BY THE

HON. E S G RALD LA CELLES , mvuon or a m mw ; 1wo or men

3i 'm 01 m m an 01 “ ma m

LONDON D W A R D A R N O L D 19 15

{All rights rmmd}

THIRTY-FIVE Y EARS IN THE NEW FOREST

BY THE

HON. R S O . B GE ALD LA CELLES , . DEPUTY SURVE YOR OF NEW FOREST ‘ ALSO OF ALICE HOLT WOOLM R B R AND PARKHU RST FORESTS , E , E E , STEWARD OF THE MANOR OF LYNDHUBST

“ THE STIRRUP OF RU FU S ”

LO ND O N E D W A R D A R N O L D 19 15

[All rights reserv ed]

, M Y D E A R W I F E

WHO BRIGHTENED FO R ME T H E YEARS O F

WHICH I WRITE I N THIS BOO K

3 7 2 7 00

C O N T E N T S

T U CT O I . IN ROD I N

‘ OROWN T HE C MMO S II . THE AND O NER

II I H O ST D . T E F RE IN ANGER

C V D IV . THE OURT OF ER ERERS

K S V . MA ING A TART

VI S M V S OLD NEW . O E ERDERER , AND

VI I . MY WO K MY S MY C S R , TAFF , AND HIEF

N EW D VIII . THE FOREST EER

IX H K ’S H S . T E ING OU E

R V X . OYAL ISITS

XI . FORESTRY

XII H U . NTING

X G NE III . SHOOTIN IN THE W FOREST

XI V . FALCONRY

ILLU STRATIONS

’ THE AUTHOR F rmztispzece

GRITNAM WOOD

V S ’ H K ’S H S THE ERDERER ALL, ING OU E

NEW FOREST PONIES

’ K G S H S 1904 N T S D THE IN OU E , ( OR H I E)

’ THE K ING S HOUSE (SOUTH SIDE) S ST 19 4 1. A RE ORED IN 0

B O S O O 2. EF RE RE T RATI N

AN ANCIENT POLLARD BEEC H

A MEET OF THE NEW FOREST FOXHOU NDS

ROB A H TS M TO H B CK ERT LLEN, UN AN T E U

S 1 6 HOUND , 89

THIRTY -F IVE YE ARS IN THE NEW FOREST

C HAPTER I

INTRODU CTI ON

I W A S born at Goldsbrough in Yorkshire in

ct ber 184 9 other n a tiv es O o , and , like many of that

c un t am o y, especially those who bear the same n e

a s myself, I became keenly interested in sport

from my very early days . At the age of Six

o I was duly blo ded by Charles Treadwell , who wa s huntsman to the Bramham Moor b oun ds for

- twenty thre e years . I went through the usual course o f education

t n l at E o and at Magdalene Co lege, Cambridge .

e t n I was nev r without a ferret at E o , and gene

a t rally had the least a Share in a dog . My

e o f Cambridge days were , p rhaps , the happiest my

f W e li e . had then a very cheery sporting set at

m n Sir i i . F tz will a m Magdalene A o g them Charles ,

' to now Crown Equerry. His Majesty ; the late

s J . Maunsell Richardson , who , beside playing A 5 2 fix EH NEW FOREST

cricket for Harrow and Cambridge, distinguished himself by training and riding the winners of the Grand National for two years in succession the present Lord Kesteven , and many others .

W e o f us all revelled in the drag, and at certain times Newmarket Heath occupied much of our

r leisu e .

of After leaving Cambridge , I had a spell ’ about four years in the City at Lloyd s , and in

8 5 ma rnied 1 7 , in which year I was , I joined a manufacturing firm at Leeds . The indoor life in the surroundings of Leeds

set was unendurable, and I to work in earnest

A - a to study Land gency, as more congenial pro f sion es , being helped thereto by being given a

f o f . r seat in the o fice Mr Constantine Moo som ,

agent to the Harewood estates , and by having

“ much work thrown open for my study and in Spection in the offices of other kind friends who

were members of my profession. In 1880 I was appointed by Lord Bea con sfield to the post o f Deputy Surveyor of the New Forest and the other Crown forests in Hampshire — h five in all besides other properties . T is en

d in o f taile , addition to the work the New Forest ,

o f a tract acres , a good deal of travelling about from o n e property to the other ; and from the time o f my appointment to that o f my retire INTRODU CTI ON

e leisu' e l m nt , my i hours , except when on eave ,

r few to u we e , and had always be made p for

i s . by work ng double tide My home , however , ’ New old u was in the Forest , at the King s Ho se ’ (the Queen s House for all the earlier years of my service) a t Lyndhurst ; and it is with my ) experiences there , rather than with my other work , that I propose to deal in these pages. I do not propose to attempt anything in the Shape — of a history of the NewForest that would be a difficult and much more serious undertaking ! I have only dipped into ancient records

n s r where they served or , i deed , were neces a y , in order to correctly describe the condition of Forest

e affairs as they pre sented themselv s to me. It took me years before I could find out the why and wherefore of many o f the customs and pre judice s that I encountered. But there generally wa s n a reaso , and , while it interested me to dig f out this concealed root, I also ound that when it wa s discovered it was often much appreciated

ha d by my local friends, who neither the time n o r the opportunity to hunt out these things

e for themselves . If, then , I have b en a little

ff s a e di u e in such m tters as these , and p rhaps

ma s especially in what I y call Forest politic , and the various sto rms that ever vex that

sea o n the of stormy which barques Crown , com 4 T HE NE W FOREST

moner, and British public alike contend in their

f a tra fic, I trust the re der who has no occasion to trouble himself with any of these things will

o f l bear with me , mindful ever as I am the loca foresters who love to discuss these matters .

e fil Inde d, a large book might be led with such disputations , but I have restricted myself solely to those which led to the events passing

o f -fiv e termina t in my brief space thirty years , 19 14 ing with .

a r Prosily no doubt , as is the wont of the g

' T ulus sen ex la uda tor tem oms , who is invariably p

’ a ctz se uer o u p , and though I have labo red to avoid those particular rocks , I doubt if anyone attempting my task could Steer his barque en

o f tirely clear them .

Lastly , I have written this . book , because it amused me to do so . Because it was pleasant

old to in my age recount , before memory slips

the quite away, incidents of best and happiest years o f my life . Because I liked just once

old old again to recall the fights , the hunts , the Old days o f good hard work in the woods and u about them , planning their fut re , realising their defects, and rejoicing when nature was propitious and plantations flourished . i In th s book , however , I have no single word

o sa o or . t y about p litics, local otherwise INTRODU CTION 5 C It is an unwritten rule of the Civil Service that its permanent officials take no part what

in o e ever politics . H wothers inte rpret this rul

a s fa r I know not , but I do know that as I was concerned I carefully abstained from a ll political action even of the most trifling descrip n b tio , and took care that my su ordinates acted

o n the same lines . I never attended a meeting

a of either p rty , or , in fact , gave any man a right to say o n which Side I wa s likely to cast my

vote . I have had the advantage of be ing able to refer to various papers and records in my office o f f -officia l o ficial or semi character, but I have ,

n n I trust , done nothi g to infri ge the Public

Ac of Secrets t. In fact many these pape rs have appe ared in print in various books be

n ow fore . Especially they wer e before the public in those articles which I myself wrote on New Forest Sport and Forestry in the Victoria County History of Hampshire ; and I am much indebted

. Co o f to Messrs Constable . , the publishers that

for ermI ssmn use work , their kind p to make of some of the paragraphs which then appeared in connection with the public papers which were

e quot d therein . Especially on various memo randa connected with the King’s House and 6 T HE NEW FOREST

e visits thereto , I have adopt d Victoria History as my auth ority for the quota tions from sundry papers in the Land Record

Office without y appending , as is therein done, the t precise reference , and da e of the particular document quoted from .

8 THE NEW FOREST

This great tract of acres is divided into the following classes of lands

Open hea th a n d pa sture Open la n ds with timber Pla nta tion s en closed o pen Freehold la n ds o f the CrOWn Priv a te property within the Forest

Over the whole of the acres which are

w o f Cro n property , the members public have the

or on privilege of roaming at will on horseback ,

or l so foot , with without whee ed transport , long as they do no harm and infringe none o f the very fewregulations that exist for the prote c tion of the public property . There are divided interests in various por f tions o the lands described above . There is

o f o f first the right the Crown , which is that the absolute owner of the whole acres

to that is say, over the whole Forest less the f acres o private lands .

- Secondly, there is the above mentioned privi

o f to ra cti lege all loyal subjects , amounting a p — — cal though not a legal right to wander in right of the Crown , not as against it , over the whole of the Crown property except those free T HE CROW N A ND C OMMONERS 9 holds which are In so me cases demised tempo ra rily to private individuals .

' dl of com Thir y, there are the rights the mon ers of the New Forest to exercise over certain portions of the Forest conjointly with the Crown

fi o f of certain de ned privileges pasture , pannage , and of estovers in respect o f the ownership of certain particular lands or houses .

s Of these commoners there are two section .

o f First , the landowner , often the proprietor

is o f a large estate, who the possessor the lands to which as set fo rth and defin ed by the

t e . Statu ory register , thes rights attach He is

o f the actual commoner , and the owner the r ights .

c Secondly , there is the exercising ommoner or the tenant to whomthe large proprietor has

his let land , to farm it in the ordinary course o f En glish estate management . These form the main body of the commoners who actually breed and turn o ut cattle and ponies in the

—fo r right of their landlord , the right attaches

or solely to the land the house , not to the indi

sub vidual , and for these rights they pay a sta n tia l amount in the form o f additional rent for v each right , and may be termed icarious commoners .

a o f There are lso a number small holders , 10 T HE NE W FOREST

o wn living on their own land and in their houses ,

o wn x who and e ercise rights of common . They are a very prosperous and praiseworthy commu n it y . They represent the genuine commoner and his interests far more than those landlords who

‘ out or who e let their rights , those tenants r nt a large farm and go in fo r pony ranching in the

own Forest, even though they perhaps the larger f proportion o the ponies running out. But the small freeholder is the real pony breeder and cattle

i on f and pg raiser small but e ficient lines , who

ought to be encouraged in every possible manner . It will be obvious that these common rights con

stitute o f a property great value , and that there is necessarily considerable friction between those who o wn and constantly desire to increase and

« o f enhance them , and the Crown as actual owner

the soil over which they are exercised , and again with the public exercising its privileges in right

of the Crown . This constant state of conflict has existed

r o f f om time immemorial , and been the subject numerous inquiries by official committees and o f Acts of Parliament based on the results of these

inquiries . It would be tedious to follow out these dis

cussion s for in full , but the purposes of this present story it is necessary to go back as fa r as T HE CROW N A ND COMMONERS 11

o f 185 1 a s the New Forest Act , generally known

the Deer Removal Act .

Act ll com rehen This , which fo owed upon a p sive inquiry by a Parliamentary Committee ’ ” a s D co m known Lord uncan s Committee , pletely transformed the whole character of the

to e Forest . Up that time it had b en maintained

(at considerable cost , it is true) as a vast and

a ll a nd l of beautiful p rk , we stocked with deer fu l

s of a n d o f wood fine timber , also others more scrubby and inferior trees which had no little

wa s beauty of their own , if their money value

’ n small . The Crown s rights to enclose la d for the growth of timber had only been exercised to

the e of 2000 re ext nt some acres , and this had sulted in the formation o f o a k woods o f about

150 old u r of years , eq al in beauty to any pa t the

Fores t . The whole forest was mainta ined o n

Royal lines as a beautiful domain , in a condition

to but now lost and ever be regretted , at that date diflicult to defen d from the practical point

The S6v ereign ha d long ceas ed to make any f S use of the Forest for purposes o port . The

general public hardly knew of its existence , and

of before the days even railway accommodation , d visitors to the Forest must have been few indee . The commoners clamoured for the removal o f the 12 T HE NEW FOREST i deer , under the mpression that they would get for their cattle all the pasturage absorbed ‘ by of them . The Treasury , from motives economy, lent a willing ear to the proposal . It was gene rally felt , from a practical point of view , that a better use could be made o f that part o f this great national property which consisted of timber growing soil than wa s the case at that time ; and after the fullest possible inquiry into the matter by Parliament the Deer Removal Act was passed

185 1 the l in the year , and pa my days of the beautiful Old Forest came to an end . The main points o f the Ac t were ( 1) that wO the deer should be removed within t years .

