New Forest Commoner

New Forest: reflective collar or headband?

Posted on November 18, 2016 by newforestcommoner

The New Forest has 13.5 million day visits each year.

Finding a chestnut pony among autumn bracken is not an easy task.

The mild weather of late has meant that the trees seem to be holding on to their foliage, and subsequently treating visitors to the New Forest with displays of lingering autumn colour. Soon the strong winds will denude the trees of the little cover they have to leave them quite bare. While the shorter daylight hours reduce the opportunities for going out to check on the ponies, the exposed branches in the woods and copses mean that they become slightly easier to spot. However, one of my mares is the colour of autumn bracken, which is a deep reddy-chestnut. She is so well camouflaged at this time of year that, thinking I’ve seen her, I’ve gone off to inspect what turns out to be a clump of vegetation. Recently I found her with a small band of ponies grazing on a hillside. From a distance I knew there was something that didn’t look quite right. As I got closer to the pony I could see that her reflective-collar, instead of being in place around her neck, was under her jaw and across her head in front of her ears. She looked like John McEnroe wearing a headband! It seemed obvious that she been grazing in the middle of a gorse bush and, on pulling her head out, had managed to dislodge the collar. For a few moments I pondered what to do. If this were one of my ponies at home I could simply walk up to it and adjust the collar, but with semi-feral ponies it’s a different proposition. My options were, to leave the collar as it was, she would probably dislodge it by herself; approach her and pull the collar off myself; or, try to get the collar back into the correct position around her neck. The reflective-collars are a useful gadget to show up the ponies at night, particularly to drivers using the Forest roads. So, of all my options the last was the most favoured and, of course, the most difficult.

Watch the body language
I have handled this mare a little in the past and she has the sweetest temper but pulling the collar over her head was bound to cause a reaction and I didn’t want to panic her into defence mode, causing her to lash out at me. The other ponies lifted their heads to watch as I approached. She was curious about my attention; her ears were pricked and forward facing – a good sign. I stood at her shoulder and stroked her neck, with my hand creeping up towards her ears. She seemed content to let me continue and I managed to grasp the collar and pull it over her head. She jerked away with her ears lowered back – not a good sign. Unfortunately, I’d only managed to get the collar over one ear and would have to attempt the same manoeuvre on the other side. I stood patiently while she assessed the danger I posed. As soon as she went back to grazing and I approached her again. This time she was more wary of me. She still allowed me to approach her but was much more suspicious. Her body language was no longer relaxed. Even though she was a little apprehensive I managed to repeat the process of stroking quietly from her shoulder up to her ears and finally pulled the collar in place. The collar is generously elasticated, thankfully, but she was still unsettled by the sensation of the collar passing over her head. She pulled away, gave me a very nasty stare – almost a grimace – and walked indignantly away, followed by her friends.

UPDATE: My mare has managed to lose her collar and no longer has night-time florescent capability! (The collars are designed to come off, if the pony gets it caught on undergrowth or tree branches.)

The high-viz reflective collars enable the ponies to be visible at night.

The reflective-collars help the free-roaming New Forest ponies to be visible at night.

Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony | Tagged body language, herd, New forest, pony, reflective collar, roads, safety, semi-feral | Comments Off

New Forest: the hunters and the hunted

Posted on November 13, 2016 by newforestcommoner

The New Forest was established for royal hunting and has a long tradition of the chase.

