New Forest
Encyclopedia
The New Forest is an area of southern England
which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland
and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England
. It covers south-west Hampshire
and extends into south-east Wiltshire
.
The name also refers to the New Forest National Park
which has similar boundaries. Additionally the New Forest local government district
is a subdivision of Hampshire which covers most of the Forest, and some nearby areas although it is no longer the planning authority for the National Park itself.
There are many villages dotted around the area, and several small towns in the Forest and around its edges.
onwards; the poor quality of the soil in the New Forest meant that the cleared areas turned into heathland "waste", which may have been used even then as grazing-land for horses. There was still a significant amount of woodland in this part of Britain, but this was gradually reduced, particularly towards the end of the Middle Iron Age
around 250-100 BCE, and most importantly the 12th and 13th centuries
, and of this essentially all that remains today is the New Forest.
There are around two hundred and fifty round barrow
s within its boundaries, and scattered boiling mounds, and it also includes about 150 scheduled ancient monument
s. One such barrow in particular may represent the only known inhumation burial of the Early Iron Age and the only known Hallstatt burial in Britain.
The New Forest was created as a royal forest
by William I in about 1079 for the private hunting of (mainly) deer
. It was created at the expense of more than 20 small settlements/farms; hence it was 'new' in his time as a single compact area.
According to Florence of Worcester
(d. 1118), the forest was known before the Norman Conquest as the Great Ytene Forest; the word "Ytene" meaning '"Juten" or "of Jutes". The Jutes
were one of the early Anglo Saxon tribal groups who colonised this area of southern Hampshire. This is the traditionally accepted etymology, however, it is very possible that the name is Celtic and related to the Irish name "Etain".
It was first recorded as "Nova Foresta" in Domesday Book
in 1086, and is the only forest that the book describes in detail. Twelfth century chroniclers alleged that William had created the Forest by evicting the inhabitants of 36 parishes, reducing a flourishing district to a wasteland; however, this account is thought dubious by most historians, as the poor soil in much of the Forest is believed to have been incapable of supporting large-scale agriculture, and significant areas appear to have always been uninhabited.
Two of William's sons died in the Forest: Prince Richard
in 1081 and King William II (William Rufus)
in 1100. Local folklore
asserted that this was punishment for the crimes committed by William when he created his New Forest; a 17th century writer provides exquisite detail:
The reputed spot of Rufus's death is marked with a stone known as the Rufus Stone.
John White
, Bishop of Winchester
, said of the forest:
Formal commons rights were confirmed by statute in 1698. The New Forest became a source of timber for the Royal Navy
, and plantations were created in the 18th century for this purpose. In the Great Storm of 1703
, about 4000 oak trees were lost.
The naval plantations encroached on the rights of the Commoners, but the Forest gained new protection under an Act of Parliament
in 1877. The New Forest Act 1877 confirmed the historic rights of the Commoners and prohibited the enclosure of more than 65 km² (25.1 sq mi) at any time. It also reconstituted the Court of Verderers as representatives of the Commoners (rather than the Crown).
As of 2005, roughly 90% of the New Forest is still owned by the Crown
. The Crown lands have been managed by the Forestry Commission
since 1923 and most of the Crown lands now fall inside the new National Park.
Felling of broadleaved trees, and their replacement by conifers, began during the First World War to meet the wartime demand for wood. Further encroachments were made during the Second World War. This process is today being reversed in places, with some plantations being returned to heathland or broadleaved woodland. Rhododendron remains a problem.
Further New Forest Acts followed in 1949, 1964 and 1970. The New Forest became a Site of Special Scientific Interest
in 1971, and was granted special status as the New Forest Heritage Area in 1985, with additional planning controls added in 1992. The New Forest was proposed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
in June 1999, and it became a National Park in 2005.
Forest Laws were enacted to preserve the New Forest as a location for royal deer hunting
, and interference with the King's deer and its forage was punished. However, the inhabitants of the area (commoners) had pre-existing rights of common: to turn horses and cattle (but only rarely sheep) out into the Forest to graze (common pasture), to gather fuel wood (estovers
), to cut peat for fuel (turbary
), to dig clay (marl
), and to turn out pigs between September and November to eat fallen acorns and beechnuts (pannage
or mast). There were also licences granted to gather bracken
after 29 September as litter for animals (fern), Along with grazing, pannage is still an important part of the Forest's ecology. Pigs can eat acorn
s without a problem, whereas to ponies and cattle large numbers of acorns can be poisonous. Pannage always lasts 60 days but the start date varies according to the weather — and when the acorns fall. The Verderer
s decide when pannage will start each year. At other times the pigs must be taken in and kept on the owner's land with the exception that pregnant sows, known as privileged sows, are always allowed out providing they are not a nuisance and return to the Commoner's holding at night (they must be levant and couchant there). This last is not a true Right, however, so much as an established practice. The principle of levancy and couchancy applied generally to the right of pasture as it was unstinted but commoners must have backup land, outside the Forest, to accommodate these depastured animals as during the Foot and Mouth epidemic.
Commons rights are attached to particular plots of land (or in the case of turbary, to particular hearth
s), and different land has different rights — and some of this land is some distance from the Forest itself. Rights to graze ponies and cattle are not for a certain number of animals, as is often the case on other commons. Instead a marking fee is paid for each animal each year by the owner. The marked animal's tail is trimmed by the local agister (Verderers' official), with each of the four or five Forest agisters using a different trimming pattern. Ponies are branded with the owner's brand-mark; cattle may be branded, or nowadays may have the brand-mark on an ear-tag.
The grazing done by the commoners' ponies and cattle is an essential part of the management of the Forest, helping to maintain the internationally important heathland, bog, grassland and wood-pasture habitats and their associated wildlife.
More recently this ancient practice has come under pressure as the rising house prices in the area have stopped local commoning families from moving into new homes which have the rights attached, thus meaning the next generation of commoners cannot begin the practice themselves until the previous generation either passes on or move and give over their house (and therefore rights) to their children. Many houses which do have common rights are now inhabited by migrants to the area (largely from cities) who have no interest in keeping the practice going, and are often only there for part of the year anyway.
The New Forest National Park area covers 566 km² (218.5 sq mi), and the New Forest SSSI
covers almost 300 km² (115.8 sq mi), making it the largest contiguous area of un-sown vegetation in lowland Britain. It includes
roughly: of broadleaved woodland of heathland and grassland of wet heathland of tree plantations (inclosures) established since the 18th century, including 80 km² (30.9 sq mi) planted by the Forestry Commission since the 1920s.
The New Forest is drained to the south by two rivers, the Lymington River
and Beaulieu River
, and to the west by the Dockens Water, Hucklesbrook, Linbrook and other streams.
The highest point in the New Forest is Pipers Wait, near Nomansland. Its summit is 129m (422 feet) above sea level.