2 of ( ) That a Register Common Rights . Should be compiled , deciding once and for ever what common rights should attach ' to the various plots of land concerned . This was a most costly volume to prepare ; it absorbed about Six years £6 000 but of time, and cost some , it was of great value to the commoners as well as the

o s Crown , by securing all their rights against p sible intrusion by any outside parties . The Crown was to be compensated for the surrender of the right to stock the Forest with dear to the absolute limit of the animals it could maintain by being given a right to enclose land , for the growth o f timber as against the com T HE CRO W N A ND COMMONERS 13 mon ers of 10 000 d t , to the extent , acres , in a di ion to A the rights conferred by previous cts , amount

to 6000 to ing acres , with the right throw out lands when the woodlands upon them were thought to be of an age when they were safe from damage by cattle and to enclose the like quantity from the open Forest , but so that the area under enclosure Should never exceed

on e acres at time .

At the time , this arrangement seemed to satisfy all partis si The Crown gained a power which practically in course of years would eu able it to cover with timber the whole o f the Forest wherever the soil was sufficiently goo d

o for that purp se . The commoners were protected in so far that their cattle could never be ex cluded from more than acres at one time . And this safeguard appeared to content them at —if the time , indeed , contentment has ever been known to that body . They looked forwar d to enhanced profits by getting for their cattle the — whole of the feed which the deer to the number — generally of from 4 000 to 6 000 had hitherto

. im consumed They also got their register, of mense value to them , which settled all their

a claims and gave them a st tutory position . CHAPTER III

TH E F OREST I N D A NGER

FOR but a while things went well , in a Short u time discontent Sprang p. In the first place

u ha d the register, val able as it is , rather seriously discounted the rights o f the commoners and

n others as they had imagi ed them to be , and as ,

s s in some ca e , they had actually exercised them .

or Various customs , alleged customs , were found to be altogether outside the limits of the rights to t which , by ancien practice or grant , the commoners

were entitled . When all these matters were ca refully gone into by three gentlemen learned in the law (one o f whom subsequently rose to

of the position of Lord Chief Justice England) , the various claims o f the commoners were con

sidera bl a nd y boiled down , a great number of

e x o f persons , who had be n e ercising rights

w to s common , ere found posse s legally no such

t . righ s at all Altogether the register, useful as it wa s to the genuine owner or exerciser o f

wa s these rights , not altogether an unmixed

blessing to the whole countryside .

W a ll e orst of , p rhaps , was the discovery that , 14

16 T HE NE W FOREST

‘ o f Act , and the condition the Forest was just as much on e of discontent as it had been for the

r t of ff p evious hundred years , in spi e the e orts that had been made to satisfy it . These agitations continued until the whOle question of the Operation o f the Deer Removal

— of Act the discontent the commoners , before and Since the passing of that remedial measure was referred in 1868 to a Committee of the

of House Lords . That Committee made a very full and judicial inquiry into the rights and the wrongs of both

of o f sides , and its report was much the nature

o a judgment of Solomon , viz . that , since fr m time immemorial grievances and disputes had been

f on ri e both sides , to which there seemed to be no solution , the time had come to destroy the

of ff bone contention , and to disa orest and par tition up the whole Forest . This was the con clusion to which most people , having regard to the precedents in other cases , had been driven

s 1 9 . so a 78 long before Indeed , long ago the same solution had been arrived at and carefully considered by a Royal Commission , despairing , as

o f 1868 r the House Lords did in , of a riving at a reconciliation o f the conflicting interests ; but for tun a tel y they decided to postpone the evil day , and try remedial measures first .

T HE FOREST IN DANGER 17 It was now considered as a Settled thing that the New Forest as a whole was to cease to

w e exist . Not that there ould not still have b en

o r o f a very large wild tract , tracts heath inter

o d of Spersed with wo dlan s , left for the enjoyment the public , but large sections would also have been allotted to the commoners in satisfaction o f their rights which would have been enclosed and

u l a broken p, whi e the large llotment to the Crown would for the most part have been culti — v a ted as timber plantations enjoyable enough in

~ future but fir e . A the , not when st plant d nyhow ,

t a s to the ancient New Forest , already cur ailed

x its amenities , would have ceased to e ist from the passing o f the necessary Act . A certain section of common right owners were at first a good deal attracted by the pro

o f of posal , because the large additions freehold lands which they would have gained for their

of n estates , in lieu commo rights , which , to a

of good many them, were not worth a great m deal . But the smaller com oners , and all the

n on - large commoner population of the district , f were much opposed to the loss o the Forest . The small commoner did n o t think that the com pen sa tion he would receive would really make u f of p o r the loss his right . The bulk of the local residents who are n o t commoners would get B 18 T HE NEW FOREST n o compensation whatever for the loss of their pleasure ground . So the agitation against the ’ recommendations o f the Lords Committee grew until it might almost be said to be unanimous locally , at any rate . But the agitation of a number o f private indi v idua ls o n o f o r , behalf their own profit pleasure , might not have availed a ga mst the arguments in favour o f the more profitable use of the public property had not a far more powerful ally come to their assistance in the shape o f the public

dis itself, in whose interests it was supposed afforestation was necessary The Cflice o f Woods and the Committee o f the House o f Lords had overlooked the great and growing craving for Open spaces free to the public . They quite forgot the increasing love of beauty and o f fine scenery which was becoming

o f implanted in the minds the general public . They altogether overlooked the force of the aes

to thetic movement , which may be said have — started with the Great Exhibition o f 185 1 a force which would induce the majority of the public gladly to waive some thousands o f pounds Of a dditional income rather than lose this mag

o f n ifice n t park to take their pleasure in . Last t all , hey forgot that at about even date with the

o f D passing the eer Removal Act , the London T HE FOREST IN DANGER 19 and Dorchester Railway was made right through

o f the Forest , and was bringing thousands people to explore it and to discover what it was

s of worth to them . Those thou ands visitors now

a - f s a n d days , with improved railway acilitie the

t of n r adven mecha ical t action on the roads , have i grown into mill ons, as all who know the Forest

f o f will recognise , and it was well that the orce

e d the movemnt was realised in goo time , and the

d so Forest , as it then existe , was preserved to be

n owis . highly appreciated , as undoubtedly it 18 0 7 . Accordingly , in , Mr Fawcett induced the House of Commons to pa ss a resolution prohibit Ing further planting or enclosin g pending legisla tion and until the whole New Forest question had been further inquired into . This gave the commoners and local residents

to to time organise their forces , and especially combine with their new ally in the shape of altered public Opinion , and the movement in

s e favour of open space , which was b ing power fully worked by the Commons Preservation

Society . These adjuncts were organised for all

r they we e worth , and dovetailed into the plea

o f for preservation local interests ably and well . The Office o f Woods missed making the point that if the public desired to maintain the Forest as a great public park , they were there and ready to 20 T HE NE W FOREST

a s of so do it , servants the public , if instructed , far better than by having their hands tied to

a ll prevent economical management , and leave

h lia mn é i . t Pa r e other policy to dr ft However , e

t of 1875 tary Commit ee was appointed , and con sidered the question ; and although the preservation o f the amenities of the Forest for the use o f the

o n public was the underlying principle , yet the

o f 1877 whole their report , and the Act which

for the followed thewreon , were a great victory commoners , hose case was far more ably pre

sented than was that for the Crown . The net result was that the extensive powers o f planting for the sake of perpetuating and in crea sing the national stock of timber which had

Act of 185 1 been conferred by the , were alto

d No t gether surrendere . an acre, beyond what

e wa s to has be n already dealt with , ever be

o f l taken in and planted , and the land a ready taken in (some acres) only were

o e ever to be enclosed at n time .

2 2 T H E NE W FOREST

moners , and they alone were to have a hold , by

two an election held in rotation every years , over the Court that had hitherto dealt solely with

a the Forest m nagement .

s e The e elections are , I beli ve , the only ones left where open voting prevails . This ingeniously devised constituency was en tirely upset by the revision a n d lowering o f the 18 85 . franchise , which took place in By that alteration there became entitled to vote at a

a t p rliamentary election , and consequently at hat of u of a verderer, an enormo s number persons

n ot d Ac o f 18 who were qualifie by the t 77. In ’ s fact , if a verderers election were to arou e keen interest and the whole constituency recorded its ’ vote , the commoners vote, taken by itself, would be completely swamped by that of the other residents in and around the Forest who have no

a ll! t o f f common rights at But , as a ma ter act ,

a nl there h ve o y been two contested elections, and hardly anyone but those interested in com

’ e moners questions cared to record their vot s , the polls being very small ones , and the interest taken in them very limited . The powers of the verderers were increased in

New Act 1877 several respects by the Forest , ,

but a t“ under which it is now governed , the

a re same time they not very clearly defined . THE COU RT OF VERDERERS 28

Some clauses o f the Act are overridden by

t e is il ft others , and al ogeth r it a clums y dra ed ff dif a air, ficult to understand , although many

’ counsels opinions have been ca lled in to en dea v our to arrive at an interpretation on various

on e points , and or two lawsuits have resulted . Altogether this Act ha s cost a great deal o f

money to interpret . So impossible of administration was it that two years later the New Forest Act of 1879 had to be passed in order to enable the new ’ authority over commoners rights to escape the responsibility of enforcing the terms o f the

r registe of those rights , which was compiled in 1854 and regarded as so great a safeguard to

By the terms of this Act the verderers were authorised to issue licences to n on -commoners to depasture their cattle in the Forest in contra

v en tion o f r wa s the Fo est laws, which rather

an admission of weakness in the new regime . e The ancient oath of the verderer, which dat d back to Norman times and rather resembled the the oath of allegiance taken by a member o f

of SO the House Commons , was abolished , that the members o f the new Court should be troubled by no scruples when they attacked the

interests of the Crown . 2 4 T HE NE W FOREST

A new and nondescript member of the Court

Oflicia l was added , who was called the Ver derer He is nominated by the Crown , which thereby gains a solitary representative in the

Oflicia l Court , provided that the Verderer takes the view that he is in any way pledged to sup port the Crown . But his duties are entirely — un defin ed except that he is to act as the Chair

Of f man the Court . Some O ficial Verderers have interpreted their obligations in one way—others in quite a different manner . Those who con sider themselves bound to support Crown in terests a n d o n and authority , to confer such matters with the departments in charge o f the — Forest still in charge o f and wholly responsible

f o f 1877 there ore to the public , in Spite the Act of — usually have found themselve s in a minority o f on e re , as against six other verderers who garded no interests but those o f their con stituen ts An d , the commoners . this was the natural and inevitable consequence of the recon stitution o f the Court . CHAPTER V

M AK ING A ? STA RT — IN this condition with novel experiments in ill legislation on every hand , and with all the feelings and suspicions on both sides , engendered by so prolonged and bitter a contest as had — been raging for the previous ten years I found 1 the Forest when I arrived in February 880. I was perfectly ignorant o f all that had been going on : marvellous as it seemed to my

o f new neighbours , I had actually never heard ” the New Forest Question . I knew nothing

of whatever the storms that had been raging , or why there should have been any storms at ! - all I found myself terribly ill informed , and set to work to study the various questions .

c Beginning with recent occurren es , and read

o f ing backwards , I studied the whole the evi dence given before the Committee o f the House o f 5 1875 x e Commons in , and then e amin d the outcome thereof in the form of the Act o f 18 77. Gradually I extended my readin gs and h study of correspondence, till I reached t at best 25 26 NE W T HE , FOREST i and most valuable h story of the Forest , the Report in 1789 of the Committee appointed to t W inquire in o all the oods , Forests , and Land

of Revenue the Crown . NO on e who desires to master all the disputes and discussions of the last 120 years Should fail to study this most excellent and

comprehensive report , which deals in measured judicial language with the troubles arising from

the t various conflicting interes s , which were just A the same in those days as they are now .

first- on r a rate map , a la ge sc le , known as ’ ” D on e e river s Survey , formed of the appendic s

to the Act.

f o ut— on e One factor only is le t the new ,

e viz . , the gr at and increasing interest now taken in the amenities of the New Forest by the

public at large . It is this new point in the argument that will ultimately —nay even now — has become the dominant feature Of the whole

question . u While I had plenty to read p, and all the

ul Ofli ce reg ar business of the to transact , I had

also to learn to find my way about the Forest ,

and to see for myself all that was going o n . To this end I imported a couple of thorough