The history of the New Forest is very closely intertwined with that of hunting. Indeed, it was for that very purpose that the New Forest was established nearly a thousand years ago. Royal hunting favoured red deer but also extended to foxes, either when the larger prey was unavailable or for its novelty. Hunting was a hugely popular pastime and when the Royal Buckhounds visited the Forest, at Bolton’s Bench, in April 1841, it was said that thousands of people turned up to participate in the chase or watch. A newspaper report from the time, recorded that the lowest number of horsemen must have been a thousand, with people in carriages, who would have followed the hunt’s progress, numbering at least another thousand and ‘among the crowds of vehicle of all grades – from the elegant four-horse equipage to the humble chaise-cart – were seen even omnibuses that now for the first time made their entrée into the Forest’.[1] Along with the huntsmen and women, and the carriages, came countless pedestrians who were estimated to be in the region of four thousand people.[2] It was said that ‘a more gay and brilliant assemblage never graced the forest’.[3] Another eyewitness remarked that ‘on the roads leading to the meet it was just like going to the Derby before railroad times’.[4] Like the Derby, hunt meets could be places for the stylish elements of society to be seen, as well as to see the day’s activities. Accordingly, ‘the same brilliant variety of carriages and horses – the same influx of beauty and fashion: the like quality of the good thing of this world then made their appearance, and were usually disposed of at pic-nics, beneath the spreading branches of the magnificent oak or beech-trees, which adorn some of the most picturesque localities of the New Forest’.[5]

Missing pig at Deering’s Town
But the beasts of the Forest were not the only creatures to be pursued and captured by the hounds. In 1840 it was reported that a resident of Sway, who had lost a valuable pig, was persuaded by his neighbour to approach a forest keeper for the loan of one of his bloodhounds, to see if the missing hog could be located. Apparently, several bloodhounds were kept by the keepers, due to their incredible ability to sent wounded deer. The bloodhound was duly sent for and, according to the report, when it arrived began to work by making three or four casts around the house. With the scent acquired, the hound then moved off ‘at a round pace’ towards a small, straggling village called Deering’s Town, some three miles away.[6] The bloodhound then proceeded directly to the house of a labourer, whereupon the pig was found inside slaughtered and hanging to cure. The man was consequently tried for robbery, at Winchester assizes, where he confessed to stealing the pig.[7]

In 1840 a bloodhound was used to recover a missing New Forest pig.

[1] THE QUEEN’S HOUNDS IN THE NEW FOREST, Hampshire Advertiser & Salisbury Guardian Saturday, April 24, 1841

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] John William Carleto, ‘Red Deer Hunting in the New Forest’, in The Sporting Review, July 1852 p. 259.

[5] Ibid.

[6] The Penny Satirist, Saturday, September 19, 1840 (London).

[7] Ibid.

Posted in New Forest | Tagged assizes, bloodhound, Bolton's Bench, carriage, chaise, deer, Deering's Town, Derby, equipage, fox, foxhound, hare, hog, hunted, hunter, Lyndhurst, New forest, omnibus, pig, robbery, Royal Buckhounds, stag, stealing, Winchester | Comments Off

New Forest: Charter of the Forest 1217

Posted on November 6, 2016 by newforestcommoner

The bad rule of William Rufus led to the Coronation Charter in 1100 and ultimately in Magna Carta.

Magna Carta, issued by bad King John in 1215, was extended and enacted as the Charter of the Forest, in 1217.

Today (6th November) is the anniversary of one of the most important pieces of legislation ever to be issued in our nation’s history. The carta de foresta or Charter of the Forest, as it became known, was so significant that even though it was originally sealed in 1217 it was still in force for centuries afterwards and its legacy is still evident in the New Forest today. The crucial importance of the Charter of the Forest was that it gave legal rights to ordinary people unlike Magna Charta, which only applied to the nobility. The Charter of the Forest was issued by the nine year old Henry III, who succeeded his father bad King John. When John, who was regarded as tyrannical and untrustworthy, died of dysentery in 1216 he left the realm in a state of anarchy and on the brink of civil war. As luck would have it, the boy-King had in his service one of the greatest knights ever to live – the Earl William Marshall. Earl William, who at this stage in his career was around seventy years of age, enjoyed a ‘near-legendary status as a renown warrior and paragon of virtue’ around which the notions of chivalry and honour had developed. He was said to have declared; “If everyone abandons the boy but me, do you know what I shall do? I will carry him on my back, and if I can hold him up, I will hop from island to island, from country to country, even if I have to beg for my bread.’ William Marshall’s dedication to his sovereign and his country made him the obvious candidate to be ‘guardian’ of the realm, which was regent in all but name, until Henry reached his majority.