As well as providing a visually remarkable and historic landscape, the ecological value of the New Forest is particularly great because of the relatively large areas of lowland habitats, lost elsewhere, which have survived. The area contains several kinds of important lowland habitat including valley bogs, wet heaths, dry heaths and deciduous woodland
. The area contains a profusion of rare wildlife, including the New Forest cicada Cicadetta montana, the only cicada
native to Great Britain. The wet heaths are important for rare plants, such as marsh gentian Gentiana pneumonanthe
and marsh clubmoss Lycopodiella
inundata. Several species of sundew
may be found in the Forest, and the area is also the habitat of many unusual insect
species
, including Southern damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale
), and the mole cricket Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa
(both rare in Britain). In 2009, 500 adult Southern Damselflys were captured and released in the Venn Ottery nature reserve in Devon
. This nature reserve is owned and managed by the Devon Wildlife Trust
.
Specialist heathland birds are widespread, including Dartford Warbler
(Silvia undata), Woodlark
(Lullula arborea), Northern Lapwing
(Vanellus vanellus), Eurasian Curlew
(Numenius arquata), European Nightjar
(Caprimulgus europaeus), Eurasian Hobby
(Falco subbuteo), European Stonechat
(Saxicola rubecola), Common Redstart
(Phoenicurus phoenicurus) and Tree Pipit
(Anthus sylvestris). As in much of Britain Common Snipe
(Gallinago gallinago) and Meadow Pipit
(Anthus trivialis) are common as wintering birds, but in the Forest they still also breed in many of the bogs and heaths respectively. Woodland birds include Wood Warbler
(Phylloscopus sibilatrix), Stock Pigeon
(Columba oenas), Honey Buzzard
(Pernis apivorus) and Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). Common Buzzard
(Buteo buteo) is very common and Common Raven
(Corvus corax) is spreading. Birds seen more rarely include Red Kite
(Milvus milvus), wintering Great Grey Shrike
(Lanius exubitor) and Hen Harrier
(Circus cyaneus) and migrating Ring Ouzel
(Turdus torquatus) and Wheatear
(Oenanthe oenanthe).
All three British native species of snake inhabit the Forest. The adder (Vipera berus
) is the most common, being found on open heath and grassland. The grass snake
(Natrix natrix) prefers the damper environment of the valley mires. The rare smooth snake Coronella austriaca) occurs on sandy hillsides with heather
and gorse
. It was mainly adders which were caught by Brusher Mills (1840–1905), the "New Forest Snake Catcher". He caught many thousands in his lifetime, sending some to London Zoo
as food for their animals. A pub
in Brockenhurst
is named The Snakecatcher in his memory. All British snakes are now legally protected
, and so the New Forest snakes are no longer caught.
A programme to reintroduce the sand lizard
(Lacerta agilis) started in 1989 and the great crested newt
(Triturus cristatus) already breeds in many locations.
Commoners' cattle, ponies and donkeys roam throughout the open heath and much of the woodland, and it is largely their grazing that maintains the open character of the Forest. They are also frequently seen in the Forest villages where home and shop owners must maintain constant vigilance to keep them out of gardens and shops. The New Forest Pony
is one of the indigenous horse breeds of the British Isles, and is one of the New Forest's most famous attractions – most of the Forest ponies are of this breed, but there are also some Shetlands
and their crossbreeds. Cattle are of various breeds, most commonly Galloways and their cross-breeds, but also various other hardy types such as Highlands
, Herefords
, Dexters
, Kerrys
and British White
s. The pigs used for pannage are now of various breeds, but the New Forest was the original home of the Wessex Saddleback
, now extinct in Britain.
Numerous deer live in the Forest but are usually rather shy and tend to stay out of sight when people are around, but are surprisingly bold at night, even when a car drives past. Fallow deer
(Dama dama) are the most common, followed by roe deer
(Capreolus capreolus) and red deer
(Cervus elephas). There are also smaller populations of the introduced sika deer
(Cervus nippon) and muntjac
(Muntiacus reevesii).
The Red Squirrel
(Sciurus vulgaris) survived in the Forest until the 1970s – longer than almost anywhere else in lowland Britain (though it still occurs on the nearby Isle of Wight
). It is now fully replaced in the Forest by the introduced North American Grey Squirrel
(Sciurus carolinensis). The European Polecat
(Mustela putorius) has recolonised the western edge of the Forest in recent years. European Otter
(Lutra lutra) occurs along watercourses, as well as the introduced American Mink
(Neovison vision).
The New Forest is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI), EU Special Area of Conservation
(SAC), a Special Protection Area
for birds (SPA) and a Ramsar Site, it also has its own Biodiversity Action Plan
(BAP)
Among the towns and villages lying in or adjacent to the Forest are Lyndhurst
, Abbotswell, Hythe
, Totton, Blissford
, Burley
, Brockenhurst
, Fordingbridge
, Frogham
, Hyde
, Stuckton
, Ringwood
, Beaulieu
, Bransgore, Lymington
and New Milton
. It is bounded to the west by Bournemouth
and Christchurch
, and to the east by the city of Southampton
. The Forest gives its name to the New Forest district
of Hampshire
.
in the New Forest were commenced by the Countryside Agency
in 1999. An order to create the park was made by the Agency on 24 January 2002 and submitted to the Secretary of State
for confirmation in February 2002. Following objections from seven local authorities and others, a Public Inquiry
was held from 8 October 2002 to 10 April 2003, concluding with that the proposal should be endorsed with some detailed changes to the boundary of the area to be designated.
On 28 June 2004, Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael
confirmed the government's intention to designate the area as a National Park, with further detailed boundary adjustments. The area was formally designated as such on 1 March 2005. A national park authority
for the New Forest was established on 1 April 2005 and assumed its full statutory powers on 1 April 2006. The Forestry Commission
retain their powers to manage the Crown land within the Park, and the Verderers under the New Forest Acts also retain their responsibilities, and the park authority is expected to co-operate with these bodies, the local authorities, English Nature
and other interested parties.
The designated area of the National Park covers 571 km² (220.5 sq mi) and includes many existing SSSIs. It has a population of approximately 38,000 (excluding most of the 170,256 people who live in the New Forest
local government district). As well as most of the New Forest district
of Hampshire
, it takes in the South Hampshire Coast
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
, a small corner of Test Valley
district around the village of Canada and part of Wiltshire
south-east of Redlynch
.
However, the area covered by the park does not include all the areas initially proposed; excluding most of the valley of the River Avon
to the west of the Forest and Dibden Bay
to the east. Two challenges were made to the designation order, by Meyrick Estate Management Ltd in relation to the inclusion of Hinton Admiral Park
, and by RWE
NPower
Plc to the inclusion of Fawley Power Station
. The second challenge was settled out of court, with the power station being excluded. The High Court
upheld the first challenge; but an appeal against the decision was then heard by the Court of Appeal
in Autumn 2006. The final ruling, published on 15 February 2007, found in favour of the challenge by Meyrick Estate Management Ltd, and the land at Hinton Admiral Park is therefore excluded from the New Forest National Park. An estimate for the land initially intended to be included but ultimately left out of the park is around 120 km² (46.3 sq mi).
