in bringing over--or, rather,
providing for when they were come over--the poor inhabitants of the
Palatinate, a thing in itself commendable, but, as it was managed,
made scandalous to England and miserable to those poor people.
Some persons being ordered by that noble lord above mentioned to
consider of measures how the said poor people should be provided
for, and whether they could be provided for or no without injury to
the public, the answer was grounded upon this maxim--that the
number of inhabitants is the wealth and strength of a kingdom,
provided those inhabitants were such as by honest industry applied
themselves to live by their labour, to whatsoever trades or
employments they were brought up. In the next place, it was
inquired what employments those poor people were brought up to. It
was answered there were husbandmen and artificers of all sorts,
upon which the proposal was as follows. New Forest, in Hampshire,
was singled out to be the place:-
Here it was proposed to draw a great square line containing four
thousand acres of land, marking out two large highways or roads
through the centre, crossing both ways, so that there should be a
thousand acres in each division, exclusive of the land contained in
the said cross-roads.
Then it was proposed to since out twenty men and their families,
who should be recommended as honest industrious men, expert in, or
at least capable of being instructed in husbandry, curing and
cultivating of land, breeding and feeding cattle, and the like. To
each of these should be parcelled out, in equal distributions, two
hundred acres of this land, so that the whole four thousand acres
should be fully distributed to the said twenty families, for which
they should have no rent to pay, and be liable to no taxes but such
as provided for their own sick or poor, repairing their own roads,
and the like. This exemption from rent and taxes to continue for
twenty years, and then to pay each 50 pounds a year to the queen--
that is to say, to the Crown.
To each of these families, whom I would now call farmers, it was
proposed to advance 200 pounds in ready money as a stock to set
them to work; to furnish them with cattle, horses, cows, hogs, &c.;
and to hire and pay labourers to inclose, clear, and cure the land,
which it would be supposed the first year would not be so much to
their advantage as afterwards, allowing them timber out of the
forest to build themselves houses and barns, sheds and offices, as
they should have occasion; also for carts, waggons, ploughs,
harrows, and the like necessary things: care to be taken that the
men and their families went to work forthwith according to the
design.
Thus twenty families would be immediately supplied and provided
for, for there would be no doubt but these families, with so much
land given them gratis, and so much money to work with, would live
very well; but what would this do for the support of the rest, who
were supposed to be, to every twenty farmers, forty or fifty
families of other people (some of one trade, some of another), with
women and children? To this it was answered that these twenty
farmers would, by the consequence of their own settlements, provide
for and employ such a proportion of others of their own people
that, by thus providing for twenty families in a place, the whole
number of Palatinates would have been provided for, had they been
twenty thousand more in number than they were, and that without
being any burden upon or injury to the people of England; on the
contrary, they would have been an advantage and an addition of
wealth and strength to the nation, and to the country in particular
where they should be thus seated. For example:-
As soon as the land was marked out, the farmers put in possession
of it, and the money given them, they should be obliged to go to
work, in order to their settlement. Suppose it, then, to be in the
spring of the year, when such work was most proper. First, all
hands would be required to fence and part off the land, and clear
it of the timber or bushes, or whatever else was upon it which
required to be removed. The first thing, therefore, which the
farmer would do would be to single out from the rest of their
number every one three servants--that is to say, two men and a
maid; less could not answer the preparations they would be obliged
to make, and yet work hard themselves also. By the help of these
they would, with good management, soon get so much of their land
cured, fenced-off, ploughed, and sowed as should yield them a
sufficiency of corn and kitchen stuff the very first year, both for
horse-meat, hog-meat, food for the family, and some to carry to
market, too, by which to bring in money to go farther on, as above.
At the first entrance they were to have the tents allowed them to
live in, which they then had from the Tower; but as soon as leisure
and conveniences admitted, every farmer was obliged to begin to
build him a farm-house, which he would do gradually, some and some,
as he could spare time from his other works, and money from his
little stock.
In order to furnish himself with carts, waggons, ploughs, harrows,
wheel-barrows, hurdles, and all such necessary utensils of
husbandry, there would be an absolute necessity of wheelwrights or
cartwrights, one at least to each division.
Thus, by the way, there would be employed three servants to each
farmer, that makes sixty persons.