Charter of the Forest
To assert Henry III’s legitimacy it was decided to distance the boy from his father’s despotic regime and to unite the warring factions by turning to the rule of law. Magna Carta was therefore redrafted and extended into the Charter of the Forest, which showed Henry III’s intent to rule with a fair and even hand, for the ‘common utility of all’. This was no mere device to quiet the unrest plaguing the realm but a real attempt to lay the foundations for good government. Crucially, because it was sanctioned by the papal legate, the Charter was also recognised in Rome, which meant that it could not be casually nullified. The Charter contained clauses dealing with rights to justice, fair trial and freedom from tyranny. It also gave free men, who relied upon the royal forests for their living through pannage, estovers and pasturage, for example, certain economic protection. According to the Charter ‘Henceforth every freeman, in his wood or on his land that he has in the forest, may with impunity make a mill, fish-preserve, pond, marl-pit, ditch, or arable in cultivated land outside coverts, provided that no injury is thereby given to any neighbour.’ It was the Charter of the Forest that repealed the death penalty of offences against the venison, and set up the Verderer’s Court, which still is still in existence today, to enforce the laws of the Charter. The Charter was reissued in 1225 and in 1297 was joined with Magna Carta (which was the first time it was recorded in the Statute Rolls) to create the Confirmation of Charters.

Pannage season is an ancient practice for commoners with Common of Mast

Pannage was one of the many common rights protected by the Charter of the Forest.

Posted in New Forest | Tagged 1215, 1217, 1225, 1297, charter foresta, Charter of the Forest, chivalry, Confirmation of Charters, Estovers, Henry III, King John, law, legacy, legal, legate, legitimate, Magna Carta, marl, New forest, Pannage, Statue, Verderer, William Marshall | Comments Off

New Forest: litter – natural and otherwise

Posted on October 30, 2016 by newforestcommoner

Late autumn in the New Forest is filled with colour and leaf-litter covers the ground.

This week I’ve had the subject of litter on my mind. Looking at the amazing colours of the New Forest’s autumn foliage made me think of the leaf-litter that covers the forest floor. It carpets the ground with a profusion of amber, gold and russet colours that provide a most satisfactory scrunching, rustling sound when walked upon. The leaves change colour due to changes in the amount of sunlight and decreasing temperatures, which cause their chlorophyll levels to break down. It is the chlorophyll (an important biomolecule) that makes leaves green but in its absence other pigments, such as yellows and reds, are revealed. Eventually the leaves will be ejected by the tree, which will then seal the places they were attached to, in order to conserve energy during the winter. Earliest mentions of the word ‘litter’ are in association with a bed-like form of transport carried at shoulder height. From then on fallen leaves collected for bedding would have been regarded as litter material, and once strewn onto a floor as a form of covering would simply be referred to as litter. It is from this association, with the manner of scattering in a disorderly way, that the modern understanding of the word ‘litter’ comes from.

Despoiling the landscape and the skies
Just as the trees discard the leaves that no longer serve a purpose, so some people will abandon the food containers, confectionary wrappers and drink bottles, for example, they no longer need . However, unlike the trees, which cast off biodegradable material that is recycled by the forest flora and fauna, items rejected by humans have no place in nature. I’m not sure if it’s a consequence of the recent half term but my walks in the New Forest of late have become litter forages. I seem to have collected more litter in this past week than in the whole of the month beforehand! I’ve also noticed that there are a profusion of out-of-date posters pinned to trees, lamp-posts and telegraph poles calling for the return of missing dogs that have long since been reunited with their loving owners; and Cat, it seems, celebrated her 30^th birthday for a least a couple of weeks on a sheet strung across a busy road bridge. Nevertheless, to my mind possibly the worse type of litter that humankind is responsible for is not the type that initially despoils our landscape but our skies. Sky lanterns or Chinese lanterns, call them what you will, are the scourge of the countryside and its wildlife. With the season of the firework and bonfire upon us these dangerous floating incendiaries are often released into the atmosphere where they drift aimlessly, until they disintegrate or land, posing a potential threat to our wildlife and rural habitats greater than many other forms of litter. So, when out and about in the New Forest, be a friend to its wildlife and habitat and don’t leave litter – either on the ground or in its skies.