The Forest has cycle paths and outlets are set-up to handle the high demand for bicycle hire, with Burley
and Brockenhurst
having facilities.
's entry for 1087, The Rime of King William
.
The forest forms a backdrop to numerous books. The Children of the New Forest
is a children's novel published in 1847 by Frederick Marryat, set in the time of the English Civil War
. Charles Kingsley
's A New Forest Ballad (1847) mentions several New Forest locations, including; Ocknell plain, Bradley [Bratley] Water, Burley Walk, and Lyndhurst churchyard. Edward Rutherfurd
's work of historical fiction
, The Forest
is based in the New Forest in the time period from 1099 to 2000. The forest featured in the Warriors children's novel series is based upon the New Forest. The New Forest and southeast England, circa 12th century, is a prominent setting in Ken Follett
's novel The Pillars of the Earth
. It is also a prominent setting in Elizabeth George
's novel This Body of Death.
The forest also inspires diverse music and is used as a setting for promotional music videos. The track English Curse from Frank Turner
's 2011 album England Keep My Bones
tells the story of King William taking the forest, and how this leads to the death of his son Rufus the Red. Rock band The Crossfire's song Glow (based on a poem about a girl lost in the Forest) uses multiple New Forest locations for the promotional video directed by Ross Vernon McDonald. Pop singer Pete Lawrie's All That We Keep uses locations along the eastern side of the New Forest for the promotional video by Alexander Brown.
In film, Jo Barnes Tidbury directed the short film Electric Dragon of Venus in the New Forest in 2004 using super 8mm film to video transfer. Teasers for the BBC series Cavegirl
were shot in the vicinity of New Milton, Highcliffe, and Barton on Sea on the New Forest coastline, as well as undisclosed locations further inland.
Some Wiccans
trace their origin to the New Forest coven
.
Extracts from the above texts have latterly been brought together in the edited anthology A New Forest Reader: A Companion Guide to the New Forest, its History and Landscape (2011) by the New Forest author and cultural historian Ian McKay
. Others included in that anthology are William Cobbett
, Daniel Defoe
, William Gilpin, William Howitt
, W. H. Hudson, and Heywood Sumner
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
. It covers south-west Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
and extends into south-east Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
.
The name also refers to the New Forest National Park
National parks of England and Wales
The national parks of England and Wales are areas of relatively undeveloped and scenic landscape that are designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949...
which has similar boundaries. Additionally the New Forest local government district
New Forest (district)
New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. It is named after the New Forest.It was created on 1 April 1974, and was a merger of the borough of Lymington, New Forest Rural District and part of Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District....
is a subdivision of Hampshire which covers most of the Forest, and some nearby areas although it is no longer the planning authority for the National Park itself.
There are many villages dotted around the area, and several small towns in the Forest and around its edges.
History
Like much of England, the New Forest was originally deciduous woodland, recolonised by birch and eventually beech and oak following the withdrawal of the ice sheets starting from around 12,000 years ago. Some areas were cleared for cultivation from the Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
onwards; the poor quality of the soil in the New Forest meant that the cleared areas turned into heathland "waste", which may have been used even then as grazing-land for horses. There was still a significant amount of woodland in this part of Britain, but this was gradually reduced, particularly towards the end of the Middle Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
around 250-100 BCE, and most importantly the 12th and 13th centuries
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, and of this essentially all that remains today is the New Forest.
There are around two hundred and fifty round barrow
Round barrow
Round barrows are one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe they are found in many parts of the world because of their simple construction and universal purpose....
s within its boundaries, and scattered boiling mounds, and it also includes about 150 scheduled ancient monument
Scheduled Ancient Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a 'nationally important' archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorized change. The various pieces of legislation used for legally protecting heritage assets from damage and destruction are grouped under the term...
s. One such barrow in particular may represent the only known inhumation burial of the Early Iron Age and the only known Hallstatt burial in Britain.
The New Forest was created as a royal forest
Royal forest
A royal forest is an area of land with different meanings in England, Wales and Scotland; the term forest does not mean forest as it is understood today, as an area of densely wooded land...
by William I in about 1079 for the private hunting of (mainly) deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
. It was created at the expense of more than 20 small settlements/farms; hence it was 'new' in his time as a single compact area.
According to Florence of Worcester
Florence of Worcester
Florence of Worcester , known in Latin as Florentius, was a monk of Worcester, who played some part in the production of the Chronicon ex chronicis, a Latin world chronicle which begins with the creation and ends in 1140....
(d. 1118), the forest was known before the Norman Conquest as the Great Ytene Forest; the word "Ytene" meaning '"Juten" or "of Jutes". The Jutes
Jutes
The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutæ were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of their time, the other two being the Saxons and the Angles...
were one of the early Anglo Saxon tribal groups who colonised this area of southern Hampshire. This is the traditionally accepted etymology, however, it is very possible that the name is Celtic and related to the Irish name "Etain".
It was first recorded as "Nova Foresta" in Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
in 1086, and is the only forest that the book describes in detail. Twelfth century chroniclers alleged that William had created the Forest by evicting the inhabitants of 36 parishes, reducing a flourishing district to a wasteland; however, this account is thought dubious by most historians, as the poor soil in much of the Forest is believed to have been incapable of supporting large-scale agriculture, and significant areas appear to have always been uninhabited.
Two of William's sons died in the Forest: Prince Richard
Richard, Duke of Bernay
Richard of Normandy was the second son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders, and a potential heir to the English throne. However, Richard predeceased his father and the throne was eventually inherited by his younger brother William II "Rufus"....
in 1081 and King William II (William Rufus)
William II of England
William II , the third son of William I of England, was King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers over Normandy, and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales...
in 1100. Local folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
asserted that this was punishment for the crimes committed by William when he created his New Forest; a 17th century writer provides exquisite detail:
"In this County [Hantshire] is New-Forest, formerly called Ytene, being about 30 miles in compass; in which said tract William the Conqueror (for the making of the said Forest a harbour for Wild-beasts for his Game) caused 36 Parish Churches, with all the Houses thereto belonging, to be pulled down, and the poor Inhabitants left succourless of house or home. But this wicked act did not long go unpunished, for his Sons felt the smart thereof; Richard being blasted with a pestilent Air; Rufus shot through with an Arrow; and Henry his Grand-child, by Robert his eldest son, as he pursued his Game, was hanged among the boughs, and so dyed. This Forest at present affordeth great variety of Game, where his Majesty oft-times withdraws himself for his divertisement."
The reputed spot of Rufus's death is marked with a stone known as the Rufus Stone.
John White (bishop)
John White was an English bishop, a Catholic who was promoted in the reign of Mary Tudor.-Life:He was born in Farnham, Hampshire and educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1529, M.A. in 1534, and D.D. in 1555.He was Warden of Winchester College from...
, Bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
, said of the forest:
"From God and Saint King Rufus did Churches take, From Citizens town-court, and mercate place, From Farmer lands: New Forrest for to make, In Beaulew tract, where whiles the King in chase Pursues the hart, just vengeance comes apace, And King pursues. Tirrell him seing not, Unwares him flew with dint of arrow shot."