- - bred four year olds likely to make hunters , and set to work with a pocket map to find my way MAKING A START 27

to from place place . For I always found that

‘ if I had worked my way by map o r plan it wa s

wa s never forgotten , but the route that shown

’ me by a companion was likely enough to Slip out — ma of my head alone , with a p, is the way to learn a new country . I had a sa d double reverse in the first month of my office by the almost simultaneous

o f W deaths my first assistant , illiam Reed , who

e had served the Crown for ov r thirty years , and not only knew every stick an d stone in the

ha d Forest , but also at his fingers ends all the

u s c stoms and habits of the resident , and in most cases the character and antec edents of

f of every on e o them . The loss this min e of

f Wa s a COO er in ormation irrep rable ; and Harry p ,

“ wa s who died in the same week , by far the best

o f and most capable the Forest keepers . He wa s son o f CoO er the George p , keeper of Boldre wood Walk since the old deer removal days

was d h and before them ; he a well educate , ighly

a s a trained man , was shown by the di ry and i notes which he left beh nd. The loss of these

wa s two men a great blow , and it must have taken me two years at least to pick up what they could have told me in a month . hi In addition to t s , my second assistant , John ’ o Holloway, who had s me forty years ! 28 THE NEW FOREST

the Forest , had become very infirm , had in fact tendered his resignation , and only consented

“ to carry on his duties in viewo f the awkward pos ition in which I found myself placed ; for though I Often got excellent advice from him he was n ot able to get about the Fo rest with me to any extent , and he lived eight miles away .

out In short , I had to set to work to find every

wa s thing for myself, and very hard work it for I found it to o dangerous to go outside my f ft sta f for information , a er I made the discovery that there were among the principal residents

‘ some who were no t at a ll above taking a dv a n tage o f the difficulties of my position in order

for en to gain themselves small concessions , and dea v oured to persuade me that it was in accord ance with Forest customs that they should thus profit by my ignorance . Altogether I found that in the disturbed state o f local feeling it wa s better to trust nobody , and the first two or three years in the

’ Forest were hard ones for me . In addition to this I had hardly reorganised my staff and got

—Mr it into working order when my chief . James w— Kenneth Ho ard died , and I lost a most

a s kindly amiable friend , well as a good guide . He wa s succeeded by Sir Henry afterwards — Lord Loch , a most able administrator, who came

3 0 T HE NE W FOREST

A certain section of the residents o f the New

m to Forest , with what they i agined be astute

u suc ness, got p an Opposition to the Bill , and

ceeded so l in getting it modified that , whi e the

of relief the poor was provided for , everything in the Shape of highway maintenance was struck

ou t.

The idea Of these agitators was that the Crown would be compelled for its own sake to

o f maintain the roads for them . Nothing the

sort happened . The Treasury , having consented

to a contribution for the local poor rates , was far less inclined than before to expend additional

o n So n ot money local interests . the roads were repair ed at all except just SO much a s to enable f . W o timber to be carted orst all , as the turn

effluxio n pike trusts expired by the of time , the

e main roads became impassable , and the great r part of the New Forest wa s rapidly becoming impossible for wheeled traffic: In other districts it was provided that as the turn pike trusts ex pir ed the maintenance of the road should fall on But the rates . here , in the New Forest , it had been contrived that there should be no rates f for it to all on . These great turnpike roads

t o n e became derelic . No was responsible , and

ff a the country su ered greatly . Surely such condition o f things could never have happened MAKING A START 3 1

except in the New Forest . Nothing but an Act of Parliament would suffice to get it o ut o f the dl mud e .

In introducing his Bill , Sir Henry Loch had careful regard to the element in the Forest that was so hostile to all o r any proposals emanating

a n d to from the Crown , induced the Treasury allow h imto make a liberal offer with a viewto obtain

ing a settlement of the matter , without too strict

a regard to Crown interests . SO he proposed to the various local highway boards that all the roads should be placed in good order by the

n Crow , and certain new ones made , and that the County Surveyor should be appointed arbitrator

c wa to de ide whether the work s properly done .

o f ff Most the boards accepted this o er , and

to . W e set the Act was passed work , and in about two years we had good roads and new

- roads over three fourths o f the Forest . But

! o n c alas the western side, nothing would indu e

to the rural board to come terms, led as they

’ were by a gentleman whose hostility to all

wa s Crown action very marked . As the two principal main roads passe d fo r

o f part their course through this district , they u could only be repaired p to the boundary thereof,

The and through communication was impossible .

matter grew to be a considerable scandal . A 3 2 T HE NEW FOREST man was upset in his cart owing to the condition o f o n the road , and killed the Spot . Luckily the D eus ex ma chin e arose in the form of the County

d . Councils, which at that time were constitute At the very first meeting of the Hants County Council this scandal was brought up for discus sion The representative of the Obstructive District Council attempted to carry o n his old

o f line argument , and to defend the action which he had advised his Council to adopt . He met with a short shrift . The County Council that day took the main roads into its hands , and made a prOposa l to the Crown to take over their main ten a n ce on far more liberal terms than those which the Crown had already Offered to give .

sa Needless to y, with two authoritative bodies involved free from petty local prejudice , the matter was Speedily settled , and with it the f vexed question o New Forest roads . The system All was complete . existing roads were repaired , and their maintenance was settled . The Crown

a d accepted all , n more than all , the obligations o f n - a liberal landowner, governi g the largest pro

of wa s perty the district , and at last I able to contemplate something attempted , something ” o f done, to alleviate one , at any rate , the vexed

o f to questions the locality , and achieve a genuine practical improvement. CHAPTER VI

S M D L D AND NE W O E VER ERERS , O

! DU RING these years the newly constituted Ver ’ der ers o f Court , having obtained the assistance an additional Act o f Parliament to lighten its re s on sibilities wa s to p , beginning find its legs and form its policy .

1877 of By the Act of , each the then existing verderers appointed under the ancient laws was entitled to retain his seat on the new court if

so o f he chose to do . Only two the number

of elec ted to continue to act . The remainder the court was elected in manner prescribed , and naturally wa s formed from the ranks o f those who had been the bitterest opponents o f the Crown and at the same time the keenest sup

of o f porters the interests the commoners . The clerk of the court was newly appointed , and had

its or ffi no experience Of work . F O cial Verderer

n d of Mr . Sclater Booth , a disti guishe member the

Conservative Government , was nominated , and he fille d the position with complete impartiality and dignity . 3 4 T HE NE W FOREST

The two verderers o f the ancient r egime who remained at their posts were Sir Edward Hulse

and Sir Henry Paulet . Of Sir Edward Hulse I

a vi i ta n tum s d . l may y, He was already in fai

ing health when I met him , and only attended a f few meetings o the new court. As soon as it

to on might be said be fairly its legs , Sir Edward

of old retired . He was a fine specimen the

of o f school country gentlemen , and unimpeach able fairness in his dealings between Crown and commoner , and with all men besides . Sir Henry ’ Pa ulet s c was a remarkable , if slightly e centric,

re personality . He was very well known and s ected p in all circles in and around the Forest .

A o f keen sportsman , and chairman the Hunt

Club , he was also a regular Shooter in the Forest ’ of many years experience . His appearance on

n these occasio s was remarkable . He was very tall , and something rugged in appearance . He invariably wore his shirt and coat sleeves rolled up above his elbows . Putties were not then in

use so n general in this country , Sir He ry used as

a substitutes ordinary blue stable band ges . His shooting -coat appeared to be about the same age

wa s c as himself, and hung about with queer po kets ,

c A do & . g whistles , dog whips , ltogether the the tout ensemble was such that it really wa s not to be surprised at that when a certain timid

3 6 T HE NE W FOREST o n lst October , and in my first year he invited me to c ome to luncheon with him and shoot the W — . e l pheasants a—fterwards sallied forth o n y the two o f us Sir Henry with his bandages and

fa t bare arms , and two large and retriever dogs ,

one brown , the other black .

The pheasants were mostly in turnips, and the

of sport not the highest class, but I have seldom ’ so ft At laughed much in an a ernoon s shooting .

e very shot both dogs invariably ran in , and as invariably Sir Henry gave them the contents of his remaining ba rrel at a range far shorter than

s I . have ever seen dog shot for correctional pur W poses before . hen they ran in to my Shot , he

gave them both barrels , impartially , right and

left . The dogs , which certainly had the most

curly and woolly coats imaginable, never seemed

o f C to mind . Neither them ever howled or eased

to . run in I think he hit them quite often , but

the whole proceeding was irresistibly comical , and I could not help thinking that if only

they could be sold by the pound , what with the fat and the thick coats and the enormous amount o f lea d that they must have accumulated

in their hindquarters , these dogs would have a value surpassing that of the most valuable re

triev ers that ever ran at trials . 1886 Sir Henry Paulet died in , which severed V E O L D A ND NE W 3 SOME ERD RERS , 7 the last link between the ancient Court o f Ver derers with all its historical associations and the

‘ 18 new ahd totally different court created in 77.

As s these Older members pa sed away , their places were filled by co -Option from the ranks of the party which had conducted the bitter cam pa ign against the Crown from which the new

o f o n court resulted . The character the court , which Sir Henry Paulet had exercised a wise

e and restraining influence , became much alter d , and it was rapidly degenerating into little more than a committee of commoners , with no object in view but to enhance their rights and attack f d impair those o the Crown . While this policy might commend itself to those who only desired to see the common rights so exaggerated that they absorbed the whole

of Forest , it completely destroyed the status this

a n d o ut its ancient and venerable court , wiped

a s judicial position . It w inconceivable that cases should be brought before a court nominally a

Of c of court justi e , when the members that court ceased not to proclaim on every house - to p

to on e that they were pledged support interest ,

nl and one o y. So after several honest attempts to give the verderers a chance to keep up the jurisdiction

Of c a the ourt , and to de l impartially with all 3 8 T HE NE W FOREST

cases brought before it , the practice fell into desuetude , and it is now a long time since a . case was brought before the verderers to dea l with ff judicially , save only minor o ences , under their o wn - bye laws . Not long after the death of the last of the old verderers , Lord Basing retired from the posi

o f f tion O ficial Verderer . He made no secret at — — all to me at least o f his decision that he could no longer continue to hold the position of Crown ’ representative on the Verderers Court after they had adopted a policy of attacking Crbwn interests and undermining Crown authority on every po s sible plea . There was no little difficulty in filling up

’ Ba sin s the vacancy caused by Lord g resignation , which , indeed , had been long decided upon , as wa s matter o f common knowledge for about two years .

i o f Finally , Lord Montagu Beaulieu , a dearly

o f own to loved relative my , consented step into

un the breach and accept the position . A more fortunate decision was never arrived at . Lord Montagu was of all the men in the world the

last that should have taken up this burden . A ma n at once the most amiable and high -minded

of English gentlemen , he had , as many a time

he told me, in our conversations on the impend V O L D AND 3 9 SOME ERDERERS , NEW in o f dis ua li g retirement Lord Basing , every q fica tion for the post he Often refused and finally

- was over persuaded to assume . 0

He was , to begin with , already an elected member o f the new court . He was also the

o f largest owner of rights common in New Forest , and thus deeply interested in the business side o f h f t e management o Forest politics . In the case of such a man as Lord Montagu this mattered but little to those who knew him intimately ; but to the rest o f the world it only appeared — — that all men even peers of the realm were very human , and that the chance of controlling ’ favourably his own and his fiien ds interests on the Cour t of Verderers would appeal to the

o ff practical view o f an able man f a airs . But besides this Lord Montagu had been , as Lord f P . o the M . Henry Scott , for South Hants , one ’ leading Spirits in the attack o n the Crown s 1 i ownership o f the Forest in 875 . H s colleagues and intimate associates were gradually Obtaining the control of the court they at that time strove to al of establish , and the overpowering loy ty

’ Lord Mon ta gus disposition almost forbade him to take any view hostile to theirs , although he had become nominally the guardian o f the very interests which they—and indeed he himself

so had jointly attacked for many years . 4 0 T HE NE W FOREST

Of course there could be only one ending to

’ e o n e this , and it came sp edily . In year s time Lord Monta gu resigned the position o f Ofli cia l

Verderer . He never ought to have accepted it .