Be a friend to the New Forest and take your litter away with you.

Posted in New Forest | Tagged autumn, bedding, biodegradable, biomolecule, Chinese lanterns, chlorophyll, Forest, habitat, incendiaries, litter, New forest, refuse, rubbish, rural, sky lanterns, trees, wildlife, winter | Comments Off

New Forest: autumn leaves and falling temperatures

Posted on October 23, 2016 by newforestcommoner

Late autumn in the New Forest is filled with colour.

If you have walked out onto the Forest recently, you will no doubt have been impressed by the variety of colours across the heathland and woods. Some of the higher elevations of the Forest provide spectacular views over the landscape in which oranges and yellows meld with russets and greens for as far as the eye can see. The winds that are beginning to gather strength, as the autumn progresses, snatch the golden leaves from off the trees swirling them about as they float to the floor. At this time of year the trees boast as much colour around their roots as they do in their branches. The temperatures, like the foliage, are dropping too. Hats, scarves and even gloves are frequently the accessories required before stepping out of doors in the early mornings. The New Forest ponies are also donning their winter apparel. Their sleek summer coats are rapidly being replaced by shaggy ones, as their hairs begin to thicken and lengthen to offer some protection from the developing colder weather. The plentiful grazing over the warmer months has ensured that the ponies will be going into the winter with plenty of energy stored in the form of layers of fat. These combined resources provide the ponies with the best means of withstanding the privations of the bleaker months to come.

End-of-season activities
In the meantime, some of the Forest activities are winding down. The pony drift season is coming to an end, which is just as well. Only a month or two ago, it seemed, I was attending the round-ups in summer-weight clothing and, like my fellow commoners, seeking any bit of shade to avoid standing under the baking sun. Now, we are all stamping our feet and blowing on our hands to keep warm! The only thing hot these days is the gossip. We back up to the trees or the gorse bushes to stay out of the prevailing wind, only daring to appear when the sound of ponies hooves thundering towards us means that we must take up our positions to channel the ponies into the pound. By now some of the ponies are getting wise to the round-ups and are displaying ingenious tactics to avoid being caught. Recently on one drift a group of riders were bringing in a single mare at a full gallop. She had proved particularly difficult to round-up and so riders were either side of her, lining her up for the pound. Without any warning she stopped absolutely dead in her tracks but of course the riders, being unprepared, carried on going at speed. Quick as a flash the mare turned on her heels and galloped off in the opposite direction. By the time the riders had collected themselves and turned around, she was gone. A few Saxon oaths were muttered, I can tell you. As the riders went off in search of the errant mare the rest of us quickly returned to the shelter of the gorse, looking very much like a row of sentries returning to their boxes.

The ponies coming in on the annual drifts, or round-ups, are looking fit, healthy and well fed.

Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony | Tagged autumn, colour, drift, end-of-season, fall, galloping, leaves, New forest, ponies, pony, round-up, Saxon, summer, winter | Comments Off

The Norman Conquest and being English.

Posted on October 16, 2016 by newforestcommoner

The statue of King Richard I - the Lionheart - stands outside the Houses of Parliament.

The statue of King Richard I – the Lionheart – great-great-grandson of William the Conqueror stands outside the Houses of Parliament.

If you had lived in England on this day (16 October) 950 years ago chances are you would be aware that a momentous battle had just been fought, only a few days earlier, near Hastings in Sussex. Even if you didn’t know the exact details you would undoubtedly know that the English king, Harold Godwinson, had been slain. How would this affect you? To begin with, probably not a lot. But the victor of the battle, Duke William II of Normandy, later to be known as William the Conqueror and later King William I, would fundamentally change what it was to be ‘English’ during his twenty-year reign. Even today the result of these radical changes are still in evidence but have become so familiar to us that they form part of our national identity.