Formal commons rights were confirmed by statute in 1698. The New Forest became a source of timber for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, and plantations were created in the 18th century for this purpose. In the Great Storm of 1703
Great Storm of 1703
The Great Storm of 1703 was the most severe storm or natural disaster ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain. It affected southern England and the English Channel in the Kingdom of Great Britain...
, about 4000 oak trees were lost.
The naval plantations encroached on the rights of the Commoners, but the Forest gained new protection under an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1877. The New Forest Act 1877 confirmed the historic rights of the Commoners and prohibited the enclosure of more than 65 km² (25.1 sq mi) at any time. It also reconstituted the Court of Verderers as representatives of the Commoners (rather than the Crown).
As of 2005, roughly 90% of the New Forest is still owned by the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. The Crown lands have been managed by the Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
since 1923 and most of the Crown lands now fall inside the new National Park.
Felling of broadleaved trees, and their replacement by conifers, began during the First World War to meet the wartime demand for wood. Further encroachments were made during the Second World War. This process is today being reversed in places, with some plantations being returned to heathland or broadleaved woodland. Rhododendron remains a problem.
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
in 1971, and was granted special status as the New Forest Heritage Area in 1985, with additional planning controls added in 1992. The New Forest was proposed as a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
in June 1999, and it became a National Park in 2005.
Common rights
Deer hunting
Deer hunting is survival hunting or sport hunting, harvesting deer, dating back to tens of thousands of years ago. Which occurred though out Europe Asia and North America There are numerous types of deer throughout the world that are hunted.- New Zealand :...
, and interference with the King's deer and its forage was punished. However, the inhabitants of the area (commoners) had pre-existing rights of common: to turn horses and cattle (but only rarely sheep) out into the Forest to graze (common pasture), to gather fuel wood (estovers
Estovers
In English law, estovers is wood that a tenant is allowed to take, for life or a period of years, from the land he holds for the repair of his house, the implements of husbandry, hedges and fences, and for firewood....
), to cut peat for fuel (turbary
Turbary
Turbary is the term used to describe the ancient right to cut turf, or peat, for fuel on a particular area of bog. The word may also be used to describe the associated piece of bog or peatland and, by extension, the material extracted from the turbary...
), to dig clay (marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
), and to turn out pigs between September and November to eat fallen acorns and beechnuts (pannage
Pannage
Pannage is the practice of turning out domestic pigs in a wood or forest, in order that they may feed on fallen acorns, beechmast, chestnuts or other nuts. Historically, it was a right or privilege granted to local people on common land or in royal forests...
or mast). There were also licences granted to gather bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
after 29 September as litter for animals (fern), Along with grazing, pannage is still an important part of the Forest's ecology. Pigs can eat acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
s without a problem, whereas to ponies and cattle large numbers of acorns can be poisonous. Pannage always lasts 60 days but the start date varies according to the weather — and when the acorns fall. The Verderer
Verderer
Verderers are officials in Britain who deal with Common land in certain former royal hunting areas which are the property of The Crown.-Origins:...
s decide when pannage will start each year. At other times the pigs must be taken in and kept on the owner's land with the exception that pregnant sows, known as privileged sows, are always allowed out providing they are not a nuisance and return to the Commoner's holding at night (they must be levant and couchant there). This last is not a true Right, however, so much as an established practice. The principle of levancy and couchancy applied generally to the right of pasture as it was unstinted but commoners must have backup land, outside the Forest, to accommodate these depastured animals as during the Foot and Mouth epidemic.
Hearth
In common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature...
s), and different land has different rights — and some of this land is some distance from the Forest itself. Rights to graze ponies and cattle are not for a certain number of animals, as is often the case on other commons. Instead a marking fee is paid for each animal each year by the owner. The marked animal's tail is trimmed by the local agister (Verderers' official), with each of the four or five Forest agisters using a different trimming pattern. Ponies are branded with the owner's brand-mark; cattle may be branded, or nowadays may have the brand-mark on an ear-tag.
The grazing done by the commoners' ponies and cattle is an essential part of the management of the Forest, helping to maintain the internationally important heathland, bog, grassland and wood-pasture habitats and their associated wildlife.
More recently this ancient practice has come under pressure as the rising house prices in the area have stopped local commoning families from moving into new homes which have the rights attached, thus meaning the next generation of commoners cannot begin the practice themselves until the previous generation either passes on or move and give over their house (and therefore rights) to their children. Many houses which do have common rights are now inhabited by migrants to the area (largely from cities) who have no interest in keeping the practice going, and are often only there for part of the year anyway.
Geography
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
covers almost 300 km² (115.8 sq mi), making it the largest contiguous area of un-sown vegetation in lowland Britain. It includes
roughly: of broadleaved woodland of heathland and grassland of wet heathland of tree plantations (inclosures) established since the 18th century, including 80 km² (30.9 sq mi) planted by the Forestry Commission since the 1920s.
The New Forest is drained to the south by two rivers, the Lymington River
Lymington River
----The Lymington River is a small river in the south of england, flowing through the New Forest into the Solent at the town of Lymington. The river has a total length of 30 km, although above the point where it leaves the Crown lands of the New Forest at Brockenhurst it is known as the Highland...
and Beaulieu River
Beaulieu River
The Beaulieu River , formerly known as the River Exe, is a small river flowing south through the New Forest in the county of Hampshire in southern England. The river is some long, of which the last are tidal...
, and to the west by the Dockens Water, Hucklesbrook, Linbrook and other streams.
The highest point in the New Forest is Pipers Wait, near Nomansland. Its summit is 129m (422 feet) above sea level.
Wildlife
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
. The area contains a profusion of rare wildlife, including the New Forest cicada Cicadetta montana, the only cicada
Cicada
A cicada is an insect of the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha , in the superfamily Cicadoidea, with large eyes wide apart on the head and usually transparent, well-veined wings. There are about 2,500 species of cicada around the world, and many of them remain unclassified...
native to Great Britain. The wet heaths are important for rare plants, such as marsh gentian Gentiana pneumonanthe
Marsh Gentian
Gentiana pneumonanthe is a species of the genus Gentiana. It was the first wildflower announced as flower of the year in Germany in 1980.The species can be found in Marshes and Moorlands. It is the host-plant of the Alcon Blue ....
and marsh clubmoss Lycopodiella
Lycopodiella
Lycopodiella is a genus in the clubmoss family Lycopodiaceae. The genus members are commonly called bog clubmosses, describing their wetland habitat. There are 38 species; the distribution is cosmopolitan, with centres of diversity in the tropical New World and New Guinea...
inundata. Several species of sundew
Sundew
Drosera, commonly known as the sundews, comprise one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous glands covering their leaf surface. The insects are used to supplement...
may be found in the Forest, and the area is also the habitat of many unusual insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, including Southern damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale
Coenagrion mercuriale
Southern Damselfly is a species of damselfly in family Coenagrionidae. It is found in Algeria, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Morocco, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom. Its natural habitats are...
