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.
Category Archives: New Forest customs
New Forest: autumn activity, tradition and festival
Autumn is always a busy season for farmer, smallholder and commoner alike. It is also a time of ritual, tradition, and festival that reminds us of our connection to the natural or, indeed, supernatural world. Michaelmas, which signals the end … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest customs, Pannage season
Tagged autumn, cereal, Christian, Christmas, Commoner, custom, dam, deer, drift, Equinox, famine, farmer, feast, festival, foal, fortune, gods, Halloween, harvest, Harvest Festival, hay, mare, Michaelmas, moon, natural, New forest, October, pagan, Pannage, pig, pony, pork, produce, round-up, season, September, smallholder, spirits, spring, straw, supernatural, Tradition, winter
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New Forest: pannage, a piggy priority
One of the most significant periods in the New Forest calendar starts in mid-to-late September, when the trees begin to cast their fruit, in the form of acorns, beech-mast and chestnuts. Known as ‘pannage’ it is a time when pigs … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest customs, Pannage season
Tagged Acorn, autumn, bacon, Beech, boar, butcher, chestnut, flavour, Forest, Forestry Commission, hogs, horn, law, Mast, New forest, Pannage, piggy, pigs, priority, swine, swineherd, trees, Verderers
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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
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New Forest: pannage, pigs and wild boar
Autumn has got to be one of my favourite seasons of the year. The annual drifts are underway, the heaths and woodlands are changing colour, adding variety to the hues of the already breath-taking scenery, and pannage season has begun. … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest customs, Pannage season
Tagged acorns, Beech, Charles I, chestnuts, Common of Mast, commoners, English Civil War, hunting, New forest, Pannage, pigs, Rights of Common, wild boar
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New Forest: jingling matches and donkey races
The New Forest has always enjoyed a close association with the monarchy. During the eighteenth century it was a favourite destination for George III, who would often stay with his family before moving on to the seaside town of Weymouth. … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest customs
Tagged Blindman's Buff, Crown Inn, donkey race, eighteenth century, Fair, George III, Golf Club, Jingle Match, London, Lord Warden, Lyndhurst, Lyndhurst Racecourse, New forest, newspaper, pony sales, Southampton, sports day, women jockeys
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New Forest: squirrel-pie anyone?
Like it or not, the history of the New Forest is firmly interconnected with the practice of hunting. It was for this purpose that William I established the landscape as a Royal Forest, in the eleventh century. While most people associate … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest customs, New Forest flora & fauna
Tagged Deputy Surveyor, Eat them to beat them, grey squirrel, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver, Lyndhurst Petty Sessions, New forest, Pascal Aussignac, Red Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis, Sciurus vulgaris, squirrel pie, squirrel sausage, squirrel stew, wild meat
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New Forest: harvesting holly for Christmas.
Last month (posted December 2015), as I made my way into the New Forest to check on my free-roaming ponies, I came across several contractors harvesting holly for the Christmas trade. This winter activity has long been a legitimate part … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest customs, New Forest pony
Tagged butcher, Christmas, Evergreen, harvesting, holly, ivy, Lymington, Lyndhurst, New forest, pony, railway, seagull, Victorian, Workhouse
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New Forest: colt pixeys, elf shot and hag stones.
I recently visited the house of a fellow commoner and noticed that outside the front door dangling from a cord was a collection of flint stones. Each stone had a hole in it through which the cord was threaded. Upon … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest customs
Tagged Anglo Saxon, Bald's Leech Book, colt pixey, elf shot, elves, Fairies, fairy, hag stone, holey stone, Laurence, Mary Dore, New forest, ponies, Puck, sprites, witchcraft, witches
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New Forest: autumn is here and the drifts are underway
Autumn has arrived. The heathland, woods and lawns wear a pale blanket of mist in the early mornings and the heathland is mantled in purple heather. The blackberries shine like jewels in the hedgerows and great quantities of sloes decorate … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest customs, New Forest pony, New Forest Pony Drift
Tagged Agister, Commoner, drift, galloping, New Forest pony, pound, round-up, traditional, Verderers of the New Forest, working forest
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