Delamere Forest Delamere Forest Delamere Forest or Delamere Forest Park is a large wood near the village of Delamere in Cheshire, England. The woodland, which is managed by the Forestry Commission, covers an area of making it the largest area of woodland in the county. It contains a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees. Delamere, which means "forest of the lakes", is all that remains of the great Forests of Mara and Mondrem which covered over of this part of Cheshire. Established in the late 11th century, they were the hunting forests of the Norman Earls of Chester. Order was maintained under
Delamere Forest for killing game were blinding, mutilation or execution; although these punishments were gradually replaced by fines. The original forest was a predominantly oak-mixed woodland, but other species included elm, lime, yew, chestnut, fir, larch, beech, ash, silver birch, hazel, willow and alder. The forest area also encompassed heath and wetland, as well as pasture, arable land and even small settlements. Agriculture was, however, allowed within the forest boundaries only under severe restrictions; assarting, or enclosing and clearing new land for agriculture, was prohibited until 1215. As large areas of Mondrem were slowly cleared of woodland, the northerly Forest of Mara