), and the mole cricket Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa
Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa
Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa, commonly known as the European mole cricket is widespread in Europe and has been introduced to the eastern United States...
(both rare in Britain). In 2009, 500 adult Southern Damselflys were captured and released in the Venn Ottery nature reserve in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. This nature reserve is owned and managed by the Devon Wildlife Trust
Devon Wildlife Trust
The Devon Wildlife Trust is a member of The Wildlife Trusts partnership covering the county of Devon, England. It is a registered charity, established in 1962 as the Devon Naturalists Trust, and its aim is to safeguard the future of the county's urban, rural and marine wildlife and its...
.
Specialist heathland birds are widespread, including Dartford Warbler
Dartford Warbler
The Dartford Warbler, Sylvia undata, is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe, and northwestern Africa. Its breeding range lies west of a line from southern England to the heel of Italy...
(Silvia undata), Woodlark
Woodlark
The Woodlark is the only lark in the genus Lullula. It breeds across most of Europe, the Middle East Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations of this passerine bird are more migratory, moving further south in winter...
(Lullula arborea), Northern Lapwing
Northern Lapwing
The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia....
(Vanellus vanellus), Eurasian Curlew
Eurasian Curlew
The Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia...
(Numenius arquata), European Nightjar
European Nightjar
The European Nightjar, or just Nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus, is the only representative of the nightjar family of birds in most of Europe and temperate Asia.- Habitat and distribution :...
(Caprimulgus europaeus), Eurasian Hobby
Eurasian Hobby
The Eurasian Hobby , or just simply Hobby, is a small slim falcon. It belongs to a rather close-knit group of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis.-Description:...
(Falco subbuteo), European Stonechat
European Stonechat
The European Stonechat is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the Common Stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relatives in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.It is 11.5–13 cm long and...
(Saxicola rubecola), Common Redstart
Common Redstart
The Common Redstart , or often simply Redstart, is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus...
(Phoenicurus phoenicurus) and Tree Pipit
Tree Pipit
Tree Pipit, Anthus trivialis, is a small passerine bird which breeds across most of Europe and temperate western and central Asia. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa and southern Asia....
(Anthus sylvestris). As in much of Britain Common Snipe
Common Snipe
The Common Snipe is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout northern Europe and northern Asia...
(Gallinago gallinago) and Meadow Pipit
Meadow Pipit
The Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, is a small passerine bird which breeds in much of the northern half of Europe and also northwestern Asia, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; there is also an isolated...
(Anthus trivialis) are common as wintering birds, but in the Forest they still also breed in many of the bogs and heaths respectively. Woodland birds include Wood Warbler
Wood Warbler
The Wood Warbler is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asia in the southern Ural Mountains...
(Phylloscopus sibilatrix), Stock Pigeon
Stock Pigeon
The Stock Dove or Stock Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columba genus in the Columbidae family. It is a member of the family Columbidae, doves and pigeons.-Description:...
(Columba oenas), Honey Buzzard
Honey Buzzard
The European Honey Buzzard , is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles and harriers....
(Pernis apivorus) and Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). Common Buzzard
Common Buzzard
The Common Buzzard is a medium to large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is usually resident all year, except in the coldest parts of its range, and in the case of one subspecies.-Description:...
(Buteo buteo) is very common and Common Raven
Common Raven
The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
(Corvus corax) is spreading. Birds seen more rarely include Red Kite
Red Kite
The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...
(Milvus milvus), wintering Great Grey Shrike
Great Grey Shrike
The Great Grey Shrike or Northern Grey Shrike is a large songbird species in the shrike family . It forms a superspecies with its parapatric southern relatives, the Southern Grey Shrike , the Chinese Grey Shrike and the Loggerhead Shrike...
(Lanius exubitor) and Hen Harrier
Hen Harrier
The Hen Harrier or Northern Harrier is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA, and in northern Eurasia. This species is polytypic, with two subspecies. Marsh Hawk is a historical name for the American form.It migrates...
(Circus cyaneus) and migrating Ring Ouzel
Ring Ouzel
The Ring Ouzel is a European member of the thrush family Turdidae.It is the mountain equivalent of the closely related Common Blackbird, and breeds in gullies, rocky areas or scree slopes....
(Turdus torquatus) and Wheatear
Wheatear
The wheatears are passerine birds of the genus Oenanthe. They were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family Turdidae, but are now more commonly placed in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae...
(Oenanthe oenanthe).
All three British native species of snake inhabit the Forest. The adder (Vipera berus
Vipera berus
Vipera berus, the common European adder or common European viper, is a venomous viper species that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of Western Europe and all the way to Far East Asia. Known by a host of common names including Common adder and Common viper, adders have been...
) is the most common, being found on open heath and grassland. The grass snake
Grass Snake
The grass snake , sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake is a European non-venomous snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.-Etymology:...
(Natrix natrix) prefers the damper environment of the valley mires. The rare smooth snake Coronella austriaca) occurs on sandy hillsides with heather
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
and gorse
Gorse
Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a genus of about 20 plant species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green...
. It was mainly adders which were caught by Brusher Mills (1840–1905), the "New Forest Snake Catcher". He caught many thousands in his lifetime, sending some to London Zoo
London Zoo
London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It was eventually opened to the public in 1847...
as food for their animals. A pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst is a village situated in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. The New Forest is a national park and Brockenhurst is therefore surrounded by woodland that attracts thousands of visitors all year round. The nearby towns surrounding Brockenhurst are Lymington and Lyndhurst. Brockenhurst...
is named The Snakecatcher in his memory. All British snakes are now legally protected
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom and was implemented to comply with the Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds...
, and so the New Forest snakes are no longer caught.
A programme to reintroduce the sand lizard
Sand Lizard
The sand lizard is a lacertid lizard distributed across most of Europe and eastwards to Mongolia. It does not occur in the Iberian peninsula or European Turkey. Its distribution is often patchy....
(Lacerta agilis) started in 1989 and the great crested newt
Great Crested Newt
The Great Crested Newt, also called Northern Crested Newt or Warty Newt is a newt in the family Salamandridae, found across Europe and parts of Asia.-Distribution:...
(Triturus cristatus) already breeds in many locations.
Commoners' cattle, ponies and donkeys roam throughout the open heath and much of the woodland, and it is largely their grazing that maintains the open character of the Forest. They are also frequently seen in the Forest villages where home and shop owners must maintain constant vigilance to keep them out of gardens and shops. The New Forest Pony
New Forest pony
The New Forest Pony or New Forester is one of the recognised Mountain and moorland or Native pony breeds of the British Isles. The breed is valued for its hardiness, strength and sureness of foot...
is one of the indigenous horse breeds of the British Isles, and is one of the New Forest's most famous attractions – most of the Forest ponies are of this breed, but there are also some Shetlands
Shetland pony
The Shetland pony is a breed of pony originating in the Shetland Isles. Shetlands range in size from a minimum height of approximately 28 inches to an official maximum height of 42 inches at the withers. Shetland ponies have heavy coats, short legs and are considered quite intelligent...
and their crossbreeds. Cattle are of various breeds, most commonly Galloways and their cross-breeds, but also various other hardy types such as Highlands
Highland cattle
Highland cattle or kyloe are a Scottish breed of beef cattle with long horns and long wavy coats which are coloured black, brindled, red, yellow or dun....
