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14
Aug
Common land ownership celebrated on second annual Knaresborough Forest Day
A historic event that changed the face of our district 255 years ago was marked yesterday with a series of events to celebrate the second annual Knaresborough Forest Day.
August 13, 1770 saw the signing of the Forest of Knaresborough Inclosure Act, which divided the forest and took away the people’s right to access common land there.
In recent years, local people have taken steps to partially reverse the process by buying two tracts of land between Knaresborough and Harrogate and bringing them back into common ownership, in the form of Long Lands Common and Knaresborough Forest Park.
Yesterday’s events marked the 255th anniversary of the enclosure, as well as celebrating the community’s success in securing Long Lands Common.
At noon, around 40 people gathered in the grounds of Knaresborough Castle for a guided walk to Knaresborough House, where they had lunch.
Then, three speakers addressed different aspects of the forest’s historical context, before the party headed off on another guided walk to Knaresborough Forest Park, where there was entertainment and activities throughout the afternoon as part of Knaresborough’s feva (Festival of Entertainment and Visual Arts) celebrations.
One of the speakers, Knaresborough town guide and Bilton Historical Society founding member Anne Richards, said:
This is a day of celebration, and we’re here to celebrate some inspirational people who, after a road project was seen off, realised that there was some land for sale and wondered if it would be possible to raise money by selling shares to the public on this land. To cut a long story short, it was possible, and we have Long Lands Common.
So what we’re celebrating today is 90 acres of the former Knaresborough Forest being returned to the public. Not after 255 years, but in this instance, more like 755 years. Now that is really a cause for celebration!
Originally, the term ‘forest’ had little to do with trees – it denoted a hunting enclosure rather than a large wooded area.
The Forest of Knaresborough was created in the 12th century and covered 120 square kilometres (45 square miles), stretching from the south bank of the River Nidd at Knaresborough, eastwards to include the whole of the Washburn Valley.
Harrogate, Huby, Blubberhouses, Birstwith, Hampsthwaite, Ripley and Killinghall were all included within its boundary.
In the Middle Ages, Haverah Park, Bilton Park and Hay-a-Park were created within the forest as hunting enclosures.
The first Knaresborough Forest Day was held last year, when Knaresborough Town Council declared that August 13 would be a day to celebrate the town's green spaces, including the ancient forest.
Another of yesterday’s speakers, vice chair of the Long Lands Common committee Shan Oakes, said that securing the two parcels of land between Harrogate and Knaresborough for Long Lands Common was a good start, but that there was more to do.
She said:
You can’t just stand back and hope for the best – you have to actually do something.
If you want to get stuff done, you have to work together as a community, and I think Knaresborough’s doing brilliantly at that.
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