John Manwood (died 1610) was a barrister of Lincoln's Inn,

gamekeeper A gamekeeper (often abbreviated to keeper), or in case of those dealing with deer (deer-)stalker, is a person who manages an area of countryside (e.g. areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland) to make sure there is enough game for s ...

Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to t ...

, and Justice in Eyre of the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...

under

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

. He was a close relative, probably a nephew, of Sir

Roger Manwood Sir Roger Manwood (1525–1592) was an English jurist and Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. Birth Sir Roger was the second son of Thomas Manwood (d. 1538, draper) and Katherine (d.1566, daughter of John Galloway of Cley, Norfolk). He was bor ...

Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who ...

in the reign of Elizabeth.

Writings

Manwood's first essay on forest law entitled ''A Brefe Collection of the Lawes of the Forrest'' was circulated privately in 1592. It was revised, enlarged, and published by Thomas Wight and

Bonham Norton Bonham Norton (1565–1635), was a politician and King's Printer to James I. He was the son of William Norton. He became King's Printer after his cousin John Norton reassigned to another project for James I and became sheriff of Shropshire in 161 ...

in 1598 as ''A Treatise and Discourse of the Lawes of the Forrest''. This underwent numerous subsequent editions, most notably in that of 1615 by the ''Societie of Stationers'', a version which included material from the ''Brefe Collection'' which was not included in the 1598 version. Manwood's book remained a standard reference on forest law through the mid-1900s. His ''Treatise'' has become perhaps the most-cited secondary source of forest law. As such it is quoted approvingly by Sir

William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Born into a middle-class family ...

in his '' Commentaries on the Laws of England''. However, although Manwood's work is considered by Blackstone to be authoritative, others have pointed out that Manwood, being himself a royal officer, had an interest in amplifying the institutions he described. It has also been pointed out that these institutions had in his time largely fallen into desuetude, and his descriptions may be partly artificial and fanciful.''About Manwood and His Forest Treatise'' by Joshua Calhoun
Manwood was the great great great grandfather of Sir

Nicholas Conyngham Tindal Sir Nicolas Conyngham Tindal, PC (12 December 1776 – 6 July 1846) was a celebrated English lawyer who successfully defended the then Queen of the United Kingdom, Caroline of Brunswick, at her trial for adultery in 1820. As Chief Justice ...

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the othe ...

from 1829 to 1843.

Note

He is sometimes confused with his kinsman Sir

(1525–1593).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manwood, John Year of birth missing 16th-century births 1610 deaths 16th-century English writers 16th-century male writers 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers English legal writers English barristers Members of Lincoln's Inn English male non-fiction writers 16th-century English lawyers