Four families of wheelwrights, one to each division--which, suppose
five in a family, makes twenty persons. Suppose four head-
carpenters, with each three men; and as at first all would be
building together, they would to
every house building have at least
one labourer. Four families of carpenters, five to each family,
and three servants, is thirty-two persons; one labourer to each
house building is twenty persons more.
Thus here would be necessarily brought together in the very first
of the work one hundred and thirty-two persons, besides the head-
farmers, who at five also to each family are one hundred more; in
all, two hundred and thirty-two.
For the necessary supply of these with provisions, clothes,
household stuff, &c. (for all should be done among themselves),
first, they must have at least four butchers with their families
(twenty persons), four shoemakers with their families and each
shoemaker two journeymen (for every trade would increase the number
of customers to every trade). This is twenty-eight persons more.
They would then require a hatmaker, a glover, at least two
ropemakers, four tailors, three weavers of woollen and three
weavers of linen, two basket-makers, two common brewers, ten or
twelve shop-keepers to furnish chandlery and grocery wares, and as
many for drapery and mercery, over and above what they could work.
This makes two-and-forty families more, each at five in a family,
which, is two hundred and ten persons; all the labouring part of
these must have at least two servants (the brewers more), which I
cast up at forty more.
Add to these two ministers, one clerk, one sexton or grave-digger,
with their families, two physicians, three apothecaries, two
surgeons (less there could not be, only that for the beginning it
might be said the physicians should be surgeons, and I take them
so); this is forty-five persons, besides servants; so that, in
short--to omit many tradesmen more who would be wanted among them--
there would necessarily and voluntarily follow to these twenty
families of farmers at least six hundred more of their own people.
It is no difficult thing to show that the ready money of 4,000
pounds which the Government was to advance to those twenty farmers
would employ and pay, and consequently subsist, all these numerous
dependants in the works which must severally be done for them for
the first year, after which the farmers would begin to receive
their own money back again; for all these tradesmen must come to
their own market to buy corn, flesh, milk, butter, cheese, bacon,
&c., which after the first year the farmers, having no rent to pay,
would have to spare sufficiently, and so take back their own money
with advantage. I need not go on to mention how, by consequence
provisions increasing and money circulating, this town should
increase in a very little time.
It was proposed also that for the encouragement of all the
handicraftsmen and labouring poor who, either as servants or as
labourers for day-work, assisted the farmers or other tradesmen,
they should have every man three acres of ground given them, with
leave to build cottages upon the same, the allotments to be upon
the waste at the end of the cross-roads where they entered the
town.
In the centre of the square was laid out a circle of twelve acres
of ground, to be cast into streets for inhabitants to build on as
their ability would permit--all that would build to have ground
gratis for twenty years, timber out of the forest, and convenient
yards, gardens, and orchards allotted to every house.
In the great streets near where they cross each other was to be
built a handsome market-house, with a town-hall for parish or
corporation business, doing justice and the like; also shambles;
and in a handsome part of the ground mentioned to be laid out for
streets, as near the centre as might be, was to be ground laid out
for the building a church, which every man should either contribute
to the building of in money, or give every tenth day of his time to
assist in labouring at the building.
I have omitted many tradesmen who would be wanted here, and would
find a good livelihood among their country-folks only to get
accidental work as day-men or labourers (of which such a town would
constantly employ many), as also poor women for assistance in
families (such as midwives, nurses, &c.).
Adjacent to the town was to be a certain quantity of common-land
for the benefit of the cottages, that the poor might have a few
sheep or cows, as their circumstances required; and this to be
appointed at the several ends of the town.
There was a calculation made of what increase there would be, both
of wealth and people, in twenty years in this town; what a vast
consumption of provisions they would cause, more than the four
thousand acres of land given them would produce, by which
consumption and increase so much advantage would accrue to the
public stock, and so many subjects be added to the many thousands
of Great Britain, who in the next age would be all true-born
Englishmen, and forget both the language and nation from whence
they came. And it was in order to this that two ministers were
appointed, one of which should officiate in English and the other
in High Dutch, and withal to have them obliged by a law to teach
all their children both to speak, read, and write the English
language.
Upon their increase they would also want barbers and glaziers,
painters also, and plumbers; a windmill or two, and the millers and
their families; a fulling-mill and a cloth-worker; as also a master
clothier or two for making a manufacture among them for their own
wear, and for employing the women and children; a dyer or two for
dyeing their manufactures; and, which above all is not to be
omitted, four families at least of smiths, with every one two
servants--considering that, besides all the family work which
continually employs a smith, all the shoeing of horses, all the
ironwork of ploughs, carts, waggons, harrows, &c., must be wrought
by them. There was no allowance made for inns and ale-houses,
seeing it would be frequent that those who kept public-houses of
any sort would likewise have some other employment to carry on.