SO he said time and again , and the task he essayed was too difficult a one for a n y man to

undertake . Perhaps the best compliment paid to Lord Montagu came from my Official chief at that

C B. period , Mr . George Culley , . , who had been

l the a together outside New Forest controversies , and knew Lord Montagu personally only very

slightly . He was duly informed by the Treasury o f the appointment as Official Verderer o f Lord

o f a Montagu in lieu Lord B sing, and naturally

was a little taken aba ck . But in his reply (I quote from memory) he said that the appointment to that position of

o f the largest owner common rights , who was ' also a most active supporter of those rights as im against the Crown , would have created an possible situation in the case o f any person

other than Lord Montagu , in whose appoint d ment he cordially acquiesce . Lord Montagu was succeeded by the Right

Ho n o f . Evelyn Ashley , who became chairman the court just at the time when the attitude of

ha i the v erderers d become most uncomprom sing . V O L D A ND NE W 4 1 SOME ERDERERS ,

Point after point was being raised by which it was sought to oust the jurisdiction o f the Crown At and to thwart its management . last the

was the doctrine formulated that , although Forest

wa s of the property the Crown , and although its management was vested in the Office of Works a s

o f w servants the Cro n , yet the interests of the commoners were such that nothing might be done by the Crown o r any person thereby authorise d which could affect even technically one single blade o f glass that the animal o f a commoner might possibly have eaten if it came that way

f r eductio a d a bsur d m wa s o u . This , course , a Under this theory no man might ride a shod

c horse a ross the waste, nor carry a stick with a

a s — ferule o n it . There w no remedy for it wa s admitted that by no possibility could the ver

derers give a consent to any act which , they

s sought to contend , was a trespas against the

o f actual rights the commoners . Obviously such an absurdity did n o t really e O flzicers xist , and the law ere long gave a de

ni o r its cided Opi on that , although the Crown nominees might not do any serious o r even tangible injury to the rights o f any commoner as

Ole a c to o r f exercised , yet that small technical

te hn i damage which did not actually , though c

r cally it might , injure the genuine inte est Of 4 2 T HE NE W FOREST

such a commoner , was perfectly within the bounds of the Crown ’s authority

The verderers had , however , endeavoured , on ” of h the plea technical damage , to restrain suc things as the placing of a telephone pole on the

n on o f waste , argui g that the few inches land it occupied there might have been some blades o f f — grass . Making o holes on a golf green four inches in diameter—and the mowing of a cricket

pitch fell under the same ban , and all had to be carried o ut in the teeth of the opposition o f

the court . Finally matters culminated in a lawsuit as

Or to whether the Crown , when felling selling

ha d timber , the right (which it had exercised from time immemorial) to cut it and convert o n

the Open Forest , sometimes perhaps depositing temporarily a heap o f sawdust caused by the

Operation . A considerable array of counsel appeared o n

both sides , with piles of arguments dating from

wa s Magna Charta at the least . There every prospect o f a case dealing with innumerable his

torica l but details and lasting many days , at the suggestion of on e of the judges trying the case

out ff (which , as he truly pointed , a ected an alleged damage that after all could n o t amount

to £ 5 a compromise wa s attempted . It took

C HAPTER VI I

MY W ORK MY STA FF A MY E S , , ND CH I F

ONE o f the first things I had to do was to set to ff work to reorganise my sta . I was allowed

a o n e o f three ssistants , for each district the

o f Forest , and , as I have said , I lost two them

o f f in the first year f O fice . I eared to go outside the department a nd import stranger s at a time when I was so ignorant myself and so incapable

o f . wa s teaching others I able, however, to fill

o wn f the vacancies by promotions in my o fice .

a ssIsta n ts These men were truly to me , and with o ut their aid it would be Impossible to carry o n the work over a large tract like the Forest , especially for on e who had in a ddition the charge of o r l four other forests large wood ands , involving

n in each case a journey by train , and a lo g day — Often two days spent away from home . I looked to my assistants to carry out a ll the — details of the various work we set out fir st for the whole year, and again month by month as the year progressed . At the commencement of the year it would 44 Y W A ND H I 4 5 M ORK , STAFF , C EFS be settled exactly which sections of the various

u e plantations sho ld be thinn d or cut altogether ,

n re and where the planting was to be do e . A view wa s taken o f a ll the draining that required

or W s of cleaning increasing . hat section fencing

ul to wo d have be done , and how many new gates

. a o r d were wanted. What cott ges lo ges should

a e the . be repaired , and tender obt in d for work Having these returns from each o f the three

e o f districts , with estimat s , moreover, the amount of produce that could be realised fr om the various

a set to Operations , and the v lue thereof, we

to l al of s work compi e the tot s the three district , and to ascertain how much o f the projecte d work could be carried out with due regard to economy and to the amount the Forest seemed

o likely t earn . Of course we always wanted to spend more money than we were likely to get . The Size of the Forest and its innumerable roads and rides would absorb any amount of expen di t ture , and dealing with hem always seemed like

o ' p uring money into a sa ck with a hole in it . On

sa the whole , I am bound to y that I was well t u treated in this respec , and was not often ref sed the grant of any money that I deemed it reason f able to a sk o r . Especially I wa s allowed to put i in order and mprove the bad cottages .

s Once these figure were finally settled , and 4 6 T HE NE W FOREST

the exact amount decided that was to be Spent , or of or of Obtained , from each section plantation

Open Forest, the routine work was carried out by E my assistants , and very ably they did it . ach month they produced the several pay lists and sale books showing exactly what wages were due to been each man , and what money had Obtained f of rom the sales minor produce , such as fern , faggots and the like , and I then handed over the

wa s o f cash that due to each set labourers . Pay day , once a month , was always a very busy day . u In addition , I had to be constantly p and down in the Forest giving my personal attention to deta ils I did not care to leave to any other

o f person , such as the marking any good timber m that was rather ore than mere routine thinning . The repairs and improvements to cottages were matters that I always kept under my personal

a superintendence . I am bound to s y that when

1880 o f I came to the Forest in , I found most the labourers’ cottages in a very deplorable con

Wa s dition . The accommodation what we all term now a scandal . It was quite normal in those

on days , except very well managed estates . How the fine fellows that fought o ur wars

a in the Peninsul , and in the Crimea , could have been reared in such miserable o v ercro weded tene ments is really incomprehensible . It could only W A ND I 4 MY ORK , STAFF , CH EFS 7

have been that the fittest alone survived the u hardships of their bringing p, and that men who had endured such things could be destroyed

- by nothing short o f fire arms . I set to work at once to raise the standard

to of these dwellings . It is not easy get money ,

o f when it Shows no increase income , to be ex

a pended by the Tre sury, and in those days I had no Rural District Bye-laws and no Housing and Town Planning Act to wave in the face o f Whitehall as an indication of what were con

’ sidered the necessary con ditions for a labourer s

dwelling .

Luckily , however , the Ecclesiastical Commis sion ers had recently laid down a rule a s to the

’ for minimum accommodation a labourer s cottage . Nor does it at all err on the side of extra v a

gance .

a to f t Practic lly, it is the e fec that no cottage shall comprise less than a good kitchen and living — room if not indeed a kitchen a n d an in depe n — “ dent wash house , and above stairs three separate bed rooms which do not communicate with o n e ” another . u With this trump card p my Sleeve, and with the hearty backing of Sir Henry Loch , I introduced an estimate for the improvement ‘ Of — three cottages , and it passed muster for very 4 8 T HE NEW FOREST — shame they could not refuse with the a utho rities o f h Whitehall . What as once been agr eed to in the Civil Service constitutes a precedent which , as a rule , passes with but little inquiry

so in future, and I quietly introduced into my estimates plans for the improvement and repair o f ff about three di erent cottages year by year , dealing first with those that harboured the

f so longest amilies , and on in succession . It but took some years to get through the list , many years before I left the New Forest I had the satisfaction of knowing that all our employees were housed in cottages that would bear any

e o f reasonable t st inspection , and were , year by year , kept in good order ; and I am bound to sa y that , after the first , expenditure incurred on the above lines was never cavilled at in White hall , provided that the necessity for it was clearly explained .

All of these estimates were, course , laid before,

o f and approved by , my chief, the Commissioner in charge of New Forest , and I was always glad when he found time to come down and see fo r himself what I proposed to do . Of course , with out his backing and approval my figures had

o f no chance passing the Treasury , and by bear

Chi e a ia n o e a sa n o ing in mind that p , and by never putting forward o n my own initiative W AND I 4 9 MY ORK , STAFF , CH EFS schemes so large a s to frighten those a pprehen

r sive birds that f equent Whitehall , I was able generally to get all my estimates through . T he succe ssor to Sir Henry Loch in the f Commissionership o Woods was Mr . George

B who C . . Culley , , a gentleman owned considerable property in Northumberland , and had already l done serviceunder the Loca Government Board .

A more kindly , considerate , and withal capable chief n o Civil Servan t has ever had to serve

ha d under . Mr . Culley considerable tact , but also very considerable firmness in dealing with

so the troubles and disputes rife in New Forest ,

to a s and he did very much allay them . It w only when the verderers had finally made up their minds to go to law with the Crown that

he wa s driven to accept battle .

n Mr . Culley had a very clear k owledge of

estate management generally, and was always happy on the back of a nice hack looking over

the woods and property . He was able to pass

in review , in a Short visit , the conditions and

of main points the woods he passed through , and to give a sound and considered Opinion when he got home a s to what was the prope r

o f course , quite regardless what my view might

be , but always kindly and gentle in explaining

he ff why had formed a di erent opinion from myself. D 50 T HE NEW FOREST

Though not particularly like a bishop , Mr . Culley would have rivalled any bishop that ever dwelt in a palace in that he was given to ” hospitality in a marked degree . He never

fre allowed me to come to London , as I very

to o n quently had do , without insisting my f dining with him , generally at the Ox ord and Cambridge Club (the cellar there is world f amous) . Not unfrequently he collected very l pleasant sma l bachelor parties on such occasions . Some o f these have been the pleasantest among

o f my reminiscences . It was at one these small parties that I first met Sir Edward Grey (who ’ e was a ward of Mr . Culley s) when quit a young

’ our man . I well recollect host s remark to me, when we were talking over business after the — others had gone away when he said , referring “ his is to late ward , That young man sure to go ” to the top o f the tree . He could hardly ha ve foreseen the time when the name o f Sir Edward Grey would become a household word in every

‘ o f . capital Europe Mr . Culley died when of no great age . I always thought his life was short ened by the strenuous work he did at the time o f the Committee of the House o f Commons

o f 1889- 90 which sa t in the sessions . His grasp

wa s of the whole subject marvellous . The multi

o f u of tude fig res , schedules , returns , and Acts

5 2 T HE NEW FOREST

letel for p y altered his tone and bearing, and the greater part o f two sessions worked cordially and in a friendly manner with all those connected with the Office of Woods who could give him any information to make a complete and thorough investigation into the whole management o f the la nd revenue ; and in all this he met with the heartiest support from all concerne d . Naturally the report Of the Committee gave the Department o f Woods n o cause for complaint . I always recollect with pleasure and amuse ’ - ment Mr . Culley s kindly old fashioned peculi a rities He to . never would come from London visit me without bringing with him a present of a little parcel of the best and freshest fish to

’ be had that day from Groves , whether we wanted it or not . He had made it a standing rule that he a lwa ys desired to have an interview with me in

o n in D London the Monday erby week , just in case we might have anything to discuss or arrange ! An d on those occasions he invariably gave me the number of the box ‘ he had taken in the Grand Stand at Ascot on the occasion

al Of that great summer festival , held annu ly on the lands under the charge o f the Office of Woods ; and he was disappointed if I did n ot — pay him my respects there. Lastly he never W R A ND I 5 3 MY O K , STAFF , CH EFS l possessed any thick boots -a n d this always

” caused me regrets whenever it was necessary for him to go on foot through any wet wood lands where work wa s going on which he wanted to inspect . But he went there just the

a o f sa . s me , in spite all I could y

o f Mr . Culley was succeeded as Commissioner

f K . O . B Woods by Sir Edward Sta ford Howard , though he had not then attained to his present rank and titles . Sir Stafford is fortunately still

us so our amongst , I cannot recount transactions ,

to or relate anecdotes which might occur me ,

hi . w s . actually as it were to face Mr Ho ard ,

his like two , predecessors, encountered at the outset a tempestuous time . The verderers had actually formulated their position as they desired

to ra cti to establish it, with regard what was p

o f cally the ownership the Forest . The lawsuit

n he they were promoti g was already in t list ,

o f and Mr . Howard had to take charge the proceedings connected with that suit when he f was comparatively new to O fice . Whatever could be done by conciliation and

in defa ti kindly feeling , coupled with the most g

a a o f able p ins , to bring about a better st te things between the Crown and the verderers

‘ m to (clai ing represent the commoners) , was done

n f o . w without spari g himself by Mr Ho ard . An d 5 4 T HE NEW FOREST his equanimity and patience when his cordial

s advances met with little respon e, or were countered by one o r other section of the opposi tion , were certainly beyond all praise . As an American Amba ssador once said o f a distin

uished g leader of the Tory party , He had

o f o f often heard the milk human kindness , but ” never before had be seen the cow . I often

o f used to think that saying , when I fancied that a little stimulant in the milk would make ff it have better e ect . Sir Stafford and I worked together fo r some twenty years with much contentment and good

- friendship , and (I hope) mutual self esteem . Of all that he did in the matter of promoting Forestry

n and Forest Protection I will speak later o . It

to deserves a chapter itself. I found the condition o f affairs as regards the Forest keepers and the preservation o f game an d of all wild faun a such a s I conceived a

Royal Forest ought to be stocked with , was in a very bad state . In the Deer Removal Act it was set forth that , with the abolition of the deer , the necessity for SO great a number of keepers would cease

so there were then thirteen head keepers , this was obviously the case — and that the lodges

s occupied by the e thirteen men , or some of W A ND I 5 5 MY ORK , STAFF , C H EFS I e o n ta them, might be leas d by the Crown cer in conditions . — In this way arose such mansion s built on

’ the desirable Sites of some o f the keepers lodges a s Malwoo d o W L dge , built by Sir illiam Harcourt ; ll Bramble Hi Lodge ; Whitley Ridge, Rhine

. d field , and Lady Cross Lodges The ten ency of

one the tenant , as succeeded another, has been

of to overbuild, and some these houses have rather outgrown their sites . But they represent

o f i valuable property , all wh ch reverts to the

o f Crown at the expiration the lease , and they are all very lovely residences .

