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.
Tag Archives: deer
New Forest: haymaking in the sunshine
It’s been a busy week this week. I’ve been collecting bales of hay off the fields to be stored and used over the winter for my animals. Haymaking has been part of the farming calendar for over 6,000 years and … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony
Tagged cattle, couchancy, deer, diet, harvest, hay, haymaking, Hocktide, levancy, Michealmas, New forest, oath, ponies, Saxon, winter heyning
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New Forest: get the picture?
Autumn in the New Forest is a spectacular time of year. The warm colours of orange, russet, and red that are on display in the canopies of the trees and over the heathland contrast with the wintry temperatures on clear … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest flora & fauna
Tagged behaviour, bucks, coitus, dama dama, deer, does, Forestry Commission, get the picture, mating, New forest, orange, photographers, red, rewilding, Royal Photographic Society, RSPB, russet, rut, stags, wildlife harassment
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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: trees – our natural and cultural assets
Without a doubt, the free-roaming animals of the New Forest are an asset to the local economy and, as ‘architects of the Forest’, are one of the most important bio-forces that sustain the ecology and environmental constituency of the landscape. … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest flora & fauna
Tagged A3, ancient, animals, Ash, Beech, cedar, chestnut, common, deer, Elm, Forest, Henry VIII, King, Knightwood Oak, landmark, landscape, legacy, M25, New forest, Oak, Queen, RHS Wisley, Royal Horticultural Society, Sheffield, species, tree
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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: the hunters and the hunted
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 … Continue reading
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
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New Forest: fallow deer and the rut
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 … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest flora & fauna
Tagged buck, Dama dame, deer, doe, Fallow, New forest, rut, rutting
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New Forest ponies: search and find or hide and seek?
The New Forest has taken on a completely different look and feel since the onset of late autumn. Many of the birds that were regularly encountered over the summer months have, like the tourists, migrated elsewhere. The atmosphere is tranquil … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest flora & fauna, New Forest pony, Uncategorized
Tagged Commoner, Cow, deer, Fallow, fawn, find, foal, genes, New forest, pony, search, trees
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New Forest: foals and fawns
Regular visitors to the New Forest will, hopefully, by now have had a chance to see some of the pony and donkey foals that are currently to be found roaming on the Open Forest. They are charming little additions to … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest flora & fauna
Tagged baby deer, cattle, commonable animals, commoners, deer, donkeys, fallow deer, fawn, foal, Forestry Commission, muntjac deer, New forest, pigs, ponies, red deer, roe deer, royal hunting, sheep, sika deer, Verderers, wildlife
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