The Forest of Braydon (anciently Bradon) is an historic
royal hunting forest in
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, England, the remnant of which lies about 6 miles north-west of
Swindon. In medieval times it encompassed about 30,000 acres.
History
In the year 688
Caedwalla, king of the West Saxons, granted to
Abbot Aldhelm of
Malmesbury Abbey
Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a religious house dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It was one of the few English houses with a continuous history from the 7th century through to the dissolution of the monasteri ...
in Wiltshire, thirty hides on the eastern side of Braydon Wood (''de orientali parte silve Bradon'').
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.
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).
[Cokayne, '']The Complete Peerage
''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant''; first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition rev ...
'', new edition, Vol. IX, p. 5, quoting Calendar of Patent Rolls
The patent rolls (Latin: ''Rotuli litterarum patentium'') are a series of administrative records compiled in the English, British and United Kingdom Chancery, running from 1201 to the present day.
Description
The patent rolls comprise a register ...
, 1292-1301, p. 42"
*1374:
William Archbold (d. after 1400), an Irish-born member of the King's household, and later a
judge in Ireland.
[Ball, F.Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926 p.164]
References
{{Reflist
Braydon
category:History of Wiltshire