Raiders and pirates
The Normans were descended from the Norse (Norseman became Northman or Norman) who were raiders and pirates from the Scandinavian and Nordic regions. They settled in the region of France that became known as Normandy, establishing a powerful dynasty that included William the Conqueror. Prior to the Norman Conquest, if you were a man you might possibly have had a name such as Eadwine, Æthelred, or Gyrth, or if you were a woman, Ælfgifu, Ealdgyth or Cyneburh. Afterwards Anglo-Saxon names became synonymous with defeat and so children were given Norman names, such as William, Robert, and Henry or Alice, Sophie and Margaret, to better assimilate them into society. These names seem so familiar to us now and, somehow, more English. From the time of the Conquest Norman-French began to influence the English language, customs and culture in a way that has stayed with us ever since.

Nova Foresta
William I also imported his passion for hunting, for which he created the Nova Foresta in 1079. To protect the beasts of the chase and their habitat, he introduced Forest Law and with it an administrative and legal system that can still be witnessed in the New Forest today, in the form of the Verderers’ Court at Lyndhurst. ‘Verderer’ is derived from the French word for ‘green’ and signifies the area of responsibility for these powerful Forest officials. The first mention in written record of the New Forest occurs in the Domesday Book (Great Survey), to which a whole section is devoted. No other area of the country has this privilege. The Domesday Book is our oldest public record, which was commissioned by William I to inform him of his fiscal dues and the taxes he could expect to receive from around the country. The Domesday Book remains an effective legal proof of land ownership.

The Queen Wills It
Even today Norman-French is used during the passage of Government Acts through the Houses of Parliament with phrases such as, “La Reyne le vault” (The Queen wills it.). This is because William I, and his royal descendants, bestowed and upheld the basis of English law and the institutions that eventually developed into Parliament. Richard the Lionheart, whose statue is outside the Houses of Parliament as a patriotic symbol of our nation’s virtue and virility, is the great-great-grandson of William I and didn’t even speak a word of English. His brother, John, is regarded as the worst king of England but through his negligence and mismanagement Magna Carta Libertatum – better known as Magna Carta – was born. For the first time in history an English monarch agreed in writing to safeguard the rights, privileges and liberties of certain of his subjects, such as clergymen and nobles. This legal document has inspired other forms of contract between rulers and citizenry, such as the United States Constitution, and has consequently made British law the envy of the world.

Magna Carta Libertatum – for the first time in history an English monarch agreed in writing to safeguard the rights, privileges and liberties of certain of his subjects, such as clergymen and nobles.

Posted in New Forest | Tagged Anglo Saxon, Domesday Book, English, Great Survey, King John, King William, Lionheart, Magna Carta Libertatum, New forest, Norman conquest, Norse, Nova Foresta, Parliament, pirates, raiders, Richard, The Queen Wills It, United States Constitution, Verderer | Comments Off

New Forest: the story of the pig that pointed!

Posted on October 9, 2016 by newforestcommoner

The sight of pigs during pannage season is highlight of autumn in the New Forest.

During pannage season pigs undoubtedly become the favourite animal to see in the New Forest. There is nothing quite like the sight of happy porkers that have been set free to root about through the fallen leaves and undergrowth, in their search for food. They provide a very important service at this time of year by eating the green acorns that are toxic, when eaten in quantity, to the other commonable animals. Through their voracious foraging the pigs reduce the risk of poisoning occurring in the free roaming ponies and cattle. In 1809 it was reported that two enterprising brothers had found a further use for the Forest pigs, by training a black sow how to detect game and to back and stand. Richard and Edward Toomer lived seven miles apart, one in Broomy Lodge and the other in Rhinefield Lodge. As well as being Forest Keepers they had a great interest in breaking and training pointers and setters, some of their own breeding and others that were sent to them by sporting gentlemen. Apparently the pig developed a partiality for a litter of pointer puppies and would play with them and share their feed. As several of the dogs that were in for training showed little interest in their work, Richard Toomer reckoned that having broken many a dog as obstinate as a pig, he would try to see if he could not succeed in breaking a pig. She was given the name Slut, ‘in consequence of soiling herself in a Bog’ and within a day could respond to her name.

