Commissioners of Inquiry into the Woods, Forests and Land Revenues of the Crown:...

This series contains the seventeen reports made to parliament by the commissioners appointed by act of parliament (26 Geo III, c87) to enquire into the state and condition of the woods, forests and land revenues of the Crown and to sell or alienate fee farm and other unimprovable rents. None of the reports forming this series are indexed.

Most reports are accompanied by a large number of appendixes which include opinions of surveyors, examinations of officials, details of salaries and appointments of staff, accounts of wood sales, surveys of timber, copies of grants, reports, letters, ancient perambulations, claims at justice seats, presentments at swanimote courts and other miscellaneous documents relating to the subject of the report. In addition, CRES 28/6 includes midship sections of a 74 gun ship and a 38 gun frigate as normally built by the Navy, with a proposed new design by Gabriel Snodgrass, the surveyor of shipping to the East India Company.

The final report of the commissioners (in CRES 28/8) contains a series of recommendations for improving the management of Crown lands, including the proposal for a board of three commissioners to superintend all the affairs. This recommendation was adopted in 1810.

The manuscript reports were delivered to parliament at intervals between 25 January 1787 and 28 March 1793, all being dated at the Land Revenue Office at Scotland Yard. They were originally bound in four volumes, but are now in eight.

Topics

Trade and commerce

Pay and pensions

Weapons

Crown lands and estates

Navy

Forestry

Farming

There were three Commissioners of Inquiry into the Woods, Forests and Land Revenues of the Crown, initially Sir Charles Middleton, John Call and Arthur Holdsworth, but on the latter's death, John Fordyce became the third commissioner with effect from 26 January 1788. The commissioners divided their enquiries and their reports into three areas: the landed possessions of the Crown granted by lease; woods, forests, parks and chases; and fee farm and other unimprovable rents. In each report the commissioners set out in some detail the affairs as they found it, usually with a history of the circumstances giving rise to the present position.