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: Hampshire
New Forest: some stallion stories
To celebrate the New Forest pony breeding season, which runs from Monday 14th May until Monday 18th June*, and is when licensed stallions are released to run with the free-roaming Forest mares, I thought that I would take a look … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Stallion
Tagged aggressive, Agister, agricultural show, animal, breeding, Eclipse, foal, Hampshire, horse, horseflesh, horsepower, kicked, Lymington, Lyndhurst, mail coach, mare, Marske, money, pets, pony, prize, Salisbury, Southampton, stage coach, stallion
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New Forest: the sad story of the strange fish
While the New Forest is renown for its exquisite landscape of heathland, valley mires and Ancient and Ornamental woodlands, its 42km (26 miles) of coastal habitats are often overlooked. The New Forest coastline is a mixture of wildlife-rich shingle, saltmarsh, lagoons … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest flora & fauna
Tagged beaked, bottle, carbine, cetacean, coast, continental, dolphin, Dragoon, English Channel, fish, fishermen, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Itchen, Marchwood, New forest, porpoise, Sea, Solent, strange, Tursiops truncatus, water, whale
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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
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New Forest: celebrating a Victorian Christmas
The traditions of Christmas that many of us enjoy, such as sending Christmas cards, bringing fir trees into our homes and decorating them, and eating turkey, were not observed prior to the nineteenth century. Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged Carol, Charles Dickens, Christmas, custom, decorations, festive, fir tree, Hampshire, handbells, Lyndhurst, minstrel, mulled wine, mummer, New forest, party games, Postmaster, Queen Victoria, sober, Tradition, troupe, Victorian
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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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Why did the New Forest pony cross the road?
When travelling across the New Forest have you ever wondered why the free-roaming ponies will cross the road in front of you, even if they have seen you coming? Their hearing is excellent and they have good all-round binocular vision, … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged brain size, cross, equine, foal, free-roaming, Hampshire, horse, instinct, learning, logic, memory, New forest, pony, predator, prey, road, Wild horses, wolf, wolves
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New Forest: an ancient and diverse landscape
Many visitors to the New Forest are surprised to discover that its landscape is not filled with woods or trees. Some are even more astonished to learn that the area is ancient and not ‘new’ at all. The reason for … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest flora & fauna
Tagged ancient woodland, Bronze Age, Hampshire, Ice Age, Knightwood Oak, Medieval, New forest, wildwood, William the Conqueror
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