Porcine hunting prowess
Within two weeks, the sow could find and point partridges or rabbits, and soon after that she could detect grouse, pheasants, and snipes. Her hunting prowess rivalled that of any dog, although for some reason she was never known to point a hare. However in the field she was said:

She always expressed great pleasure when Game, either dead or alive, was placed before her. She has frequently stood a single Partridge at forty yards distance, her Nose in a direct line to the Bird; after standing some considerable time, she would drop like a setter, still keeping her Nose in an exact Line, and would continue in that Position until the Game moved: if it took wing, she would come up to the place and put her Nose down two or three times; but if a Bird ran off, she would get up and go to the place, and draw slowly after it, and when the Bird stopped she would stand it as before.

Her pace was mostly a trot, and she was seldom known to gallop, except when called to go out shooting. She was never shut in but apparently responded to the call of the whistle as eagerly as any dog.

Pig-pointers
She was five years old when Richard, her master, died and she was sold at auction for ten guineas, along with his pointers and setters. At the age of ten she was again sold. By this time she weighed 700 pounds (approximately 317 kg) and was described as ‘fat and slothful’, but she could still find game as well as before. Accounts differ as to the identity of her new master. One names, Mr Sykes of Brookwood, in the New Forest, and others Colonel Sykes of Basildon House, Berkshire. However, in all accounts the result for the sporting pig was the same – she was sent for slaughter. One commentator described her shameful death as ‘Animal Murder’ because ‘it would have cost but a trifling Sum to have fed and sheltered her in the Winter, and the Park [either in the New Forest or at Basildon] would have supplied her Wants during Summer at no Expense’. It was wondered that no one had since attempted to train a pig to ‘Dog and Gun’, as being accompanied by a brace of pig-pointers would have been quite a novelty in an age that valued innovation.

Pannage season is part of the ancient commoning rights and a popular tradition.

During pannage season, pigs provide a very important service by eating the green acorns that are toxic, when eaten in quantity, to the other commonable animals, such as cattle and ponies.

Sources:

The Literary Panorama, Vol. VI, London, 1809, pp. 443-444

The Gentleman’s Magazine, From January to June, 1810, Vol LXXX, London, pp. 43-44.

Rev William Barker Daniel, Rural Sports, Vol. 3 (London, 1812).

Posted in New Forest, Pannage season | Tagged acorns, Auction, bird, Bog, cattle, dog, gallop, game, grouse, hare, hunting, New forest, Pannage, partridge, pig, pointer, ponies, porcine, puppies, rabbit, setter, snipe, sporting, trot | Comments Off

New Forest: fallow deer and the rut

Posted on October 2, 2016 by newforestcommoner

The fallow deer rutting season runs from September to October.

The autumn months in the New Forest herald the breeding activity of fallow deer (Dama dama). The rutting season begins in September and peaks in late October. As the foliage changes colour into the russets, oranges and yellows of late autumn, if you are quiet and listen intently, the sounds of amorous male fallow deer can often be heard across the Forest. With pannage season underway you would be forgiven for thinking that what you had perceived was the sound of a porker snorting to its piggy-friends. This is because the call of the fallow buck is a cross between a grunt and a belch, given in quick succession, that is used to attract mates and challenge other males. Bucks will protect a territory, known as a stand, into which they will attempt to entice does and form a harem. Upon hearing the sound of rutting deer any dogs accompanying you should immediately be put on their leads, if they aren’t already, and ideally you will vacate the area as quickly and quietly as possible to avoid alarming the deer. It is important to protect these animals from undue stress at this time, as any disturbance may affect their breeding success.