But as the lodges went , so also did the

s o f fo r keepers , regardle s the necessity the pro tection Of the Forest . Without doubt , soon after

D wa s the eer Removal Act seen to be a failure, ’ and long before the Report o f the Lords Com mittee 1868 a s of , it had come to be looked on a foregone conclusion that disafforestation was to overtake the New Forest , as it had done nearly all the Other forests o f England . In those cir cumsta n ces the area of the Crown property would have been much reduced , its character would

have been materially altered , . and a much smaller

f . so sta f would have been required And , in anti ci a tion Ofice o f Wo p Of all this , the ods was

the o ut- f gradually letting old door sta f slip away . 5 6 T HE NE W FOREST When I came to the Forest there were but four responsible keepers left . As their colleagues had died or retired , under keepers were appointed in their places . These men were under no super

but o f D vision that the eputy Surveyor , and , as

t r they were as a rule merely promo ed labou ers , they were not the class of man to be allowed to

ha d act independently . No definite orders ever

e e m to be n given to them , and they s e ed think that so long as they looked after the preserva

of l tion foxes and pheasants , and kept a mi d check on a a ll poaching , gener lly the rest might be a llowed to slide . Rabbits were supposed to be kept down by the keepers in the plantations , but

fo r they never accounted them when killed , and everything in the shape o f rare birds that they f could get hold o they regarded as perquisites . With some trouble I discovered the Southampton bird -stuffer who was in the habit of regularly 6d i fi h 33 . k n s ers paying them . per hea d for all g f he could get . Everything in the shape o a

o f o f a s bird prey was , course , looked upon

vermin, killed , and if possible sold . Had it not

been for this laxity, the honey buzzard might have continued to be a far more regular breeder

in the Forest than I have found it to be .

The four remaining head keepers , though they had far higher pay and better houses than the Y W A A ND ‘ I 5 7 M ORK , ST FF , CH EFS

“ o n e under keepers , had in charge only of the “ ’ a r . thirteen w lks , o keepers beats , in the Forest

ha d They no authority over the under keepers , who each had a Similar walk which he considered f own o . his , free supervision

of Everything was in a state chaos , and I

S to . out i et work to ‘ clear what was ver ly an

o f I r Augean Stable . First all , had to pe suade the Treasury to give me on e other head keeper at a somewhat lower salary than the four exist

of ing ones . Each these , and they were all

x excellent men , continued at their e isting wage , but their places were each cut down to the limit

o n I had decided , as they fell vacant , and new men were appointed at what wa s quite an ample

wage . I divided the Forest into five districts , “ c SO ontaining many walks each , and placed

Of fiv e o f on e each my men in charge , with twelve

so under keepers among them . Each man had t many under keepers under his authority , and hese

to men had no defined districts , the boundaries

o f a s but which they confined their energies before , ha d to attend to whatever duties were set them in any part o f the district of the head keeper

to en wherever he chose send them . He was

e tirely r sponsible for their good work , and was supported heartily if he had any well founded

o complaint t make against any o f his subordinates . 5 8 T HE NEW FOREST Full instructions for all the keepers were carefully drawn out each man had his printed and

C signed opy, and realised that a deliberate breach o f those instructions meant instant dismissal . In l compi ing this list of rules and orders , I had in view the Object of preserving all the fauna of the

of — Forest every kind not merely, as gamekeepers

k r are apt to thin , game birds and g ound game

for only . In a great wild National Park , where many reasons very high preservation of game is

n or neither possible desirable , there is room for

o f m every kind wild ani al , and I had to make my men understand that I desired the same care taken o f the nest of a buzzard or a fern o wl as

AS of a pheasant . to these instructions , I took the advice of such able Sportsmen and naturalists as the late Lord Lilford and Professor Alfred

a s ul Newton . Special rules were made to partic ar care being taken Of the rarer birds likely to occur , and orders were given that every instance of a strange visitor wa s to be reported to the

Deputy Surveyor at once . An d there was to be no killing of any birds save a few ’ All - a s scheduled ones . bird s nesting w to be rigidly prevented . Of course these were rather

o f ft novel ideas to some the men, but , a er a

o r change two had been made among them , they

a n d all settled down well to their work , in some

6 0 T HE NE W FOREST v li ing in the Forest recollect George Bumstead ,

W a nd keeper of Ashley alk district , and, apart from his abnormal proportions , quite the modern prototype of the old-fashioned highly respec ted ” - h w New Forest groom keeper , as t ey ere called in Old days in contradistinction to the master

e o r o f keep r, gentleman high repute , who held appointment by royal favour a s governors o f “ sundry walks .

1789 A - o f In nthony Bumstead , groom keeper W Ashley alk , gave his (recorded) evidence before

o f ff in ter the Commission that year to the e ect ,

a lia , that he was appointed to that position in

176 3 . W a or hether he succeeded a forebe r not ,

I have no record , but it is certain that George Bumstead succeeded his father and grandfather a s o f A W r keeper shley alk , and we may fai ly conclude that there was an unbroken succession

’ from 1763 up to the date o f George Bumstea d s — death about 1890 a record in one family of

not fa r from 130 years .

o f t So again , William Cooper , keeper Eyewor h W 1789 alk , comes before the same Commission in and says that he had been appointed some fifteen W years before that date . hether he was the father or grandfather of George Cooper of whom

I spoke above , I am not sure ; but the latter

a s e Boldrewood succeeded keep r Of Walk , and M Y W AND I 6 1 ORK , STAFF , C H EFS

b 18 8 died at a considera le age about 7 . He again wa s his son who succeeded by Harry , survived 1 80 to I 8 . my time , and died n George Cooper was quite on e of the distinguished personalities o f the Forest. These men were among the last o f that rather curious type that lived and throve o n the New

- for . W Forest centuries holly deer keepers , they

ff a ll were also baili s , revenue collectors , and above sportsmen ; and on their efforts and never -failing goodwill depended all the sport and enjoyments

o f . r s the whole Forest Pe hap Old James Coles ,

o f about the last the type , expressed their senti

ll to ments very we me when , after a conversation as to the hunting and the shooting , and inciden tally the proposed planting o f trees in the planta

a mi of tions, and the necess ry exter nation rabbits ,

o ut sir ! he burst with , Rabbits , Why rabbits is the bread of life for ev erythin k ! I rumin ated o n that saying, and , taking into account all the interests I had to serve , made up my mind that

- when I planted I would also buy wire netting . I h ave found this both a prese rvative and a — ’ keeper of pea ce James Co les s saying had a good deal to commend it as far as New Forest , with

s is an abundance of foxe therein , concerned . — A stron g staff of keepers o r whatever yo u — like to call them is a nece ssity in the New 62 T HE NEW FOREST

fiom o f Forest , apart altogether any questions

of o r of preservation game Sport . They are the custodians who do all the policing of the public

property , and their duties are manifold . The Gypsy — population a t some seasons very numerous and — ' often very lawless almost require a staff to them

Fo n o selves . r many reasons it has t been found practicable to banish them altogether from a Forest that is practically open to all His Majesty’s subjects ; but there is a code o f rules for the

o f regulation their camps and other proceedings , and a great deal o f the time Of the keepers is spent in enforcing those rules a n d checking the

o f - A n depredations these semi savages . gai , the very fact that the Forest is open to all the

public needs a staff o f men to gua rd f a ga in st a d

of vantage being taken this liberty . Were it a ul not for the w tchers employed , there wo d be

a endless d mage done by cutting of trees , stealing of timber and o f any portable property that is

worth money . The keepers also are in charge of the gravel and sandpits which are all over the open Forest .

They measure the gravel dug ; regulate , under the direction o f the Deputy Surveyor o r his assis du tants , the ground where the gravel is to be g ; and render their accounts to the various High f way Boards or other purchasers o gravel . Thus

W A ND I 6 8 MY ORK , STAFF , CH EFS

ew e ha s a N Forest ke per is now , and always

ff r been , something very di erent from an ordina y gamekeeper , and , now that their numbers are so reduced , they have as much work to do as

f a it is air to sk anyone to perform .

In the Old days , when there was a great

o f e head deer in the Forest , the keep rs had , no

‘ doubt , a great deal to do in looking after them . But they were thirteen in number—one for each

o f walk , and each them had a man under him , “ ” an assistant who was known as the browser , o n e o f his principal duties being to cut the d holly , ivy , and similar underwoo , for feeding the deer in the winter .

The l smal enclosures round each lodge , fenced with low posts and rails , were called the browse

out pens ; the deer easily leapt in and , but the u ponies and cattle could not , and thus co ld not get at the fodder laid within the fence for the

of benefit the deer . CHAPTER VIII

THE NE wF OREST DEER

W HI LE treating of the keepers and their former

sOme of vocations , it may be well to give details

-— e a s s the deer they used to be , when the Fore t

e was a huge d er park full of half tame deer, and as it is now when it contains a compara tiv el o f y small number quite wild deer . There is no doubt that the New Forest district did from very ancient times constitute

a Forest Specially suited to deer . In the days o f n n Ca ute it was made i uto a Royal Forest , conveniently situated to So thampton , where he had a palace , and where also he tried the his torica l experiment o f seeing whether the tide

n o would or would t wet his feet . Like other

he monarchs in more recent times , discovered

he wa s n ot that superior to the forces Of nature . There was therefore without doubt a stock of D o r deer prior to the occupation of the anes , Canute would not have enacted laws for their

ri o f preservation . The o ginal stock Great Britain was no doubt the red deer . They were pretty 64

6 6 T HE NE W FOREST

Al t l ice Holt Fores , practical y contiguous to Wool mer, but remained on their own barren wastes . There they lived and throve until the arrival ” o f W the altham Blacks , and ultimately the f passing o the Black Act. The Waltham Blacks were a gang o r gangs of desperadoes , who throve in the neighbourhood

of of Waltham , in Hants , in the earlier days

wa s George I . It their practice to disguise them selves by blacking their faces , and hence the At name of Waltham Blacks . first their depre

c o f - dations ran hiefly in the line deer stealing, which they practised with devastating effect in

W o f altham Chase , among the deer of the Bishop

a n d Winchester , they went far to clear the Royal A c Forests of Woolmer and li e Holt . They also extended their practices to such matters as cutting the dams of fish-ponds in order to secure the

fish fir e n o f , setting to houses , bar s , and stacks

o f corn and wood , maiming cattle , and the like .

