The Gallery
Learning about and practising commoning on the New Forest.
In medieval times a forest meant an area preserved for royal hunting, and not a wooded area as it does today.
The Agisiter ensures welfare standards of the free-roaming animals are maintained.
The ‘architects’ of the New Forest.
The New Forest landscape supports many species of plants, insects, birds and mammals. It should be valued as a reserve for nature.
One of many gatherings where Commoners can exchange news, information and knowledge.
Pannage season is part of the ancient commoning rights and a popular tradition.
Traditional management practices, particularly commoning, have conserved the ecological diversity of the Forest.
Monthly Archives: July 2016
New Forest & Hampshire County Show 2016
One of the highlights in the calendar of any New Forest commoner has got to be the New Forest & Hampshire County Show. The show was originally conceived just after WW1, as a way to support farmers and develop agricultural … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged Carriage driving, cattle, Common Rights, commoning, cows, events, judges, New Forest & Hampshire County Show, news, NFCDA, NFNPA, Pannage, pig, private driving, showing, smallholding, training, Verderer
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New Forest: the sweet smell of a job well done
This week has been one of hectic hay making activity. The hay was cut on Friday morning last week and tedded (spread for drying) several times during the weekend and rowed-up ready for baling during Monday morning. The smell from … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest Commoner
Tagged Agrostis capillaris, Anthoxanthum odoratum, aroma, bales, Buzzard, Common Bent, countryside, Crested Dog's-tail, Cynosurus cristatus, field mice, fox, grasses, hay, meadow, Phleum pratense, Sweet Vernal-grass, Tawny Owl, Timothy, voles
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New Forest: C19th daring marauder or domestic cottager?
Every so often I am passed little gems of information that shine a light into the recesses of time and illuminate the characters of those Forest dwellers long since past. One such item is from a newspaper article printed in … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged brandy, C18th, carter, cottager, deer stealer, Forester, furze, keg, marauder, New forest, peasant, pig, Queen Victoria, Royal Agricultural Society, smuggler, swine, turf, vegetable, Westminster Abbey, wood-cutter
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New Forest: tracking the ‘wild’ pony herds
Early morning walks in the New Forest are a perfect combination of relaxation and stimulation. Listening to the bird song, seeing the colours of the landscape stretching out before me, smelling the perfume of wild honeysuckle or the pine from … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged habitat, herd, New forest, pony, searching, target enlargement, tracking, wild
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New Forest: weather-lore and hay-making
Like most farmers at this time of year, I’ve got my eye on the weather watching for the omens that promise a period of uninterrupted productivity. The crop of hay that will feed my stock over the winter is still … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged catchment, ecosystem, England, environment, flash flood, flood, flooding, fodder, folk-wisdom, Fordingbridge, Hampshire, hay, livestock, lowland, Met Office, New forest, Ringwood, river, silage, water, weather, weather-lore
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