This was the scheme for settling the Palatinates, by which means
twenty families of farmers, handsomely set up and supported, would
lay a foundation, as I have said, for six or seven hundred of the
rest of their people; and as the land in New Forest is undoubtedly
good, and capable of improvement by such cultivation, so other
wastes in England are to be found as fruitful as that; and twenty
such villages might have been erected, the poor strangers
maintained, and the nation evidently be bettered by it. As to the
money to be advanced, which in the case of twenty such settlements,
at 1,000 pounds each, would be 80,000 pounds, two things were
answered to it:-
1. That the annual rent to be received for all those lands after
twenty years would abundantly pay the public for the first
disburses on the scheme above, that rent being then to amount to
40,000 pounds per annum.
&nb
sp; 2. More money than would have done this was expended, or rather
thrown away, upon them here, to keep them in suspense, and
afterwards starve them; sending them a-begging all over the nation,
and shipping them off to perish in other countries. Where the
mistake lay is none of my business to inquire.
I reserved this account for this place, because I passed in this
journey over the very spot where the design was laid out--namely,
near Lyndhurst, in the road from Rumsey to Lymington, whither I now
directed my course.
Lymington is a little but populous seaport standing opposite to the
Isle of Wight, in the narrow part of the strait which ships
sometimes pass through in fair weather, called the Needles; and
right against an ancient town of that island called Yarmouth, and
which, in distinction from the great town of Yarmouth in Norfolk,
is called South Yarmouth. This town of Lymington is chiefly noted
for making fine salt, which is indeed excellent good; and from
whence all these south parts of England are supplied, as well by
water as by land carriage; and sometimes, though not often, they
send salt to London, when, contrary winds having kept the Northern
fleets back, the price at London has been very high; but this is
very seldom and uncertain. Lymington sends two members to
Parliament, and this and her salt trade is all I can say to her;
for though she is very well situated as to the convenience of
shipping I do not find they have any foreign commerce, except it be
what we call smuggling and roguing; which, I may say, is the
reigning commerce of all this part of the English coast, from the
mouth of the Thames to the Land's End of Cornwall.
From hence there are but few towns on the sea-coast west, though
there are several considerable rivers empty themselves into the
sea; nor are there any harbours or seaports of any note except
Poole. As for Christchurch, though it stands at the mouth of the
Avon (which, as I have said, comes down from Salisbury, and brings
with it all the waters of the south and east parts of Wiltshire,
and receives also the Stour and Piddle, two Dorsetshire rivers
which bring with them all the waters of the north part of
Dorsetshire), yet it is a very inconsiderable poor place, scarce
worth seeing, and less worth mentioning in this account, only that
it sends two members to Parliament, which many poor towns in this
part of England do, as well as that.
From hence I stepped up into the country north-west, to see the
ancient town of Wimborne, or Wimborneminster; there I found nothing
remarkable but the church, which is indeed a very great one,
ancient, and yet very well built, with a very firm, strong, square
tower, considerably high; but was, without doubt, much finer, when
on the top of it stood a most exquisite spire--finer and taller, if
fame lies not, than that at Salisbury, and by its situation in a
plainer, flatter country visible, no question, much farther; but
this most beautiful ornament was blown down by a sudden tempest of
wind, as they tell us, in the year 1622.
The church remains a venerable piece of antiquity, and has in it
the remains of a place once much more in request than it is now,
for here are the monuments of several noble families, and in
particular of one king, viz., King Etheldred, who was slain in
battle by the Danes. He was a prince famed for piety and religion,
and, according to the zeal of these times, was esteemed as a
martyr, because, venturing his life against the Danes, who were
heathens, he died fighting for his religion and his country. The
inscription upon his grave is preserved, and has been carefully
repaired, so as to be easily read, and is as follows:-
"In hoc loco quiescit Corpus S. Etheldredi, Regis West Saxonum,
Martyris, qui Anno Dom. DCCCLXXII., xxiii Aprilis, per Manos
Danorum Paganorum Occubuit."
In English thus:-
"Here rests the Body of Holy Etheldred, King of the West Saxons,
