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: pig
New Forest: good fences make good neighbours.
‘Good fences make good neighbours’ is an oft-quoted phrase that could have been coined with the New Forest and its free-roaming animals in mind. Whilst the New Forest is referred to as ‘the largest tract of unenclosed land in southern … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, Pannage season
Tagged boundary, cattle, Common of Mast, commonable, Commoner, fencing, free-roaming, good fences make good neighbours, Lane Creepers, New forest, Pannage, perambulation, pig, piglets, ponies, unenclosed, Verderers, wild
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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: £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: 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: the story of the pig that pointed!
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 … Continue reading
New Forest & Hampshire County Show 2016
One of the highlights in the calendar of any New Forest commoner has got to be the New Forest & Hampshire County Show. The show was originally conceived just after WW1, as a way to support farmers and develop agricultural … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged Carriage driving, cattle, Common Rights, commoning, cows, events, judges, New Forest & Hampshire County Show, news, NFCDA, NFNPA, Pannage, pig, private driving, showing, smallholding, training, Verderer
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New Forest: C19th daring marauder or domestic cottager?
Every so often I am passed little gems of information that shine a light into the recesses of time and illuminate the characters of those Forest dwellers long since past. One such item is from a newspaper article printed in … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged brandy, C18th, carter, cottager, deer stealer, Forester, furze, keg, marauder, New forest, peasant, pig, Queen Victoria, Royal Agricultural Society, smuggler, swine, turf, vegetable, Westminster Abbey, wood-cutter
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New Forest: stallions vs geldings – boys will be boys!
Regular visitors to the New Forest will be aware that at the moment (updated May 2017) the stallions have been set loose to run with the free-roaming mares, causing much excitement among the herds of semi-feral ponies. Generally speaking the New … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony
Tagged biodiversity, bull, Byelaw, castrated, colt, courtship, filly, gelding, herd dynamics, mare, New forest, Open Forest, pig, pony, sheep, stallion, territory, Verderer
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New Forest Pannage Season: ‘here piggy, piggy!’
The pannage season has officially started. Residents and visitors may be lucky enough to see the traditional sight of free-roaming pigs foraging on the forest floor from now until November. The term ‘pannage’ is of late Middle English origin and … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, Pannage season
Tagged acorns, Agisters, Common of Mast, New forest, New Forest pony, Pannage, passage, pig, porcine, swine, tannins, Verderers
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Commonable animals and road traffic accidents
Recently I was talking to someone who had heard about a particularly nasty hit and run fatality in the New Forest that had involved a pregnant donkey. The details were utterly horrific and the witness who discovered the dead animal … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony
Tagged Agister, cattle, Cow, don't feed the animals, donkey, hit and run, killing with kindness, New forest, pig, pony, road traffic accident, sheep, Verderer
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