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: William the Conqueror
New Forest: celebrating Carta de Foresta 1217
Bonfire Night, Fireworks Night, or Guy Fawkes Night, call it what you may, is a tradition that commemorates a failed plot to blow up the House of Lords and assisinate King James I of England and VI of Scotland with … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged 1217, 1605, 5th, 6th, Bonfire, Carta de Foresta, Charter of the Forest, commoners, Fireworks, Forest Law, Gunpowder Plot, Guy Fawkes, Henry III, House of Lords, James V&VI, King James, Magna Carta, New forest, November, Parliament, privilege, protection, pyrotechnic, rights, William the Conqueror
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Rufus the Red/King William II – death in the New Forest
On the 2nd August 1100 occurred an incident in the New Forest so controversial that nearly a thousand years later historians are still arguing about the conclusion – was it an accident or was it murder? The incident of course … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest
Tagged 1100, 2 August, Abbott Serlo, Anglo Saxon Chronicle, Coronation Charter, coronation edict, Duke of Bernay, Henry I, hunting accident, King William II, Magna Carta, murder, New forest, Orderic Vitalis, Purkis, regicide, Rufus the Red, Walter Tirel, Walter Tyrrel, William of Malmesbury, William Rufus, William the Conqueror, Winchester Conqueror
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New Forest: fence month
William the Conqueror, who is credited with establishing the New Forest in the 11th century, was a keen huntsman and created laws of venison and vert to protect his quarry and its habitat. The forest laws that he introduced were … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner
Tagged Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Charter of the Forest, commoners, commoning, Court of Verderers, deer, Deer Removal Act, fence month, Forest Law, Justice in Eyre, Lyndhurst, New forest, New Forest Act, Orders and Rules of the New Forest, quit rent, wild beasts, William the Conqueror
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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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New Forest: the importance of names
When William the Conqueror established his ‘Nova Foresta’ in 1079AD he did so to create an area for royal hunting. The New Forest was named as such, not because it was a densely wooded area, but because it was an … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner
Tagged Angles, Doomsday Book, Jutes, National Nature Reserves (NNR), National Park, New forest, Normans, Nova Foresta, park, Ramsar, Saxons, Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Special Protected Areas (SPA), venison, vert, William the Conqueror
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Agisters of the New Forest
The practise and management of commoning on the New Forest has, since 1698, been devised and protected by Acts of Parliament. However, the history of commoning in the area predates even the creation of the ‘Nova Foresta’ by William the … Continue reading
Famous New Forest inhabitants
I recently wrote an article about ‘celebrity’ trees on the New Forest and have since received requests for information about other famed inhabitants. An obvious candidate is King William I, otherwise known as William the Conqueror, who established the Nova … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest, New Forest Commoner, New Forest pony
Tagged Alice in Wonderland, Alice Liddell, celebrities, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, Duke of Bernay, Florence Nightingale, Henry Brusher Mills, Henry Lyte, Hollywood A-Listers, Lawrence of Arabia, Lewis Carroll, New forest, New Forest pony, Old Tame, Purkis, Rufus the Red, Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, snake catcher, William the Conqueror
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A calf called ‘Mary Christmas’
When William the Conqueror declared, in 1079AD, his intention to create a Nova Foresta, he did so because he wanted to establish a royal hunting park. However, the laws he created to protect the game also provided for the creation … Continue reading
Posted in New Forest Commoner
Tagged Aberdeen Angus, Agister, Calf, Commoner, communication, cooperation, Cow, Mary, Merry Christmas, mutual support, network, New forest, social, William the Conqueror
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