Monument record 4034 - Deer Park in Cranage

1 hay (enclosure for deer) in Cranage is 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.