Person:Simon Eyre (3)

From family legends the Eyre/Ayer family were Foresters, a low ranking title similar to Sheriff, and they protected the King's forests. At one time the there was a law that each family could cut only three trees per year so the enforcement of the laws governing the King's forests were pretty brutal. The law concerning the cutting of only three trees occurred because of the need for charcoal to make steel. Between the King's men cutting trees for charcoal and families cutting trees for firewood there was a real need to enforce conservation laws. When coal became a popular substitute for charcoal the laws governing the conservation of trees were relaxed.

The history of the Ayer family has more in common with the fictional "Sheriff of Nottingham" than "Robin Hood".

The name "Ayers", according to family legend, is derived from the Forester and his men. Since "Ayer" was the Forester his men were known as "Ayersmen" which was eventually shortened to "Ayers". Then, as now, clerks made mistakes and recorded "Ayer" or "Eyre" or "Heyr", and other various spellings which are all pronounced the same, as "Ayers".