, Herefords
Hereford (cattle)
Hereford cattle are a beef cattle breed, widely used both in intemperate areas and temperate areas, mainly for meat production.Originally from Herefordshire, England, United Kingdom, more than five million pedigree Hereford Cattle now exist in over 50 countries...
, Dexters
Dexter cattle
Dexter cattle are the smallest of the European cattle breeds, being about half the size of a traditional Hereford and about one third the size of a Friesian milking cow. They were considered a rare breed of cattle, until recently, but are now considered a recovering breed by the American Livestock...
, Kerrys
Kerry cattle
Kerry cattle are a rare breed of dairy cattle, native to Ireland. They are believed to be one of the oldest breeds in Europe. Their coat is almost entirely black, with a little white on the udder. The horns are whitish with dark tips...
and British White
British White
The British White is a naturally polled British cattle breed, white with black or red points, used mainly for beef. It has a confirmed history dating back to the 17th century, and may be derived from similar cattle kept in parks for many centuries before that.-Characteristics:The British White has...
s. The pigs used for pannage are now of various breeds, but the New Forest was the original home of the Wessex Saddleback
Wessex Saddleback
The Wessex Saddleback or Wessex Pig is a breed of domestic pig originating in the West Country of England, , especially in Wiltshire and the New Forest area of Hampshire. It is black, with white forequarters. In Britain it was amalgamated with the Essex pig to form the British Saddleback, and it...
, now extinct in Britain.
Numerous deer live in the Forest but are usually rather shy and tend to stay out of sight when people are around, but are surprisingly bold at night, even when a car drives past. Fallow deer
Fallow Deer
The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...
(Dama dama) are the most common, followed by roe deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
(Capreolus capreolus) and red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
(Cervus elephas). There are also smaller populations of the introduced sika deer
Sika Deer
The Sika Deer, Cervus nippon, also known as the Spotted Deer or the Japanese Deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to various other parts of the world...
(Cervus nippon) and muntjac
Reeves's Muntjac
The Reeves' Muntjac is a muntjac species found widely in southeastern China and in Taiwan. They have also been introduced in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Ireland by 2008. It feeds on herbs, blossoms, succulent shoots, grasses and nuts, and was also reported to eat trees...
(Muntiacus reevesii).
The Red Squirrel
Red Squirrel
The red squirrel or Eurasian red squirrel is a species of tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus common throughout Eurasia...
(Sciurus vulgaris) survived in the Forest until the 1970s – longer than almost anywhere else in lowland Britain (though it still occurs on the nearby Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
). It is now fully replaced in the Forest by the introduced North American Grey Squirrel
Eastern Gray Squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces of Canada...
(Sciurus carolinensis). The European Polecat
European polecat
The European polecat , also known as the black or forest polecat , is a species of Mustelid native to western Eurasia and North Africa, which is classed by the IUCN as Least Concern due to its wide range and large numbers. It is of a generally dark brown colour, with a pale underbelly and a dark...
(Mustela putorius) has recolonised the western edge of the Forest in recent years. European Otter
European Otter
The European Otter , also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters....
(Lutra lutra) occurs along watercourses, as well as the introduced American Mink
American Mink
The American mink is a semi-aquatic species of Mustelid native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe and South America. Because of this, it is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Since the extinction of the sea mink, the American mink is the...
(Neovison vision).
The New Forest is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
(SSSI), EU Special Area of Conservation
Special Area of Conservation
A Special Area of Conservation is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive , also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora...
(SAC), a Special Protection Area
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...
for birds (SPA) and a Ramsar Site, it also has its own Biodiversity Action Plan
Biodiversity Action Plan
A Biodiversity Action Plan is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems. The original impetus for these plans derives from the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity...
(BAP)
Settlements
Lyndhurst, Hampshire
Lyndhurst is a village and civil parish in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. It is a popular tourist location with many independent shops, art galleries, cafés, restaurants, pubs and hotels. The nearest city is Southampton located around nine miles to the north-east...
, Abbotswell, Hythe
Hythe, Hampshire
Hythe is a village near Southampton, Hampshire, England. It is located by the shore of Southampton Water, and has a ferry service connecting it to Southampton...
, Totton, Blissford
Blissford
Blissford is a hamlet in the civil parish of Hyde situated in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Fordingbridge, which lies approximately 2 miles west from the village.-External links:*...
, Burley
Burley, Hampshire
Burley is a village and civil parish in the New Forest, Hampshire, England, with a wealth of tea rooms, gift shops, art galleries and a pick-your-own farm.-The village:...
, Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst is a village situated in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. The New Forest is a national park and Brockenhurst is therefore surrounded by woodland that attracts thousands of visitors all year round. The nearby towns surrounding Brockenhurst are Lymington and Lyndhurst. Brockenhurst...
, Fordingbridge
Fordingbridge
Fordingbridge is a town and civil parish with a population of 5,700 on the River Avon in the New Forest District of Hampshire, England, near to the Dorset and Wiltshire borders and on the edge of the New Forest. It is south west of London, and south of the city of Salisbury. Fordingbridge is a...
, Frogham
Frogham, Hampshire
Frogham is a small village in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Fordingbridge, which lies approximately 1.8 miles north-west from the village.-External links:...
, Hyde
Hyde, Hampshire
Hyde is a village and civil parish in the New Forest near Fordingbridge in Hampshire, England.-Overview:The parish of Hyde is mostly within the boundary of the New Forest National Park...
, Stuckton
Stuckton
Stuckton is a small village in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Fordingbridge, which lies approximately 1 mile north-west from the village....
, Ringwood
Ringwood
Ringwood is a historic market town and civil parish in Hampshire, England, located on the River Avon, close to the New Forest and north of Bournemouth. It has a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, and has held a weekly market since the Middle Ages....
, Beaulieu
Beaulieu, Hampshire
Beaulieu is a small village located on the south eastern edge of the New Forest national park in Hampshire, England and home to both Palace House and the British National Motor Museum.- History :...
, Bransgore, Lymington
Lymington
Lymington is a port on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is to the east of the South East Dorset conurbation, and faces Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight which is connected to it by a car ferry, operated by Wightlink. The town...
and New Milton
New Milton
New Milton is a market town in south west Hampshire, England. The town has a high street and holds a market every Wednesday. Situated on the edge of the New Forest, the town is about 6 miles west of Lymington town centre and 12 miles east of Bournemouth town centre.-History:New Milton dates back...
. It is bounded to the west by Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
and Christchurch
Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch is a borough and town in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and is the most easterly borough in...
