Monument record 4002 - Deer Park in Chowley

2 hays (enclosures for deer) in Chowley in Coddington are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 Deer Parks were used to house deer, which were an important source of fresh meat. A royal licence was required to create a park and only the very wealthiest could afford to create one. The deer were kept in a fenced and ditched enclosure and could be released to allow hunting. Some parks had a system of ditches and banks known as deer leaps which allowed wild deer (the monarch's property) to enter the park but not escape, so increasing the herd.