Forest of Braydon

The Forest of Braydon (anciently Bradon) is an historic royal hunting forest in Wiltshire, England, the remnant of which lies about 6 miles north-west of Swindon. In medieval times it encompassed about 30,000 acres.[1]

History

In the year 688 Caedwalla, king of the West Saxons, granted to Abbot Aldhelm of Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, thirty hides on the eastern side of Braydon Wood (de orientali parte silve Bradon).[2]

At its greatest extent, Braydon Forest covered about a third of the area of the county of Wiltshire, but over the centuries most of it was gradually cleared.[3] A 108-acre (44 ha) remnant south of Minety, known as Ravensroost Wood, was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1989[4] and is managed as a nature reserve by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.[5]

Keepers

Persons holding the office of "Keeper of the Forest of Bradon" include:

• 1293: Roger de Moels (c. 1232–1295), father of John de Moels, 1st Baron Moels (d. 1310).[6]
• 1374: William Archbold (d. after 1400), an Irish-born member of the King's household, and later a judge in Ireland.[7]

References

1. "Purton". Wiltshire Community History. Wiltshire Council. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
2. S. E. Kelly, ed. (2005). Charters of Malmesbury Abbey, Anglo-Saxon Charters 11. Oxford: trin.cam.ac.uk. p. S 234. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2018. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
3. "Braydon: a study of settlement in a parish-edge forest", Paul Pattison, David Field, Stewart Ainsworth, Patterns of the Past: essays in landscape archaeology for Christopher Taylor (1999)
4. "Ravensroost Wood SSSI". Natural England. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
5. "Ravensroost Wood including Avis, Distillery and Warbler Meadows". Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
6. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage, new edition, Vol. IX, p. 5, quoting Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1292-1301, p. 42"
7. Ball, F.Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 London John Murray 1926 p.164