Naturalised species
The fallow deer is the most commonly encountered of the six deer species that freely roam the British countryside. The New Forest has a fallow population of about 1,300 deer that are monitored by the Forestry Commission. Outside of the rutting season fallow deer roam in single sex herds of either bucks or does. When the males reach maturity, at about 18 months old, they will leave the doe herd and join a bachelor herd. Fully-grown bucks grow to a height of 94cm (approximately 3ft) at the shoulder and can weigh up to 93kg (approximately 205 pounds). From the age of three to four they grow ‘palmate’ antlers (just look at the palm of your hand with fingers outstretched to see what that means), which can reach up to 70 cm (27 inches) in length. During the summer months their coat is generally a chestnut colour with white mottles, which deepens to a darker, unspotted pelt in the winter. Other variants of coat colour also exist, which range from almost black to white, but these are not as common. Even though they are a familiar sight in the countryside, fallow deer are not a native British species. The Romans first introduced fallow deer shortly after their conquest of Britain in 43AD. The deer were kept in specially designated parks, called ‘vivarium’. When the Roman Empire collapsed and Roman rule in Britain ended, fallow deer became extinct in this country. However, William the Conqueror, who also created the New Forest, reintroduced fallow deer in the 11th century and the descendants of these animals became naturalised and have remained part of our countryside ever since.

Avoid disturbing deer, as stress during the rut can affect breeding success.

Sources:

You Tube documentary: Dama – The Deer That Walked the World, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aagY-9wdtk&feature=youtu.be

You Tube sound clip of fallow bucks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75LkMg5C1ks

Dama International – The Fallow Deer Project: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/archaeology/research/bioarchaeology/zooarchaeology/fallow-deer.aspx

British Deer Society: http://www.bds.org.uk/index.php/documents/deer-species/14-fallow-deer-identification-leaflet/file

Forestry Commission: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/fallowdeer

New Forest National Park Authority: http://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/info/20090/wildlife/146/deer/5

Stag Antlers: http://stagantlers.co.uk/deer-antlers-home/fallow-deer/

Posted in New Forest flora & fauna | Tagged buck, Dama dame, deer, doe, Fallow, New forest, rut, rutting | Comments Off

New Forest: pannage, pigs and wild boar

Posted on September 25, 2016 by newforestcommoner

Common of Mast is an ancient practice that has pigs roaming the Open Forest during pannage season.

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. During pannage season the local people with ‘Common of Mast’ are allowed to turn out their domestic pigs to roam on the Open Forest. (Pannage season this year runs until Sunday 13^th November 2016). The pigs eat the forest seeds and nuts, such as beechmast and chestnuts, and provide an essential service to the Forest ecology by eating up the green acorns that are poisonous, in large quantities, to the free-roaming livestock and deer. This free-range foraging is also the traditional way of fattening up the pigs prior to slaughter, before the worse of the winter privations set in. Pannage has been observed since ancient times and is, therefore, a customary part of the New Forest calendar. Everyone looks forward to the sight of pigs and piglets rooting about in the undergrowth, providing a welcome addition to the spectacle of other free-roaming commonable animals.

Sociable Hogs
In times past pigs did not have a favourable reputation, being described by one seventeenth century text as having ‘exceedingly hard hairs, of a devouring gluttonous Nature, and therefore his head continually looketh towards the ground’ in his constant search for food.[1] This downward-looking aspect, it was believed, meant that the pig could never look up towards heaven (and God) making it a particularly stupid animal. The character of the pig as being fat and lazy seems to have been well established even by the 1600s, as it was remarked that they often grew so obese that ‘they have lain so long in one place that Mice have bred under them’.[2] However, it was considered beneficial to the health of the animal to ‘let it run abroad’, where it would avoid the diseases and illness caused by close confinement in dirty sties.[3] Pigs, it was conceded, were very sociable animals and it was observed that ‘if one Hog be hurt and he beginneth to grumble, all the rest of the Hogs in the same company will come in to him’.[4] Visitors to the Forest, who try to pet or feed the pigs or their piglets during pannage, take note!

