"The Holly and the Ivy": Forest Vert
–
December 5, 2017
Dr John Langton
BTO Director of Science
Forests (and chases) were areas over which land use was regulated to provided cover and forage for hunting quarry - mainly deer. Special laws, courts and officers ensured that vegetation cover ('vert') contained adequate supplies of holly, ivy and other berry-bearing plants for winter deer-feed, which, with measures to enable deer to move freely, produced very distinctive landscapes over the large areas of England subject to Forest Law.
Dr. Langton was official fellow in geography at St. John's College and lecturer in human geography in the Oxford University School of Geography and Environment 1980-2009.
St Peter's Church
First Turn, Wolvercote
Oxford, OX2 8AQ
