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.
Author Archives: newforestcommoner
New Forest: £5000 reward for finding ‘Hit & Run’ drivers
The Open Court sessions at the Verderers’ Court are a great way to learn about the Forest’s management and see one of its ancient institutions in action. Each month (except August and December) the public are welcome to attend and … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest Animal Road Traffic Accidents
Tagged £1000, £5000, accident, Agister, animal, cattle, collision, commonable, Commoner, Commoners Defence Association, court, Cow, death, driver, fatal, free, Hampshire, hit, hit & run, horse, Horse Welfare Trust, incident, injury, New forest, New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society, NFPB&CS, pig, police, pony, reward, roaming, RTA, run, speed, steer, suffer, traffic, vehicle, Verderer, wild, witness
Comments Off on New Forest: £5000 reward for finding ‘Hit & Run’ drivers
New Forest: observing the month of deer defence
The commoning calendar holds many significant dates that reflect the seasons, and over time activities have developed that match the time of year. The most important of these are connected to the management of the commonable animals and include the … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest customs
Tagged 1217, 1877, Avon, bridge, Charter of the Forest, Commoner, court, dama dama, deer, defence month, dogs, Eyre, fence month, Fordingbridge, Henry III, John Baptist, July, June, law, Lord of the Manor, Midsummer, New Forest Act, quit rent, Verderer
Comments Off on New Forest: observing the month of deer defence
New Forest: medieval dog maiming
I was interested to learn recently that the New Forest has more visitors per square kilometre than any other national park (7.5 visits/km2), and that dog walking was the most common reason for visiting the New Forest throughout the year.[1] … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged canine, Charta de Foresta, claws, Commoners Charter, dogs, expedited, Forest, hunting, lamed, law, lawed, Lymington, Lyndhurst, Magna Carta, maimed, mastiff, Museum, New forest, paws, poaching, terrier, toes, Verderers, walking, William Conqueror
Comments Off on New Forest: medieval dog maiming
New Forest: impressive stallion pedigree
I recently had a chance to observe the stallion running in the area where my mares shade. He was chasing off a particularly annoying gelding and his harem of approximately 40 mares, some with foals at foot, was looking on … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony, New Forest Stallion
Tagged 14HH, bay, bloodline, breeding, Byerley Turk, champion, Darley Arabian, Eclipse, flirting, foal, gelding, Godolpin Arabian, harem, herd, lineage, mare, Mary II, pedigree, pony, Racehorse, season, shade, sire, stallion, territory, Thoroughbred, turf, well-bred, William III
Comments Off on New Forest: impressive stallion pedigree
New Forest: C19th waste land or allotments
On this day (28th May) in 1870, it was reported in the Hampshire Advertiser that Southampton residents and those in the surrounding neighbourhood, had held a meeting in the Guildhall to discuss enclosing the New Forest for agricultural purposes. [In the … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged Act, agriculture, commonage, Commoner, commons, cultivate, cultivation, dairy, enclose, enclosure, entail, farming, Government, Guildhall, inheritance, land owner, law, New forest, Pannage, Parliament, pasturage, pauper, poor, population, primogeniture, rich, Southampton, tourist, working man
Comments Off on New Forest: C19th waste land or allotments
New Forest: the rare brown hare
On a recent journey away from the Forest, where I had the pleasure to be a passenger rather than the driver, I was able to look out of the window and admire the scenery instead of concentrating on the road … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged BBC Nature, brown hare, burrow, control, decline, dog, form, Hare Preservation Trust, hound, kit, Lepus europaeus, leveret, lifestyle, Mammal Society, New forest, predator, prey, rabbit, rare, vulnerable, warren
Comments Off on New Forest: the rare brown hare
New Forest: “I thought it would be bigger!”
Living in or around the New Forest is a pleasure and a privilege that many of us sometimes take for granted, as a friend of mine discovered recently. She had travelled from London to the New Forest bringing with her a … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged B3079, boundary, Cadnam, cattle grid, common, fauna, flora, historic, law, livestock, M27, misunderstand, New forest, park, perambulation, road sign, royal, speed
Comments Off on New Forest: “I thought it would be bigger!”
New Forest: newborn foals and spring arrive together
The past few weeks of visiting the New Forest to check on my free-roaming mares have been a reminder to all my senses of just how glorious a place this is. The sound of the cuckoo, skylark and lapwing in … Continue reading
New Forest Stallion Areas 2017
New Forest Stallion Turnout Areas 2017 Each year stallions are released onto the Open Forest to run with the free-roaming mares and sire the next generation of New Forest pony. The stallions are carefully selected by the Verderer’s of the … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Stallion
Tagged areas, mare, New forest, pony, season, stallion, turn out
Comments Off on New Forest Stallion Areas 2017
New Forest: itchy, scratchy, lousy!
I went for a walk this week, in a part of the Forest that I don’t usually visit. I wanted to see if the bluebells had bloomed, so went on a route that took in one of the Forestry Commission … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged Damalinia equi, donkey, equine, filly, horse, itchy, lice, louse, lousy, mare, New forest, pony, scratchy
Comments Off on New Forest: itchy, scratchy, lousy!
You must be logged in to post a comment.