\ 22 9 . c . wa s The Black Act ( Geo I , ) passed in order to check the practices of these particular gentry . It made all the actions in which they habitually indulged into felonies , and the list was

. wa s a long one In it included , besides the crimes

I have recounted above, the cutting down or destroying of any trees planted as an avenue , or

or —in growing in a garden , orchard , plantation T HE NEW FOREST DEER 67 l tha t a fact , all the damage these malefactors h bitu ally committed . These stringent measures , and the certain death penalty involved if any of the ” Blacks was captured , appear to have stamped

o f W out the gang . But the Bishop inchester W l m refused to restore the deer to a tha Chase , saying that they had done enough mischief already . The deer in Woolmer Forest also were reduced by these depredators to a shadow of the former

a s fo r h herd . It w deemed better the peace of t e neighbourhood that they Should be done away W with , and to that end came, as Gilbert hite “ D o f recounts , the uke Cumberland , with a hunts man and six yeoman prickers in scarlet jackets f aced with gold , attended by the staghounds ; orderin g them to take every deer in this forest

W . alive , and to convey them in carts to indsor In the course o f the summer they caught every

o f stag , some which showed extraordinary diver

the sion . But in following winter, when the

o ff hinds were also carried , such fine chases were exhibited a s served the country people for matter o f talk and wonderment for years afterwards . I myself sa wone o f the yeomen prickers

out a n d single a stag from the herd , I must con fess that it was the most curious piece o f activity as T HE NE W FOREST

’ I Astle s ever beheld , superior to anything in Mr . y ” riding school . W This settled the oolmer red deer , and it was not long before the fa llow deer o f Alice Holt

o ut were also wiped . Both these properties were under my charge as Deputy Surveyor for the whole period o f my

so residence in Hants , it seems but natural to put in a few words about matters that I wa s so

n o t re intimately connected with myself, though in

of A spect the New Forest . lthough there was no dividing line between the haunts o f the red deer

o f and those the fallow deer in the New Forest , yet it was remarkable how they each kept to their I own particular ground . The red , as have said , were undoubtedly the indigenous deer o f Great

is Britain . It always believed that the fallow deer were introduced into England by the Romans , and

l see Br itish D eer a n d their H or n s Mr . Mil ais ( ) is o f Opinion that the NewForest deer are descendants of Asiatic fallow deer from the shores

th of o f e . At Sea Marmora any rate, New Forest deer , which are very fine , and often attain to very ff good weights, di er in various ways from park

i e. deer . In parks you see fallow deer , . deer that

of a f are a p le red colour , with innumerable bu f

o n A ou see o r white Spots their sides . gain y dun

— on i dun deer nearly black the back , but a l ghter T HE NE W FOREST DEER 6 9 l l colour o n the under parts . Again one sees near y

e black de r , and those that are nearly red without

S o n e of pots . Each these retains the same colour

in both summer and in winter . But in the wild

o f a s of deer the New Forest , just in the case

ro e i wild deer , there s a complete alteration in the colour o f each individual deer in summer and ! su in winter . In mmer every deer is a perfect — — fallow colour that is to say a bright ground colour with conspicuous white Spots on the sides . That is the true fallow colour , but in October they n change rapidly , and become in every si gle case o f — is sa the dun variety that to y, of a very dark

n o n brown colour on the back , comi g low down

o f o n a ll w the sides , and a light dun the lo er

o f I and under part the body . have never seen in a park a universal and a complete change such a s these wild deer go through . At any rate the New Forest may heartily thank the Romans for

a s three very desirable things . First ( many say) , the beech tree , the most beautiful object in the dl f Forest ; secon y , the allow deer ; and lastly , the pheasant . Long as it is since the tramp of the

Roman legions was heard in England , yet the beautiful features which they introduced into the

New Forest remain and thrive , when other memo

e o f w l ri s that onderfu race have died away .

Of the deer , without doubt there were two 70 T HE NE W FOREST

varieties in the district when the Conqueror ff i a orested th s great tract , where he desired to

take his pleasure near his capital of Winchester . “ W e o f ll i e read him that he loved the ta [ . .

e the red] deer , as if he had b en their father , and probably most of his personal hunting wa s the f pursuit o the noble stag. But the fallow deer

were certainly there in greater or in less numbers .

Of the roe deer we have n o record . His only appearances have occurred in recent years in the

— o ld form of solitary deer mostly bucks , that have — probably been worsted in fightin g and have D strayed up from orsetshire , where they are now

nl in plentiful enough . They were , however , o y

troduced D 1830 into orsetshire about , though they

so so have thriven well there , and Spread greatly , that it is strange that more of them have n o t

established themselves in the New Forest . The first that came into my ken wa s about 1880 the year , when a solitary buck , wandering no

o ut o f D to doubt orsetshire , tried make his way over to the Isle of Wight at lo wwater by way

Hurst Castle , and its long approach over that b e bl . p yk beach which leads to it No doubt the buck thought that the tongue o f land he tra versed went all the way to the Island downs

- off e . that he could see far , but he was deceiv d

c First , he stu k in the mud , and then the tide T HE NEW F ORES T D EER 71

o u him e fisher . wa s rose He taken alive by som men , who reported the capture to me , supposing that he belonged to the Forest . I hardly knew

o ff what to do with him , and sent him to the

! I his wa s oological Gardens , where hope life a

o n D r be happy e . eer were in No man times the

- o f f s . all and end all the ore t All legislation ,

a o f customs , and h bits the country were regulated f by their wel are . Many of these ancient laws

us seem very barbarous to , and , no doubt , when first they were enforced were the cause o f un speakable cruelty . The clause in the Charta de “ For estee o f Henry III , enacting that henceforth no man shall lose life o r member fo r taking o ur ” deer , has a nasty sound in the ears of those who live in the twentieth century . But for all that , the penalties that remained to be paid , though n o t so hideous in their barbarism , were terribly severe . One o f the cruellest enactments was that con ” “ n o r o f cerni g the expeditation lawing dogs .

n o t so But even this was quite bad as it sounds .

of By the laws the Forest , a dweller within its “ verges might keep a small dog for the proteo

of a n d tion his house chattels . But he might kee p no hound o r dog of such size that it might chase a deer or fawn with any prospect of success .

Such a dog , then , by strict law had to be ex 72 T HE NEW FORES T

edita ted p , or to have his three front toes cut off i a s w th an axe , so to debar him for ever from — running fast enough to chase anything let alone a deer . An d the test was whether he would pass through a certain large stirrup which hung in the

’ ’ n Verderers Hall at the King s House at Ly dhurst , where the Forest courts were held . If the dog would pass through the stirrup he was a little dog , only fit

o f to guard house and chattels , and free all risks

wa s . if he would not pass , he liable to the penalty The ancient stirrup used as this test still hangs in the hall , and though it has not the antiquity

o f popularly assigned to it , being probably Tudor

n o a date , yet it was doubt used for the pr ctical I purpose have described .

n o t Such stirrups were very uncommon , though ,

I o n e . believe , this is the last in existence Such a n one is referred to in the records o f the Forest

o f — I o f Exmoor also , believe , in those the Forest f — I o Pickering but this cannot verify. But the actual lawing seems not to have been carried “ o f out after the earliest times . The jingling ” do the guinea healed the hurt , that the g never

For o r d sub felt . this lawing expe itation was a

a n ia l o f st t source income to the Crown , and those who desired to keep big dogs must pay

for them or get rid of them .

74 T HE NEW FORES T

presented in the 4th year o f Edward III

W o f illiam de Bello Campo , Knight , keeper the

~ Forest, presents under the heading of Expedita tion ” of dogs in the Forest aforesaid “ son o f W From John , Richard de ynton , —f d Knight , and Joan his wife rom Edmon de

Ha in hulle Kendall and Henry de , tenants of the lands and tenements which were o f John son o f on e t Thomas at ime keeper of the Forest , for two expeditations o f dogs received by the said f so n o £90. John , Thomas in his time , “ From the heirs and tenants o f the lands o f Roger de In kpen n e at o n e time keeper of the

o o n e o f F rest , for expeditation dogs received by

his him in time , Presumably the keepe rs died without account

fo r ing the money received by them , and their heirs were held responsible .

o f sub But these , at the rate the day, are ” sta n tia l sums , and if each regard every third

one year , by a single keeper of district alone in

t wa s so the Fores , worth much , expeditation must represent a tangible income if properly ’ collected and accounted for . I don t know when

o ut the custom died , and the income was lost f to the Crown . Probably at the date o the

o r Commonwealth . But in one way another , to

or o f man to beast, the deer were a source trouble THE NE W FOREST D E ER 75 i “ if not severely let alone ; nor wa s rank o r position always a protection .

, In the pleas of juries and assizes held in the fortieth year o f Henry III (generally at Win

Bokla n d Ern ewoode chester) , Nigel de , Simon de ,

of and John Ernys , verderer, and foresters , the

New Forest , presented that Avice , Countess de

u of Insula , in ret rning from the Court the Lady the Queen , on Monday next before the Conversion of 3 St . Paul 7 Henry III took in the Forest

bestta s h two deer [ ] , t erefore let the matter be ” discussed before the King . Nor were the princes o f the Church above helping themselves to the venison o f their superior Lord the King , for at the same assizes it wa s presented and found that On the vigil of T burcius Va lleria n us ll Saints y and , Wi iam

a o f Russel , with a horse c rrying the saddle a

t e ul ll conver of B a ieu named Wi iam, then keeper o f the Grange o f the Abbot of Beaulieu of

H a risforde n (Hertford) , with three grey hou ds ,

’ entered the Forest and slipped them [a missa mt]

ft of a er the game the Lord the King . The W l foresters arrived , and il iam fled , leaving the horse and greyhounds , to a Spinney . The foresters delivered the horse and greyhoun ds to u B ttesthorn . John de , steward of the Forest The Sheriff is ordered to cause the Abbot to 76 T HE NEW FORE S T c n ome that he may produce his serva t, William ” o n Russel , the Friday before Ash Wednesday . The Abbots of Beaulieu seem to have been peculiarly troublesome neighbours to the adjoin ing Crown Forest , and indeed up to the present day they have o n e after another been actively

o f tenacious what they , with wide views , con ceiv ed to be their rights . But the following incident is a very delightful instance of the royal economy in dealing with the Church

s n ow sub criptions which existed then , and are always with us . The Abbo t of Beaulieu was indicted a t the Pleas of the Forest held at Winchester o n the

o f 8 morrow St Hilary Edward I , for receiving Brother Richard his convert and Richard de Rames his servants [fa milia r a m] indicted fo r trespass of venison with snares an d other engines in a close , made fine with the King for forty ’ b marks , came and brought the Queen s writ y which the Queen pardoned the Abbot and — convert for the trespass aforesaid a n d ga ve the

r k o hi Chur ch for ty ma r ks for the wo f s . There ” i ui : fore he s q t . Good and businesslike This time the worthy prelate seems to have been fairly

caught out a n d condemned to pay . But how

o ut o f cunningly he got the fix, and with what sound feminine eco nomy did the Queen com T HE NEW FORES T D EER 77 promise for the unevitable subscription towards f h A h the building o t e new bbey . T ese royal “ personages and great churchmen were infinitely human !

a n But the deer and the care of them , at t assize held shortly af er the date last mentioned , led to a very serious charge and conviction against a prominent Forest o fficia l for it was presented that John le Espa n iell yeoman

' [va letus] to the Queen took in the Forest in

5 5 for t e o f Henry III , twenty does h behoof the ’ Ka n c o Queen , and Walter de to k in the same year o n e hart [cer vus] and six bucks [da mes] for f 1 the behoof o the Queen . And the said John 6 E8pa in ell was in the same year with the Queen in foreign parts . The verderers and foresters bein g asked present this . They sa y that Walter ’ — de Ka n c caused this to be so enrolled and well they recollect that the said John took the said bucks though they erred in their presenta tion . But they say that Walter took venison at his own will at all times of the year when he was steward . The verderers are amerced for a ba d —J presentation concerning ohn . Concerning Walter the verderers and foresters bein g asked as to the destruction which the said Walter made for

sa venison in the Forest , y that he and John

Buttestho rn e W u de and illiam de Bartho , and 78 T HE NE W FORES T

e John de Ponte , and others who wer under him

r o f e when he was stewa d the Forest , despoil d the Forest of five hundred beasts [fer aa] and

upwards , and sent the venison where they wished to different parts for the said Walter ’ Ka n c de . For the trespass of the 500 beasts taken b y him £5000 at his precept taken , namely , for each

10 be to beast £ . For other beasts which caused u be taken without number and witho t warrant , and for the waste made by him o f his bailiwick — as well of venison as o f vert because it is n o t — possible to estimate it a t the will of the King

a nd An d fo r Queen . the trespass of the afore

f for said male actors by him placed there , whom

to he is held answer , because they have nothing ” —a t of the will the King and Queen . A more appalling condemnation and sentence

l To could hard y be faced by mortal man . be ” of at the will the , King meant no less than

o f that your life , the lives your family, and the whole o f the property o f every kind that you

s of so - posse sed , lay at the mercy the King called ,

but practically of that of the convicting Court . t Probably, unless ex enuating circumstances could

ff i be e ectually urged , the sentence was carr ed out ul But to the f l . in any case the enormous fine o f £5 000 at the money value o f that day T HE NE W FORES T D EER 79 posed on the unfortunate Walter was o ne that no subject except one o f the highest magnates of

to the kingdom could be expected raise . Cer ta in l on e y it was not then , or now , that a salaried

