Blog Archives

Christopher Tower Library

The New Forest Centre‘s library has a remarkable collection of material that is available to those interested in the written history of the New Forest. The New Forest Trust has made several donations to the Library including one to provide a fund for immediate purchase of books and papers.

This funding was needed because experience showed that too often the centre was unable to buy an important document because it took too long to raise the money required. Having a fund with immediately available finance took away the risk that such documents would be lost to their collection.

Oral History Project

The Trust helped local volunteers to make ‘oral history’ recordings of the special memories of elderly commoners, whose fascinating stories describe life in the Forest back to the 1930s. Using Heritage Lottery funding, the Trust provided the volunteers with recording equipment and training in interview techniques.

In just the last hundred years there have been huge changes to life in the Forest. There are still people who can remember how life used to be before traffic jams, telephones, televisions and many other changes that we now take for granted. The Trust has launched a dedicated website for the commoning history project: www.newforestmemories.org.uk

If you’d like to find out more, or you know someone who might like to be recorded, please email oral.history@newforestrust.org.uk

 

 

A-Z of Commoning and the New Forest

We produce and distribute thousands of copies of our A-Z guide of to help people learn more about the commoning animals, New Forest way of life and the rules of the area to help keep everybody safe.

If you would like a paper copy of our A-Z or think you can help stock or distribute it then please contact us

Click the letters below to learn more about the New Forest.

 

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

 

The Stallion Scheme

The New Forest Trust contributed to the funds needed to help pay for grazing for stallions when they are not out on the Forest.

The Stallion Scheme was carefully developed to help reduce the number of foals born on the Forest by limiting the number of stallions and only letting them out during some of the summer months.

The New Forest Verderers manage the Scheme and they select the stallions that are allowed out on the Open Forest. Although the Stallion Scheme helps to ensure the best quality of foals are raised on the Forest more importance is given to the fact that the welfare of the ponies is much improved, especially in winter.

Preventing Animal Accidents

The New Forest Trust commissioned a report on animal accidents; as a result and at the request of the Commoners Defence Association we also paid for and distributed leaflets through local organisations.

The Trust printed and distributed two runs of 15,000 leaflets, the second in conjunction with the British Deer Society New Forest branch. The Commoners Defence Association is particularly concerned about injury and death to livestock. The British Deer Society share the same concern about the loss of deer on New Forest roads.