BattlefieldsWaltham Blacks forest raids 1723
modern

Waltham Blacks forest raids 1723

1723
Hampshire, England
Era
modern
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Hampshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Waltham Blacks
Forces
royal gamekeepers and forest officers. Eventually military.
VS
Victor
British Crown/Royal Authority
Forces
Waltham Blacks armed poaching gangs
Outcome
Black Act passed creating capital punishments for forest offences. Several Blacks hanged. Deer poaching suppressed but forest enclosure grievances continued.
The Battle

History & Significance

Armed gangs called the Blacks for the practice of blacking their faces raided Windsor Forest and Waltham Chase, poaching deer and destroying enclosures. The government responded with the Black Act 1723 creating fifty new capital offences. The Blacks had links to Jacobite disaffection.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Aubrey Research

Explore the landscape around Hampshire

Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in Britain — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.

Research a location near Hampshire