In July 1871, a large crowd gathered on Wanstead Flats to protest about fences which had been erected there by Earl Cowley to enclose forest land; after the police had left, the fences were broken down and smashed. At this stage the City of London Corporation became involved, since in 1853, the City had purchased a farm at Manor Park for the construction of the City of London Cemetery; this made the City Corporation a forest commoner with the right to graze cattle in the forest. In 1871, the City brought a suit against 16 of the lords of the forest manors, claiming that the enclosures impinged on their ancient grazing rights. Following an appeal in 1874, a judgment by the Master of the Rolls, Sir George Jessel, ruled that all enclosures made since 1851 were illegal. Subsequently, two acts of Parliament in 1871 and 1872 allowed the City to purchase the 19 forest manors.