After the lapse of the Chester earldom in 1237, the forest rights passed to the Crown and the monarch's heir was given the title of Earl of Chester.
Although Edward I hunted in the forest, the sport became less important, and the forests were used for timber production and as a source of revenue from taxes, fees and fines.
In 1300, Edward I confirmed Ranulf de Blondeville's charter of 1215–16, but in the mid-14th century, Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince, introduced various restrictive measures, which led to a large number of complaints recorded in the Black Prince's Register of 1351.
Agricultural exploitation of the eastern edge of the forest was hampered by outbreaks of Black Death at Over, Little Budworth and Vale Royal Abbey in 1349, 1361 and 1369.
The Old Pale and Eddisbury Hill were enclosed in the 14th century, to retain deer.

The northerly Forest of Mara remained wooded in the 14th century, and still retained a population of wild boar and wolves.
By that date, however, large areas of the southerly Forest of Mondrem had been cleared.
The remaining Mondrem woodland in the mid-14th century appears to have been concentrated in the north around Castle Northwich, Hartford and Winnington, and to a lesser extent in the south east around Aston juxta Mondrum, Calveley, Cholmondeston, Church Minshull, Poole and Wettenhall.
Extensive assarting by Vale Royal Abbey made a major contribution to the loss of Mondrem woodland before the abbey's dissolution.
The proximity to the medieval salt wiches of Nantwich and Middlewich, with their wood-fuelled salt pans, might also have been a factor.
 
Deer continued to be hunted in the 17th century; a large area at New Pale was enclosed at this time for the retention of deer.
James I, on a royal visit to Cheshire in August 1617, hunted in the forest, describing it as "this delectable place".
From the early 18th century, however, the focus of hunting moved away from deer; Tarporley Hunt Club was founded in 1762, and the local gentry hunted hares and later foxes.
After the lapse of the Chester earldom in 1237, the forest rights passed to the Crown and the monarch's heir was given the title of Earl of Chester. Although Edward I hunted in the forest, the sport became less important, and the forests were used for timber production and as a source of revenue from taxes, fees and fines. In 1300, Edward I confirmed Ranulf de Blondeville's charter of 1215–16, but in the mid-14th century, Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince, introduced various restrictive measures, which led to a large number of complaints recorded in the Black Prince's Register of 1351. Agricultural exploitation of the eastern edge of the forest was hampered by outbreaks of Black Death at Over, Little Budworth and Vale Royal Abbey in 1349, 1361 and 1369. The Old Pale and Eddisbury Hill were enclosed in the 14th century, to retain deer.
The northerly Forest of Mara remained wooded in the 14th century, and still retained a population of wild boar and wolves. By that date, however, large areas of the southerly Forest of Mondrem had been cleared. The remaining Mondrem woodland in the mid-14th century appears to have been concentrated in the north around Castle Northwich, Hartford and Winnington, and to a lesser extent in the south east around Aston juxta Mondrum, Calveley, Cholmondeston, Church Minshull, Poole and Wettenhall. Extensive assarting by Vale Royal Abbey made a major contribution to the loss of Mondrem woodland before the abbey's dissolution. The proximity to the medieval salt wiches of Nantwich and Middlewich, with their wood-fuelled salt pans, might also have been a factor.  
Deer continued to be hunted in the 17th century; a large area at New Pale was enclosed at this time for the retention of deer. James I, on a royal visit to Cheshire in August 1617, hunted in the forest, describing it as "this delectable place". From the early 18th century, however, the focus of hunting moved away from deer; Tarporley Hunt Club was founded in 1762, and the local gentry hunted hares and later foxes.
Forests of Mara and Mondrem