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: Victorian
New Forest: old records show crime and lies do not pay
Every now and then I get the chance to sit down and read the newspaper as part of my job. Quite often though, the newspaper in question dates from the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries. These historical broadsheets make fascinating reading … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged coney, constable, court, crime, criminal, defendant, disorderly, drunk, eighteenth century, Georgian, lies, Lyndhurst, magistrate, New forest, nineteenth century, Oryctolagus cuniculus, Petty Sessions, poach, police, rabbit, shoplifter, trespass, Victorian
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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: learning, knowing and passing it on.
For me the natural world is a place of wonder and exploration. Being in the New Forest no matter what time of day, what time of year or in what kind of weather is such a fulfilling experience. The sound … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged Commoner, countryside, directions, fauna, flora, hire, history, knowing, knowledge, learning, natural history, New forest, passing it on, ponies, Rufus Stone, Satnav, tourism, Victorian, visitor, wildlife, woodfidley
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New Forest: harvesting holly for Christmas.
Last month (posted December 2015), as I made my way into the New Forest to check on my free-roaming ponies, I came across several contractors harvesting holly for the Christmas trade. This winter activity has long been a legitimate part … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest customs, New Forest pony
Tagged butcher, Christmas, Evergreen, harvesting, holly, ivy, Lymington, Lyndhurst, New forest, pony, railway, seagull, Victorian, Workhouse
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The blind man who saved the New Forest.
In the market square of Salisbury stands the statue of Henry Fawcett. Ask most people passing by who he was or what he did to be memorialised in this way and they probably wouldn’t be able to tell you. But … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged 1871 Act, 1877 Act, blind, commoners, Commons Preservation Society, dissaforestation, Forestry Commission, Hansard, Henry Fawcett, John Stuart Mill, New forest, Octavia Hill, Office of Woods, Open Spaces Society, Parliament, post office, public park, Salisbury, Victorian, Welfare State, William Wordsworth
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Stallions on the New Forest
There has been a lot of excitement on the New Forest recently due to the stallions being released onto the Open Forest. This is an annual event and, this year (2014), ten male ponies have been turned out to run … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest pony, New Forest Pony Drift
Tagged Arabian, Commoner, cull, Eclipse, Elizabeth I, foals, Henry VIII, mares, Marske, Michaelmas, nature, New forest, New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society, slaughter, stallions, Thoroughbred, Tudor, Verderers, Victorian, wild
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New Forest: history lessons, hunting and conservation.
With the development of high-tech communication tools the world seems to be becoming a smaller place. News, images and videos from the far reaches of the world are available in an instant on your TV, computer or mobile phone. Much … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged Birdlife-Malta, birds, conservation, history, Malta, Montgue's harrier, New forest, osprey, Robert Carter, sea eagle, shooting, Social media, specimen collectors, Victorian
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