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: New forest
New Forest: commoning generations
While visitors to the New Forest, and those lucky enough to reside here, undoubtably appreciate its magnificent scenery, free roaming livestock, and exceptional wildlife, not many would consider the significance to the landscape of the unbroken chain of Forest ancestry … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner
Tagged ancestors, ancestry, commoning, families, family, generation, generations, heritage, landscape, livestock, New forest, Purkis, Rufus, Saxon, scenery, symbiotic, wildlife, William I, William II, Winchester, Ytene
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New Forest: Do you have ‘Second Person Power’?
Just recently I’ve been travelling the length and breadth of the New Forest to attend various events and business meetings. These journeys have given me a chance to ponder the topical subject of traffic and speeding across the Open Forest, … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged animal, car, collisions, donkey, New forest, overtake, pony, Power of the Second Person, road, speed, traffic, vehicles
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New Forest: where’s the her-story?
Of all the books I’ve read about the New Forest, it occurs to me that very few relate the New Forest from the feminine perspective or, indeed, tell women’s stories of living or growing up in this unique environment. It … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner
Tagged ailments, children, donkey, feminine, Forester, Gilbert Smith, her-story, his-story, horse, Keeper, myxomatosis, New forest, physical, rabbits, remedy, self-sufficient, women, wood
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New Forest: animal accidents on Roger Penny Way
Over the past couple of weeks (February 2017) there have been a series of collisions on the B3078 – Roger Penny Way – that have resulted in the deaths of several New Forest ponies. In one incident, although the driver … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Animal Road Traffic Accidents
Tagged B3078, car, Commoners Defence Association, commoning, death, driver, Forestry Commission, graphic, Hampshire County Council, image, injury, motorist, New forest, New Forest District Council, New Forest National Park Authority, New Forest Trust, Parish Council, police, ponies, pony, Roger Penny Way, speeding, Verderer
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New Forest: close encounter of a furred kind!
One of the best things about living in the countryside has got to be the interaction one can have with wildlife – in all its forms. As I write this piece (February 2017), I am sat in my kitchen where … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged close encounter, Common Shrew, furred kind, garden, green waste, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Mammal Society, New forest, picture-postcard, Sorex araneus, thatched cottage, village, wildlife
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New Forest: the seventeenth century coal-rush
On the 30th January 1649 Charles I was executed by beheading. In this momentous event the monarchy was overthrown, signalling the start of England’s only ever foray into republicanism with the establishment of a Commonwealth government. As a result, the … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged 1653, Charles I, coal, Commonwealth, Forest, House of Lords, landscape, merchants, minerals, mining, New forest, Oliver Cromwell, Parliament, Priaulx, prospectors, regicide, republic, Richard Major, Southampton, State Papers Domestic
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New Forest: Drivers who are verging on the ridiculous!
Without a doubt the New Forest is a wonderful place to visit. Tourists coming to the area are often awestruck at the sight of ponies, cattle, sheep and pigs wandering freely within the perambulation. They marvel at the landscape that, … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged animals, appreciation, camping, car parks, caravan, cars, cattle, cyclists, ditches, dog-walkers, Don’t Treat Our Verges Like Dirt!, donkeys, Forestry Commission, grass, grazing, horse-riders, National Park Authority, New forest, pigs, ponies, ramblers, ridiculous, vehicles, Verderers, verge, verging, wildlife
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New Forest: outwitted by a greedy pony!
I went to visit a commoning friend of mine recently while they were feeding hay to the cows in one of their fields, and thought I could be of some assistance by opening and closing the gate for them. Ordinarily … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest cattle, New Forest pony
Tagged cattle, commoning, field, food, grass greener, greedy pony, hay, mare, meadow, New forest, Open Forest, other side, plans, pony, winter
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New Forest: different views of the same landscape
I have really been enjoying the sepia colours of the frost-covered Forest recently; and came across a passage in a book recently that stuck a chord with me because I felt that it summed up, quite poetically, the seasons on … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged climate, Commoner, Daneshill, drainage, early spring, ecology, environment, Forestry, frost, furze, John Wise, late summer, Lords Commissioners, Mother Nature, New forest, Prior's Acre, Queen Victoria, restoration, soil, Stoney Cross, Treasury, trees, wetlands, woods
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