A HISTORY OF SUSSEX the forests of St. Leonards and Tilgate are relation. They were hunted in a wild state usually hinds that have escaped from the and kept in parks, and were on the whole Surrey or Warnham staghounds and have no always more popular in a general sense owing chance of perpetuating their species, as no to their prolificness and superior venison, uncut stags are hunted nowadays. Nowadays there are always a few fallow The following parks in Sussex contain red deer living in comparative security and a wild deer, the number in each enclosure being state in the forest of Tilgate and the woods compiled either from Mr. Whitaker's Deer about Kingsfold, and in both of these places Parks and Paddocks of England or from the we have seen them when shooting. They result of recent visits made by Mr. Millais: — owe their freedom to having escaped from Arundel (owner, the Duke of Norfolk, K.G.) . 40 ^^e parks, and there are now no wild fallow Ashburnham (owner, the Earl of Ashhurnham) 1 5 deer in Sussex m the true sense of the word. Brickwall (owner, Edward Frewen, Esq.) . . 60 Fallow deer are kept in the following Buckhurst (owner, the Earl De La Warr and parks : — Buckhurst) 300 Arundel (owner, the Duke of Norfolk, K.G.) 600 Bridge (owner, the Marquess of Abergavenny, Ashburnham (owner, the Earl of Ashburn- K.G.) ICO ham) 200 Warnham Court (owner, Charles Lucas, Esq.) 157 Brickwall (owner, Edward Frewen, Esq.) . 80 Formerly red deer were also kept at Denne, Brightling (owner, Henry J. Nicoll, Esq.) . 1 1 Ladyholt and Petworth. The red deer of Buckh^ursj^(owner, the Earl De La Warr and Eridge are remarkably fine, whilst those of Burton"'(oJnrr Anthony 'john 'Biddulph; ^°° Warnham Court have no superior in England. g k j -^ A stag which was killed in this park in 1894 Buxted (owner. Lord Portman) .' .' .' '. 250 carried 45 points, and some of his dropped Cowdray (owner, the Earl of Egmont) . . 350 antlers of the previous years were even Cuckfield (owner, Captain Sergison) . . . 140 larger — 1888, 29 points, 9^ lb.; 1889, 34 Denne (owner, Mrs. Eversfield) .... 250 points, 12^ lb.; 1890, 34 points, I3^1b. ; Eridge (owner, the Marquess of Aberga- 1891, 37 "points, 16 lb.; 1892, 47 points, venny, K.G.), about 450 17 lb.; 1893, 45 points, 1 61 lb. Parham (owner. Lord Zouche) .... 250 A . » ^,„^T^ ..u " »i I Petworth (owner, the Lord Leconfield) . . 900 At present (1901) there are three remark- „ . ^,..) , ' „, !,„,/!, ' , , ^ 1- • L- 1 ■ Saint Hill (owner, Edgar March Crook- able stags alive in this park, carrying respec- ha k Es t 4.0 tively 22, 24, 27 points, the weight of horns Up (oJner, mIss Fetherstonhaugh) .' .' .' 1,000 shed in March of the last named being IS^lb. W.^rnham Court (owner, Charles Lucas, Esq.) 52 Park lands for deer can be greatly improved West Grinstead (owner. Sir Meyrick Burrell, by dressing every third season with a prepara- Bart.) 350 tion of bone dust, lime and phosphates. Wiston (owner, the Rev. John Goring) . . 300 The fallow deer of Sussex are second to 38. Fallow Deer. Cervus dama, Linn. none both in size and the superiority of their Although many naturalists accept the venison, and those now at Petworth are cer- theory that fallow deer were introduced by tainly the finest in Great Britain. The the Romans either from Asia Minor or the heads of those that have been ' fatted ' grow Isles of Greece there is really no contradictory to a very large size, and Mr. Millais has one evidence to prevent the supposition that they whose horns and upper part of the skull weigh were not as perfectly indigenous to Great 8 lb. I oz. Britain as the red deer and roe, owing their descent direct from what is called ^Cervus 39- Roe Deer. Capreolus capreolus, Linn. hrowni, an animal whose form must have been Bell — Capreolus caprea. identical with our present species. C. hrowni Very few prehistoric roe horns have been was certainly a finer animal, and his remains unearthed in Sussex, but there is good reason have recently been found in some quantity to believe that the species was numerous and amongst the brick earths of the Thames valley, even abundant in Pleistocene times owing to and though there appears to be a certain gap the great numbers which undoubtedly existed between this and the historic period, a gap close at hand along the southern bank of the filled up in the case of the red deer and the Thames. It is not known at what period roe, we really see no reason why our animal roe became extinct within the county, but should not have been directly descended from their disappearance certainly took place at an native stock. From the date of the Norman earlier date than in the western counties and Conquest the history of the fallow deer in probably within historic times. Sussex is practically the same as his larger At present roe deer are only found within 306
