THE NEW FOREST - History and Statistical Information    

The New Forest area was originally woodland, with parts being cleared for cultivation by Stone Age and Bronze Age man.   In 1080 William the Conqueror designated  the New Forest as a Royal Forest to be used for deer hunting.  The Domesday Book  shows the earliest record as  "Nova Foresta" in 1086.

The  inhabitants of thirty-six parishes were evicted, although they retained “ rights of common” allowing common pasture  - the turning out of their animals into the Forest to graze.

Other Commoners rights included:

• Gathering of wood and peat for fuel
• Digging of clay
• Gathering of bracken (after 29 September) as litter for animals
• Right to turn out PIGS (between September and November) to eat fallen acorns and beechnuts.  (Pigs can eat acorns, but they are poisonous to ponies and cattle). Outwith this period, pigs must be taken in and kept on the owner's land. Pregnant sows, known as privileged sows, are always allowed out, providing they are not a nuisance and are returned to their own land at night.

Individual plots of land have rights attached to them, and the owner pays a marking fee for each animal, each year. These marks are shown on an ear-tag or collar.

The grazing still done by the commoners' ponies and cattle is an essential part of the management of the Forest.The animals freely roam throughout the open heath and woodlands, and are frequently seen in the New Forest villages where they  wander into gardens and shops!

The New Forest provides large ecologically valuable lowland habitats - heathlands, bog,  grassland and wood-pasture and deciduouswoodland habitats with their associated wildlife.  

It covers about 571 km2 (141,000 acres), making it the largest area of un-sown vegetation in lowland Britain.

The New Forest is made up of the following (approx):  

*        146 km2  (36,000 acres) Broadleaved Woodland
*        118 km2  (29,000 acres) Heathland and Grassland
*          33 km2  (  8,200 acres) Wet Heathland
*          84 km2  (21,000 acres) Tree plantations established since the 18th  century
*          80 km2 (20,000 acres) Trees, managed by the Forestry Commission since the 1920s  

 

The New Forest area is drained to the south by the Lymington River and Beaulieu River, and on its westen side by the Dockens WaterHucklesbrook, Linbrook and other streams.

The flora and fauna of the New Forest is many and varied.  The equine varieties includes the New Forest Pony, Shetlands, Donkeys and their crossbreeds.

 

 

 

CATTLE breeds  include:  

• Galloways
• Highland
• Hereford
• Dexter
• Kerry
• British White and their cross-breeds

The New Forest was also the original home of the Wessex Saddleback PIG which is now extinct in Britain.

Numerous DEER also live deep in the Forest. Species include:

• Fallow
• Roe
• Red
• Sika (introduced)
• Muntjac (introduced)

The introduced North American Grey Squirrel took over from the native Red Squirrel in 1970s. The European Polecat has been reestablished in the western edge of the Forest, with the European Otter and introduced American Mink living along the various watercourses.

Rare PLANTS include:

• Marsh Gentian  (Gentiana pneumonanthe)
• Marsh Clubmoss (Lycopodiella inundata)
• Several species of Sundew can also be found

Rare INSECTS  include:

• New Forest Cicada (Cicadetta montana  the only cicada native to Great Britain
• Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale)
• Mole Cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)

BIRDS include:

• Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)
• Common Raven (Corvus corax)
• Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)
• Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)
• Dartford Warbler (Silvia undata)
• Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata)
• European Hobby (Falco subbuteo)
• Eurasian Nightjar (Caprumulgus europeaeus)
• European Stonechat (Saxicola rubecola)
• Great Grey Shrike (Lanius exubitor)
• Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus)
• Meadow Pipit (Anthus trivialis)
• Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)
• Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
• Red Kite (Milvus milvus)
• Stock Pigeon (Columba oenas)
• Tree Pipit (Anthus sylvestris)
• Woodlark (Lullula arborea)
• Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix)

All three British native species of SNAKE inhabit the Forest.

• Adder (Vipera berus) found on open heath and grassland
• Grass Snake (Natrix natrix) prefers the damper environment of the valley mires
• Smooth Snake (Coronella austriaca) rare, occurs along sandy heather and gorse hillsides

Other REPTILES include:

• Sand Lizard (Lacerta agilis)  reintroduced  in 1989
• Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus)
• Frogs
• Toads  

In the Great Storm of 1703 about 4,000 oak trees were lost. Plantations were then created, and the New Forest became a source of timber for the Royal Navy.  These plantations encroached on the rights of the Commoners, so new protection was given in 1877 which prohibited the enclosure of more than 65 km2 (16,000 acres) at any time. The Verderers were also reconstituted as representatives of the Commoners.

To meet the wartime demand for wood during the First and Second World Wars, broadleaved trees were felled and  replaced  by conifers.  This process is now being reversed with some conifer plantations being returned to heathland or broadleaved woodland.

 

Ninety percent (90%) of the New Forest is owned by the Crown, with around half of this land falling inside the new National Park, which has been managed by the Forestry Commission since 1923.

• The New Forest became a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1971 SSSI (covering almost 300 km2 (74,000 acres),
• It was granted New Forest Heritage Area in 1985.
• It was proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999
• It became a National Park  in 2005