, and to the east by the city of Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. The Forest gives its name to the New Forest district
New Forest (district)
New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. It is named after the New Forest.It was created on 1 April 1974, and was a merger of the borough of Lymington, New Forest Rural District and part of Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District....
of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
.
New Forest National Park
Consultations on the possible designation of a National ParkNational parks of England and Wales
The national parks of England and Wales are areas of relatively undeveloped and scenic landscape that are designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949...
in the New Forest were commenced by the Countryside Agency
Countryside Agency
The Countryside Agency in England was a statutory body set up in 1999 with the task of improving the quality of the rural environment and the lives of those living in it. The Agency was formed by merging the Countryside Commission and the Rural Development Commission...
in 1999. An order to create the park was made by the Agency on 24 January 2002 and submitted to the Secretary of State
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is a UK cabinet-level position in charge of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the successor to the positions of Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport...
for confirmation in February 2002. Following objections from seven local authorities and others, a Public Inquiry
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
was held from 8 October 2002 to 10 April 2003, concluding with that the proposal should be endorsed with some detailed changes to the boundary of the area to be designated.
On 28 June 2004, Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael
Alun Michael
Alun Edward Michael is a British Labour Co-operative politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Cardiff South and Penarth since 1987. He was formerly First Minister of Wales and leader of the Welsh Labour Party from 1999 to 2000.-Education:Michael was born at Bryngwran Anglesey, son of...
confirmed the government's intention to designate the area as a National Park, with further detailed boundary adjustments. The area was formally designated as such on 1 March 2005. A national park authority
National Park Authority
A national park authority is a special term used in the United Kingdom for the legal body in charge of a national park. The powers and duties of the authorities are all similar, but do vary somewhat depending on the country in which they are situated....
for the New Forest was established on 1 April 2005 and assumed its full statutory powers on 1 April 2006. The Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
retain their powers to manage the Crown land within the Park, and the Verderers under the New Forest Acts also retain their responsibilities, and the park authority is expected to co-operate with these bodies, the local authorities, English Nature
English Nature
English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006...
and other interested parties.
New Forest (district)
New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. It is named after the New Forest.It was created on 1 April 1974, and was a merger of the borough of Lymington, New Forest Rural District and part of Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District....
local government district). As well as most of the New Forest district
New Forest (district)
New Forest is a local government district in Hampshire, England. It is named after the New Forest.It was created on 1 April 1974, and was a merger of the borough of Lymington, New Forest Rural District and part of Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District....
of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, it takes in the South Hampshire Coast
South Hampshire Coast
The South Hampshire Coast is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Hampshire, England, UK that was subsumed into the New Forest National Park when it was established on 1 April 2005...
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of countryside considered to have significant landscape value in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, that has been specially designated by the Countryside Agency on behalf of the United Kingdom government; the Countryside Council for Wales on...
, a small corner of Test Valley
Test Valley
Test Valley is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England, named after the valley of the River Test. Its council is based in Andover....
district around the village of Canada and part of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
south-east of Redlynch
Redlynch
Redlynch is a hamlet and civil parish about southeast of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the villages of Morgan's Vale immediately west of Redlynch, and Lover southeast of Redlynch...
.
However, the area covered by the park does not include all the areas initially proposed; excluding most of the valley of the River Avon
River Avon, Hampshire
The River Avon is a river in the south of England. The river rises in the county of Wiltshire and flows through the city of Salisbury and the county of Hampshire before reaching the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour in the county of Dorset....
to the west of the Forest and Dibden Bay
Dibden
Dibden is a small village in Hampshire, England. It dates back to the Middle Ages but is nowadays dominated by the nearby settlements of Hythe and Dibden Purlieu...
to the east. Two challenges were made to the designation order, by Meyrick Estate Management Ltd in relation to the inclusion of Hinton Admiral Park
Hinton Admiral
Hinton Admiral is the estate and ancestral home of the Tapps-Gervis-Meyrick family. It is located in the settlement of Hinton, near Bransgore, Hampshire. The gardens are open to the public by arrangement....
, and by RWE
RWE
RWE AG , is a German electric power and natural gas public utility company based in Essen. Through its various subsidiaries, the energy company contributes electricity and gas to more than 20 million electricity customers and 10 million gas customers, principally in Europe...
NPower
Npower (UK)
RWE Npower plc is a UK-based electricity and gas supply generation company, formerly known as Innogy plc. As Innogy plc it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
Plc to the inclusion of Fawley Power Station
Fawley Power Station
Fawley Power Station is an oil-fired power station located on the western side of Southampton Water, between the villages of Fawley and Calshot in Hampshire...
. The second challenge was settled out of court, with the power station being excluded. The High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
upheld the first challenge; but an appeal against the decision was then heard by the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
in Autumn 2006. The final ruling, published on 15 February 2007, found in favour of the challenge by Meyrick Estate Management Ltd, and the land at Hinton Admiral Park is therefore excluded from the New Forest National Park. An estimate for the land initially intended to be included but ultimately left out of the park is around 120 km² (46.3 sq mi).
Visitor attractions and places
- Buckler's HardBucklers HardBucklers Hard is a hamlet situated on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the English county of Hampshire.- Overview :With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Bucklers Hard is part of the 9,000 acre Beaulieu Estate...
- BeaulieuBeaulieu, HampshireBeaulieu is a small village located on the south eastern edge of the New Forest national park in Hampshire, England and home to both Palace House and the British National Motor Museum.- History :...
- New Forest ShowNew Forest ShowThe New Forest and Hampshire County Show, or more commonly known as The New Forest Show, is an annual agricultural show event held for three days at the end of July in New Park, near Brockenhurst in Hampshire, southern England, UK....
- New Forest TourNew Forest TourThe New Forest Tour is an open-top bus service in the New Forest, running two circular routes around Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst, Lymington, Beaulieu and Exbury Gardens as well as going to Ringwood, Fordingbridge, Cadnam and Ashurst...
- New Forest Wildlife ParkNew Forest Wildlife ParkThe New Forest Wildlife Park is located on the edge of The New Forest close to the towns of Ashurst and Lyndhurst. The Park specialises in native and past-native wildlife of Britain and otters and owls from across the globe, housing 3 species of the former and 16 of the latter...
- New Forest Reptile Centre
- LymingtonLymingtonLymington is a port on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is to the east of the South East Dorset conurbation, and faces Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight which is connected to it by a car ferry, operated by Wightlink. The town...
The Forest has cycle paths and outlets are set-up to handle the high demand for bicycle hire, with Burley
Burley, Hampshire
Burley is a village and civil parish in the New Forest, Hampshire, England, with a wealth of tea rooms, gift shops, art galleries and a pick-your-own farm.-The village:...
and Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst
Brockenhurst is a village situated in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. The New Forest is a national park and Brockenhurst is therefore surrounded by woodland that attracts thousands of visitors all year round. The nearby towns surrounding Brockenhurst are Lymington and Lyndhurst. Brockenhurst...
having facilities.