Forest official wa s likely to be able to produce . Therefore the very best prospect before poor ’ Walter de Ka n c was that of rotting in a dungeon

! for of. his how the rest life, and reflecting meanly all his Forest fiien ds and associates had rounded on him when the day of trouble came and they began to tremble for their own skins . But I quote these old records to show how very high was the value and importance set o n

ll of o r the deer , and how it was sti a matter life death to take liberties with them . The fine im posed o f £ 10 per head can only have been a vindictive one . Even in those days , when venison may have been of much greater value than it is now (for most people despise it , if compared with ’ ordinary butcher s meat) , no deer could possibly have been worth a fifth part o f the value put upon it It was the estimation in which the “ o f venison the Forest , comprising a good deal ’ wa s more than mere deer s flesh , held that caused

to x these tremendous penalties be fi ed . I have not come across any particular records D about the deer in Tudor times . oubtless there are such records, interesting enough , but they require 80 T HE NEW FORES T

an immense amount o f unearthing and the a id o f those who can readily translate t he language o f

r - - No man French and dog Latin combined , in which

for they are written . I have never had leisure

such researches in the course of my life . The Stewart records that I have had access to relate more to timber growing and building

. 16 70 than to the deer In , however , we have a record o f an order of Charles II for enclosing with pales certain land adjoining New Park “ for

of our the preservation red deer , newly come ” out o f h f France . Whether t e stock had allen very low during the time o f the Commonwealth

or (as is very probable) , whether His Majesty

e of merely desir d to introduce a cross fresh blood , 1670 we are not told . But in this same year there was drawn up a very interesting census

of the New Forest deer . Whether it had any thing to do with the importation o f fresh red

o r n o t deer from France at that particular date ,

n o t is apparent . W This return was found at Bolton Hall , ens

le da le o f y , by a member the family in possession

o f there , who are the direct descendants those Dukes o f Bolton who fo r over a hundred years ex er

cised so great an influence in New Forest , and took their title from Bolton Castle in Wensley

dale . This paper was found among ancient

T HE NEW FOREST

The stock o f deer kept through the eighteenth century probably varied from 4 000 to 8000 head .

No doubt , when it approached the latter figure the ground became overstocked , and if bad weather i came there was heavy mortality . It s recorded

1787 300 Boldrewood that , in , deer died in Walk alone during the winter . D At the period of the eer Removal Act , when the deer became a burning question , it was stated

cut that the number had been down , from about

3000 4 000 o f to in recent years , to the number

2000. I Even then , as have recounted above , there was considerable anxiety in various quar — ters to get rid o f them and this was arranged to be done .

According to the Act , the deer were to be wholly removed from the Forest within two years . ff t No e ort was spared to bring his about . At first the great bulk of them were simply shot down .

o f But as they became scarcer and wilder , all sorts means had to be adopted . Nets were used , and the

r d set - n deer we e riven into them , at the well k own tracks and paths through the woods ; hounds were freely employed to drive the deer into the u nets and p to guns posted in likely places .

r Finally , hunting pure and simple had to be e sorted to , and a deer when found was run down by the bloodhounds e ach keeper used to assist T HE NEW FORES T D EER 83

” f e e . o him in his duti s At the end the two y ars , the Act had been carried out as far as was possible in a wild densely wooded coun try like the New

Forest . But it wa s impossible to carry o ut the provi

Act sions of the down to the very last deer, or to know for certain whether or no a few of the ! fugitives were left in various parts of the thick d coverts up a n down the Forest . Probably a few did survive . But it was overlooked by those who drafted the Act that in many parts of the

o F rest it is bounded by thick woods , the property o f w private lando ners . The hotter the pursuit in the Forest grew , the more the deer sought

refuge in these woods . In some they were B ut killed just as they were in the Forest . in

others they met with more hospitable treatment , and as the Deer Removal Act grew to be more

disliked , the deer that remained were viewed

with more kindly eyes . People forgot the

damage they had done, and thought with regret

o f of the palmy days the Forest , with its herds o f deer constituting one of its most attractive

features . In these circumstances the remnant o f the herd found sanctuary outside the bounds

o f so of l the Forest , and the ancient stock wi d

to of deer , dating back the days the Romans ,

never became really extinct in the district . 8 4 T HE NEW FORES T

The two years in due course rolled by , and with them came an end to the money allotted for the

o f work destruction . The strangers who had been employed to assist in taking the deer went

to o wn f o f back their places . The sta f keepers wa s n considerably reduced, and the bloodhou ds they formerly kept to track o r to recover a

rid o f wounded deer were got . All that could be reasonably expected to be done in order to carry o ut the provisions of the Act had been

of complied with , and the little remnant deer were left at rest . Gradually they crept back into the

on e Forest , but no seemed to think there was any obligation to continue year by year the de struction o f the deer after the prescribed two

o f years had expired . A certain amount hunt ing was permitted , which for a long time pre vented the deer from in crea smg too fast .

o f ff Such , then , was the condition a airs when

‘ a s I came to the Forest . There w a small stock of deer scattered pretty well over the Fc rest quite enough , and more than enough , to provide

Sport for a pack of b oun ds . My predecessor had

a n d I already begun to kill down a few , soon foun d that the deer had a t wden cy to increase very rapidly , and that I must bestir myself if

they were to be kept from overwhelming me . The first things I had to provide myself with

8 6 T HE NEW FORES T

s by u ing a hound , there is always a risk of

w to ff o r o f o n e leaving a ounded deer su er, losing that , shot perhaps through the heart , has run a hundred yards in covert , and then fallen dead .

is But if a hound invariably made use of, such things ought never to occur .

wa s I ul Our method generally this . wo d d meet the keepers of the particular istrict , each

- with his hound , armed with smooth bores , and with specially and very carefully loaded buck-5 shot cartridges . I myself would be mounted on

a s use a pony with a weight such falconers , carried in a socket o n the saddle and attacked

. W for to the bit hen dismounting a shot , the

out of the weight is pulled the socket , and pony

For I can be instantly tethered . a weapon used “ o n I a Paradox gun . In e barrel had a buck ul shot cartridge , and in the other a b let. These 150 guns are as accurate as any rifle up to yards ,

utr in ue a r a tu and I was thus q p s. If the deer 30 a crossed a ride within y rds , it was a fair chance for the buckshot barrel whatever pace

-s it was going . But if it came and stood any 150 ft where within yards , the bullet in the le ba rrel had its Opportunity . Sometimes we drove the covert with a wide line of beaters far apart . When the deer were very numerous and in herds , this was a good T HE NEW FORES T D EER 87

t plan , and of en the guns posted ahead would get a shot when the deer first moved . But the prettiest and most scientific way of going to work was to lay a good hound o n the line of a

o r deer where it had been slotted , seen , in the early morning . Where the object was to get a particular buck , this was also the best way . It

s l o was pretty to . ee the o d hound work ut the u l line slowly but s rely , ti l he roused the deer we

o f wanted , and if none the outlying guns got a

h fir c ance when he st started , the hound would keep the deer going slowly , and generally in

o n e — o n e circles , till some got a chance either of the men on foot , placing himself in a likely

or to Spot , myself, scuttling on my pony at p speed from place to place as the chase seemed

o ff to incline , and jumping in readiness , with

un tethered pony at hand , and g ready . By

wa s whichever method we found our deer , it generally brought to book by the use o f a hound -generally a couple or couple and a half running together . In this way they did not press the deer as a pack would , and cause them to make to a point , but generally managed keep them moving and dodging about in circles , until they ran up against some one who was ready for them . In this manner I have spent many very amusin g 88 T HE NE W F ORES T — days the combination o f hunting and shootin g

I sa w in was almost unique , and sometimes very

ter estin ra g hound work , while the gene l surround ings and the study of wild life of all kinds were

most delightful . I found my bloodhounds were to o silent for this work . Their note was deep and fine , but — only repeated at long intervals too long to enable us e o f to follow , at a distance, the dir ction the

- . I chase tried old fashioned Southern hounds , and

o n e o r had two very good ones , with as much tongue as I could desire ; but they are soft , and

o f incorrigible in the vice running heel . I have

un actually seen them hunt a deer round to the g , a n d work up to where it was lying dead o n the ground , having been just shot , and , if they were

old not quickly caught , turn round and run the line backward from the place they had just hunted

to i it up , with the r quarry lying dead before them . But at last I got the very hounds I wanted in that ancient Irish breed called Kerry beagles . 22 24 Black and tan , and about to inches high , they were as unlike beagles as any dog that

I . ever saw But they were very keen and active , rather too fast , but mad to get hold of a deer , and with a tongue yo u could hear fo r miles . A first cross with the foxhounds produced a

9 0 T H E NEW FOREST

d stands , however awkwar ly it may be , and with

’ out a second s delay . I have in my time killed a good many good I bucks by this method , and must own that it is . I a quiet form of Sport that have greatly enjoyed . — The charm o f the surroundin gs is so great the

o f silence , the calm beauty the summer evening , with the brilliant but tempered rays o f the setting sun slanting down through the heavy

so v foliage , are impressi e , that , whether I met with

o r I success not , could not but be happy ; while not the worst part was the ride home in the cool o f the summer dusk , with the little fern owls

a s following me, and , is their weird custom , settling in the middle o f the road every fifty yards in l front , and remaining there ti l my pony almost flit u trod on them , when they would noiselessly p, only to go forward and repeat exactly the same

oe O n man uvre a little farther . Perhaps almost the best thing about sport of

\ most kinds is that it takes o n e into such beauti ful and interesting scenery and conditions . The fallow deer on the New Forest often

to s run very good dimension , and certainly are

o f the best venison possible . I never partook a deer o ut of a park that seemed to me to be anything approaching a good Forest buck in excellence . THE NE W FORES T D EER 9 1

The following a re the weights o f a few good

fi‘ om deer taken my game book .

20 1893 I a n T o n , sl ds h r s

20 19 1 Oa , 0 , kley

21, R a mn or

7 1906 I la n d T o n , s s h r s

14 ,

8 1907 a G oun , , P rk r d 1908 Den n y

u a A . 15 S Gr n g , h ve ee Ju 26 9 ly , 190 ,

Au 5 S a v G n . 19 10 g , h e ree 16 a i , P rkh ll Au 1 Ge thorn es . 3 9 12 t g , ,

1 1 4 R a B a 7, 91 , kes r kes

All these deer were weighed a s deer usually

a s o ff ill are in a Scotch forest , they come the h

— i e on the pony viz . clean , . . gralloched , but with

o f heart and liver left in . Head , skin , and horns ,

o f course , on the beast . The retention heart and 10 l f b . o liver varies in places . It means s the

. D weight uring the last decade or so , the deer in the New Fo rest country have be gun to increase so

dl to ll u rapi y , that we have had ki a large n mber o f s them . The rea on for this is that they are so well preserved, and are become so numerous in all the vast chain o f woodlands on the north Side o f

s a is n o w o f the Fore t , th t there a large herd deer scattered among these woodlands , associ ating and no doubt interbreeding with the Forest 9 2 T H E NE W FORES T

o f f deer , which the Forest o ficials can keep no count, and over which they have no control . These deer are to be found outside the Forest in considerable but unascertained numbers , in woods running nearly to Salisbury . They are to

o be found in the Norman Court W ods , adjoining the o ld Forest of Clarendon . It would be no great stretch if on e were to sa y that the deer o f New Forest and Clarendon now intermixed , and that is what we never hear o f in the ancient days , when Clarendon and New Forest were both

n ff . well stocked deer forests , u der di erent control Inside the New Forest all we could do was to peg away at all the deer we could find , and kill a s many as we could in the time that could be Spared for such work . But the stock was like ’ fo r a widow s cruse, often , when we thought the herd frequenting a particular place had bee n

fo r lo t accounted , a fresh would , as it were, drop

sk o n e o f from the y from these outlying places ,

us and place just where we started from , as to numbers , to be dealt with . The contribution I got from the Office o f Woods towards this work consisted in the cost of of the cartridges used , and latterly the cost the licences taken by the keepers for the hounds

o f they used . Towards the cost these hounds

an d wa s t ( it of en considerable) , and towards their

9 4 THE NE W FORES T

e by his horns , had broken his neck . His sup r incumbent weight probably suffocated the under

‘ most deer quickly . But had this not happened , they must surely have perished miserably from starvation . The heads , locked together as they ’ n ow were found , hang in the Verderers Hall at

’ the King s House . CHAPTER IX

’ T HE K I NG S HO USE

IT would hardly be possible for me to set o n paper my reminiscences , and omit any mention o f old a re the delightful , , inconvenient , but well pp

i d wa s c a te residence in which it my duty to live .

