The highest bidder was John Knight of Lea Castle, Wolverley, Worcestershire, whose bid was £50,122. He thus acquired 10,262 1/4 acres, and soon thereafter set about buying up the allotments made to the former graziers and owner of the tithes. This brought his holding to about 20,000 acres. Knight was descended from a wealthy family of Ironmasters. Knight set about converting the Royal Forest, covering land now within the Exmoor National Park, into a huge industrial mining complex with canals and railways together with an agricultural estate. He had previously bought and reclaimed uncultivated land in Worcestershire and used similar techniques including burning rough grass, applying lime to change the pH, and ploughing to increase the productivity of the land. He also introduced the Cheviot sheep to the area which are now common throughout Exmoor.