Cultural references
The New Forest's founding is alluded to in an end-rhyming poem inserted into the Peterborough ChroniclePeterborough Chronicle
The Peterborough Chronicle , one of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, contains unique information about the history of England after the Norman Conquest. According to philologist J.A.W...
's entry for 1087, The Rime of King William
The Rime of King William
The Rime of King William is an Old English poem that tells the death of William the Conqueror. The Rime was a part of the only entry for the year of 1087 in the “Peterborough Chronicle/Laud Manuscript.” In this entry there is a thorough history and account of the life of King William...
.
The forest forms a backdrop to numerous books. The Children of the New Forest
The Children of the New Forest
The Children of the New Forest is a children's novel published in 1847 by Frederick Marryat. It is set in the time of the English Civil War and the Commonwealth.-Plot summary:...
is a children's novel published in 1847 by Frederick Marryat, set in the time of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Charles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
's A New Forest Ballad (1847) mentions several New Forest locations, including; Ocknell plain, Bradley [Bratley] Water, Burley Walk, and Lyndhurst churchyard. Edward Rutherfurd
Edward Rutherfurd
Edward Rutherfurd is a pen name for Francis Edward Wintle known primarily as a writer of epic historical novels...
's work of historical fiction
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
, The Forest
The Forest (novel)
The Forest is a historical novel by Edward Rutherfurd, published in 2000. Drawing on the success of Rutherfurd's other epic novels this went on to sell well and appeared in numbers of bestseller lists.-Plot summary:...
is based in the New Forest in the time period from 1099 to 2000. The forest featured in the Warriors children's novel series is based upon the New Forest. The New Forest and southeast England, circa 12th century, is a prominent setting in Ken Follett
Ken Follett
Ken Follett is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels. He has sold more than 100 million copies of his works. Four of his books have reached the number 1 ranking on the New York Times best-seller list: The Key to Rebecca, Lie Down with Lions, Triple, and World Without End.-Early...
's novel The Pillars of the Earth
The Pillars of the Earth
The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. It is set in the middle of the 12th century, primarily during the Anarchy, between the time of the sinking of the White Ship and the...
. It is also a prominent setting in Elizabeth George
Elizabeth George
Susan Elizabeth George is an American author of mystery novels set in Great Britain.Eleven of her novels featuring her lead character Inspector Lynley have been adapted for television by the BBC as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.-Biography:George was born in Warren, Ohio to Robert Edwin and Anne ...
's novel This Body of Death.
The forest also inspires diverse music and is used as a setting for promotional music videos. The track English Curse from Frank Turner
Frank Turner
Frank Turner is an English folk/punk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Winchester. Initially the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, Turner embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based solo career following the band's split in 2005. To date, Turner has released four solo albums, two rarities...
's 2011 album England Keep My Bones
England Keep My Bones
England Keep My Bones is the fourth studio album by London-based singer-songwriter Frank Turner, released on June 6, 2011, on Xtra Mile in the United Kingdom, and on June 7, 2011, on Epitaph Records worldwide...
tells the story of King William taking the forest, and how this leads to the death of his son Rufus the Red. Rock band The Crossfire's song Glow (based on a poem about a girl lost in the Forest) uses multiple New Forest locations for the promotional video directed by Ross Vernon McDonald. Pop singer Pete Lawrie's All That We Keep uses locations along the eastern side of the New Forest for the promotional video by Alexander Brown.
In film, Jo Barnes Tidbury directed the short film Electric Dragon of Venus in the New Forest in 2004 using super 8mm film to video transfer. Teasers for the BBC series Cavegirl
Cavegirl
Cavegirl is a British TV series directed by Daniel Peacock. It starred Stacey Cadman, Stephen Marcus, Jennifer Guy, Harry Capehorn and Lucinda Rhodes-Flaherty. It followed the adventures of a teenage cavegirl...
were shot in the vicinity of New Milton, Highcliffe, and Barton on Sea on the New Forest coastline, as well as undisclosed locations further inland.
Some Wiccans
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
trace their origin to the New Forest coven
New Forest coven
The New Forest coven were a group of Neopagan witches or Wiccans who allegedly met around the area of the New Forest in southern England during the 1930s and 1940s...
.
Further reading
The following vintage books can be read online or downloaded:- C. J. Cornish. The New Forest (New York: MacMillan & Co., 1894).
- John Richard de Capel Wise. The New Forest: its history and its scenery (Gibbings & Co., 1895).
- Elizabeth Godfrey, E W Haslehust (illustrator). The New Forest (Blackie and son ltd., 1912).
Extracts from the above texts have latterly been brought together in the edited anthology A New Forest Reader: A Companion Guide to the New Forest, its History and Landscape (2011) by the New Forest author and cultural historian Ian McKay
Ian McKay (writer)
Ian McKay is an English writer, critic, publisher, and translator.-Life and career:The son of former national hunt jockey and racehorse trainer Geoff Laidlaw, Ian McKay was born in Epsom, Surrey, and studied at Chelsea School of Art...
. Others included in that anthology are William Cobbett
William Cobbett
William Cobbett was an English pamphleteer, farmer and journalist, who was born in Farnham, Surrey. He believed that reforming Parliament and abolishing the rotten boroughs would help to end the poverty of farm labourers, and he attacked the borough-mongers, sinecurists and "tax-eaters" relentlessly...
, Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
, William Gilpin, William Howitt
William Howitt
William Howitt , was an English author.He was born at Heanor, Derbyshire. His parents were Quakers, and he was educated at the Friends public school at Ackworth, Yorkshire. His younger brothers were Richard and Godrey whom he helped tutor. In 1814 he published a poem on the Influence of Nature and...
, W. H. Hudson, and Heywood Sumner
Heywood Sumner
George Heywood Maunoir Sumner was originally an English painter, illustrator and craftsman, closely involved with the Arts and Crafts movement and the late-Victorian London art world...
.
External links
- New Forest Gateway - Film, TV, Picture Resource / Historical Book Publications Online
- New Forest National Park Authority
- The Official New Forest Visitors Website, Visitors Resources and Official Information on visiting and enjoying the forest
- SAC designation including extensive technical description of habitats and species
- Designation as a national park:
- Minister says yes to New Forest National Park (DEFRA press release, 28 June 2004)
- New Forest National Park becomes a reality (DEFRA press release, 24 February 2004)
- The New Forest National Park (Countryside AgencyCountryside AgencyThe Countryside Agency in England was a statutory body set up in 1999 with the task of improving the quality of the rural environment and the lives of those living in it. The Agency was formed by merging the Countryside Commission and the Rural Development Commission...
press release, 1 March 2005) - New Forest National Park Inquiry from the Planning InspectoratePlanning InspectorateThe Planning Inspectorate for England and Wales is an executive agency of the Department for Communities and Local Government of the United Kingdom Government. It is responsible for determining final outcomes of planning and enforcement appeals and public examination of local development plans...
- Maps of the boundary
- UK Clearing House Mechanism for Biodiversity
- Natural England website (SSSI information)