The Forest Sheep
Due to the high demands for timber for use in charcoal production for the iron industry and Naval ship-building, the resident Foresters lost some of their rights to timber but were still able to use wood for fuel and repairing their homes. Similarly, they could graze their pigs and other livestock in the Forest - but not their sheep as laws had been passed to prevent the Forest becoming open farmland.
However, probably due to poor mediaeval administration, sheep have been grazing freely providing novelty and amusement to visitors although causing some frustration to local shopkeepers who daren’t display edible wares outside their shops while residents can feel they are a nuisance when they venture into private gardens or allotments to enjoy an unofficial feast!
The Forest sheep are owned by ‘Sheep Badgers’ and were kept to supplement their income from their mines and have vigorously defended their sheep tradition opposing attempts to confine them to fenced-in areas, but numbers are controlled today. During the Foot and Mouth disease outbreak in the late 1990’s, all sheep had to be culled leading to a noticeable loss of some of the character of the Forest but today they are back, grazing contentedly at the roadside, keeping grass verges trimmed, unhurriedly ambling along, dozing in the sun as they watch the traffic pass by.