Wild Boar
In 1686, it was stated that there were no wild boars left in England, and there was speculation that ‘it may be supposed that heretofore we had, and did not think it convenient to preserve that Game’.[5] The wild boar was considered a worthy adversary for huntsmen, and the aristocracy used boar hunting as a form of war games where they could practice the martial skills that would be needed on the battlefield. They believed that a wild boar who ‘when he seeth unavoidable death, he singleth out one of the Huntsmen and will run upon him with the greatest rage imaginable, not to be affrighted with swords or sticks’.[6] The boar was considered to have the strength of a lion and given the opportunity ‘will not only throw the Huntsman down, but if he hath no help will kill him’.[7] Charles I had tried to reintroduce wild boar to the New Forest in the early seventeenth century where, it was said, ‘they increased and became terrible to travellers’.[8] These animals were all killed during the English Civil Wars but, according to legend, not before they had bred with the domestic Forest sows and ‘tainted all the breeds of pigges in the neighbouring partes, which are of their colour; and kind of soot colour’.[9] It is doubtful if any of the progeny from these pairings have survived. Nowadays the only wild boar on the New Forest are farmed-kept and were introduced by an enterprising farmer only a few years ago.

Wild boar once roamed freely in the New Forest but by the C17th were extinct.

Sources:

[1] Wolfgangus Franzius, The History of Brutes, Or, A Description of Living Creatures (London, 1670), p. 127.

[2] Ibid, p. 128.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid, p. 130.

[5] Nicolas Cox, The Gentleman’s Recreation, Third Edition (London, 1686), p. 54.

[6] Wolfgangus Franzius, p. 129.

[7] Ibid.

[8] John Aubrey, The natural history of Wiltshire: written between 1656 and 1691 (London, 1847), p. 59.

[9] Ibid.

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 | Comments Off

New Forest: signs of the times

Posted on September 11, 2016 by newforestcommoner

The Agisters control the drifts and direct the commoners who assist with the round-ups.

Signage, alerting people that a drift is taking place, is displayed in the area of the pony round up.

As my regular readers will know, the drift season has started. The season runs from August until November and entails rounding up the ponies across the New Forest in a series of drifts that take place in approximately 40 locations. It is an important activity in the commoner’s calendar and involves driving the free-roaming ponies into pounds in a specific area where they can be given wormers or fitted with florescent collars and tail-marked by an Agister if they are staying on the Forest for the winter; or they can be loaded onto trailers and removed to the commoner’s holding if they are to be kept in for the winter or sold on. Although this is an annual activity, the season’s drifts still require a considerable amount of up-to-date planning and preparation to ensure that they run smoothly. One of the important pre-event tasks is to place signage in prominent locations, which inform Forest users in the area that a drift is in progress. This is done to prevent people from becoming unwittingly caught up in the drifts and causing unnecessary risks to themselves, the riders participating in the round ups and, of course, the ponies. To reduce this hazard further, the car parks in the vicinity of the drifts are closed while the round up is in progress. The gates are locked and signs are displayed explaining why the car park is inaccessible.

Signs of the times
On a recent drift I noticed one Forest user who decided that, round up or not, they were determined to park their vehicle at a particular car park in the area. They had left their car in the middle of the car park entrance with the bonnet pointing towards the sign pinned to the locked gate, which clearly explained that a drift, being a necessary part of the stock control activities of the Forest, was in progress and apologising for any inconvenience. Either the sign was not noticed or it was completely ignored because the vehicle had simply been abandoned by its driver. After the drift had finished and all the ponies were safely in the pound, I made my farewells to the Agisters and my fellow commoners and left. As I passed the car park I’d seen earlier in the day, there in the middle of the gravel track at the entrance was the same motor vehicle but this time it was facing an open gateway and a completely empty car park. The drift being over meant that the car parks were now reopened and the gates had all been unlocked. In this instance, however, there were frustrated drivers trying to access the car park but were being blocked by a lone vehicle. I can only imagine the seething resentment of the drivers wanting to park up and go for a pleasant walk only to be thwarted by the actions of this determined parker. It was one of those occasions when I wished I’d had a camera with me just to record the looks of incredulity on people’s faces!