I of re conceived also that , as the residence the

o f was presentative the Crown , it intended to be

a n d a centre of hospitality, therefore , although no “ ” wa s ll I table money a owed to me , thought it

I n o t right to make as welcome as could , merely my official chiefs and those connected with the

ff o f O ice of Woods , but also all the many professors Forestry or students o f o ur English systems that came to England o r to Hampshire in the proseou

n o t l tion of their researches . This was on y a great pleasure to my wife and myself, but it also caused me to make friends of most of the distin guished lights o f forestry and leaders of that branch o f science and its practice that have been living in o r v isiting this country for the last thirty years . Many interesting discussions took place at I my table , and was able to learn and profit very 95 9 6 THE NE W FOREST u m ch from what fell from these learned pundits , and to get an education in forestry difficult to

arrive at otherwise . “ is And again , in what locally called the April

VI! 15th month , . from about March to the end

of A o f pril , when hunting people from all parts England flocked to the New Forest to finish up in that delightful climate and scenery the ordinary

I old hunting season , found that quarters in the Royal hunting box t hat I occupied were keenly

in request , and my spare bedrooms were continu

o l us y booked as o n e party succeeded another .

o f And more than that , the inns and lodgings

the village were overflowing at that season , and contained many a good Sportsman who was paying

see . a brief visit to the Spring hunting These ,

o f of sex course , either , had to be gathered in to I join our party , and think I have seen as many

cheery , informal dinner parties one after the other

old during the April month , as the house can \

ever have Sheltered in its earlier days , far back

as they go .

’ old a s I For this Queen s House , it was when ’ ” but u a s came to it , King s Ho se , it was before my

1901 ha s day , and again after , a long history , and must have seen and heard a good deal within its

walls .

wa s a s It not ever , many people suppose , a house

T HE KING ’S HOUSE 97 I t connected , strictly speaking , with the Fores itself, nor was it ever intended originally for the residence

of any official in c ha rge of the New Forest . It was the manor house of the ancient royal n manor of Lyndhurst , a manor dating back to Saxo

on s times , and the ite (a wonderft well chosen ’ o n e) o f the present King s House there stood a — — manor house of what sort I know not consider ably before the days of the Conquest and the a ffores

ta ti on f o the New Forest .

The manor of Lyndhurst was , at the time of the

111 o f Conquest , the hands and administration the

o f A Abbey mesbury , granted thereto , it is said , by ’ o f the Saxon Queen , Elfrida , the murderess Corfe

Castle , probably about eighty years previously . At what precise date the Conqueror resumed

o s o f is wa s p s ession the manor not clear , but it “ i n 1086 assessed in the Great Survey , and in 116 5 we find a grant thereof to a subject .

of l Successive grants the manor, all du y recorded , follow on e another from that early date till the last 183 grant in 1 to George Harrison . But the old manor house seems to have been

d fo r use o f n always retaine the the Ki g himself, and to have been maintained by the Crown and not

o f n An d its use wa s by the grantee the ma or .

e gen rally given to the Lord Warden . E dward I Spent some time here , and many docu G 9 8 T HE NE W FOREST

L B t ments of his reign are dated from yndhurst . u

o f his Queen , Eleanor Castille, made Lyndhurst her home during the absences o f the King o n his wars against the Welsh . In this reign an order was issued for twenty oaks to make laths for the ’ use of the Queen s manor house at Lyndhurst this rather points to repairs o r construction on a con sid era ble scale . 1388 In a hall was built within the lodge , and ’ this hall became called the Verderers Hall , Since

n u the Forest courts were held there . It existed 185 1 touched until , when the house was badly

in a altered , and p rt it exists now . The old house was repaired and enlarged by h Henry VIII , and probably the old porc leading

- into the back yard , once the main entrance to l the hall , dates from that reign . 16 34 d In the King, Charles I , issue letters patent to John Chamberlayne o f Lyndhurst for the new building of divers lodgin ges for our use and service a djoyn in g to the o ld house at Lyndhurst in the

Kitc h n P a strie Newe Forrest , as also , a y , , Larder

f fortie and other o fices , and a stable to contain horse according to the plots and directions given

v e ours o ur W orkes by the Sur y of . The charges o f the ma teria lles and workmanship whereof, according to the estimate thereof made ,

1 i toria t Hist r o a v l 11 See c Coun o H n ts . V o . y y f ,

100 T HE NE W FOREST

Al 16 34 together the estimate , as rendered in , of

£ 15 00 t r proved , like many ano he such estimate, to be a a very misleading document . Wh t was built by Charles II was the main block of the building

’ of lying to the westward the Verderers Hall , the ” Kitch n a s r e & c t e c . & . y p , , and it constituted the principal living accommodation of the house . An inspection of the roof timbers and of the old beams

in t e ft po ts clearly to the use of Fores timb r , o en hardly worked at all , and that only with the axe .

of out The doors were clearly Forest oak , made of

out l plank with beautiful grain , but sad y too thin . Alas ! when I went there every door was covered

I n ot out with paint , but could resist paying of my o wn pocket the expense o f burning and cleaning off the paint and restoring the old doors of oak to their original condition . As to that seeming addition to the extreme

o f c west end the house , whi h bears upon the heads o f the lead stand pipes the crown and the letter

1 12 I n ot a A. R . 7 , am quite cert in whether this was a mere repair o r an addition carried out subse

o r n ot quently to the Charles II building , but I think it must have been the latter . It wa s apparently a traditio n o f these ancient surveyors that any addition or considerable repair to this old house should bear the initials of the reigning monarch . Would that this had been 101'

i the practice durir g the whole existence of this

fo r e ancient house , then we might have had a r cord surpassing in interest those found in most mediaeval

- . o n dwelling houses However , we have this

o f western end , on the Old leaden heads the

x stack pipes , the insignia fi ing the date in the f reign o Queen Anne . It seems to be too Short a time Sin ce the house was rebuilt by Charles II for any reconstructions o f a sufficiently important character h . An d SO I t e to have taken place , think , it was

o f mark an additional extension to the hous e .

s On the main portion of the house , various date

o f appear n the heads o these stack pipes . George III

174 8 o n e is the principal , and doubtless refers to some important repairs carried o ut at that date over 100 years since the most recent building ha d been projected .

I to was careful follow this precedent , and when the whole house had to be repaired in 1880, and when again considerable restorations were made to

19 04 to I it in , which I shall refer subsequently, was careful to record the dates on the heads of the new stack pipes entailed , not indeed in the beau u t tif l old lead work of earlier da es , but in the best copies to be obtained in modern cast iron .

SO I hi t nk the old house was carried on , as

old a very charming residence, always in the occupation o f the Lord Warden o f the New TH E N EW FORES T

Forest (very frequently a royal personage) , who wa s allowed £ 70 a year for the upkeep o f the

h . ouse It was usually occupied by his steward , who was responsible for the Forest dues made

W fo r over to the Lord arden , and the con

of duct the Forest generally . In connection

I o with these dues , may p int out why there are ” u in the New Forest no rea agisters , altho gh the servants o f the verderers have usurped that

o f ff title , which is that a special o icer in a Royal

Forest . To this the servant of a subject can have no claim . The matter is well and tersely

o f o f 1789 put in the Report the Commissioner , to which I have previously referred There were formerly agisters o f this Forest whose duty was to receive the agistment or profit arising from the herbage and pannage for ’ the Kin s use but g , the herbage and pannage W being granted to the Lord arden , those profits ’ l a are col ected by the Lord Warden s stew rd , and the appointment o f agisters has been dis continued for near a century past .

Their appointment was never revived , for at the termination of the appointment o f the Lord ’ W l o f arden s steward , the co lection the Forest r dues was continued , as befo e , by the Forest ’ use keepers for the King s , who accounted for them to the Deputy Surveyor instead of to the

104 T H E NE W FORES T

’ o f Lord Warden s steward and the occupancy of

’ the King s House . The control of the keepers and of their collection as agisters o f the New Forest dues lapsed to the Crown , and fell under the con

’ o f trol of the Commissioners Woods . The King s

D Act House stood empty , and the eer Removal ,

its o f with all alteration old customs , was close at hand . It was d ecided to remove the Deputy Surveyor e from New Park , the residence always occupi d

W who by the Commissioners of oods , , apart from

ha d the Sporting interests , sole control of the

a Forests . New Park was then a comp ratively

ca r small house . It had close by convenient ’ a sa wben ch penters yards , , and other essentials , the lack of which I felt keenly all my days in the Forest . i ’ The K ng s House was large , rambling , ex

i a o f pens ve to live in , without any land to Spe k

a ul att ched to it , so that no artisan estate work co d

v for be done there, and was thus ery unsuitable

o f D the residence the eputy Surveyor . So accordingly they set to work in those mid -Victorian times to wreck the old place as far as they could . In order to reduce the house to dimensions more in accordance with its future use , some genius pulled down the beautiful Old Tudor rooms (no doubt the addition of Henry ’ T HE KING S HOUSE “ 105

’ VIII) which were over the Verde rers Hall and ’ also the scullery and servants O fli ces adjoining

o f them on the side the street . They threw this latter accommodation into the hall , enlarging it to a size which had never been required up to that day, and never has been since , and placing thereon a barn -like roof abutting o n the old house — a destructive a lteration as barbarous in character as could be imagined . But they could not even

. of do this properly The walls the upper story , which had to come down to enable the barn roof

16 - to be completed , were good inch brickwork , and they were pulled down to some 8 feet from —I the ground cannot think why . But instead of being built up from that level in the origin al 16

nl 11 inch work , a brickwork of o y inches was put

on in , with lath and plaster the interior , to make up the appearance o f the new work to the width of the old walls they were superimposed upon . Still worse, mullioned windows were put in to replace — the o ld ones destroyed doubtless originally built ul with stone, but the present m lions are a des

ica ble p Sham of brickwork covered with plaster .

ff o f o a k Mercifully , su icient the beautiful panelling which lined the upper rooms was pre served to form a dado round the newly constructed “ ’ ” im os ancient Verderers Hall . A more rank p ture does not exist l—save only for the ancient 106 T HE NE W FORES T o a k fittings and furniture which has never been

—zi . I removed There are two very ancient think ,

on e Tudor , but may be Jacobean solid and heavy oa k tables . The dock in which the prisoner stands is a most curious piece o f o a k furniture—solid and heavy as stone—touched with

the no tools but the axe and adze , and bearing f marks of them to this day . I ancy this piece o f old oak is about the most ancient piece o f “ ” work on the premises ; the solid oak bar o r b w o f arricade , bet een the court and body the hall , is also massive and ancient . Fortunately , too, the ancient canvas with the Royal Arms o n it ft i was also le . Though not beautiful , it is nter

of s G esting , as it records the holding the la t reat

Justice Seat in Eyre held “ for the Forests south “ of Trent . It bears date C . II . The third

un figure of the date is obliterated , but it is 6 doubtedly a , as the Justice Seat was held by

o f 16 6 9— o f 70. Vere , Earl Oxford , in Worst all , it wa s quickly found out that the absorption o f the servants’ offices as devised by the destroying

genius rendered the house uninhabita ble . To

- sacrifice the useless , cocktail brand new hall , which had absorbed and ruined the priceless (as

n ow it 1388 we Should think ) hall of , was not to

be thought of. So a fresh device had to be re sorted to in order to provide absolutely necessary

108 T HE NEW FORES T

very rotten , and under my investigations it gave way sufficiently to give an idea o f what might be underneath . I quickly examined into this , and , to my joy , found the panelling intact . Better ft still , I had recently discovered in a lo over a I stable , a carved mantelpiece for which could not account . On bringing this to light , the outline on the paint o f the panels showed that it was the original mantelpiece that fitte d into its old pla ce perfectly in the drawing -room of the house

wa s . as it formerly~ I soon besought the Office of Woods to carry out the restoration o f this room to its original form . What they would not do , I myself supple men ted ul r o ld , and the res t was a very p etty room exactly in keeping with the rest o f the house .

il “ of In the rebu ding in the days Charles II , the idea of an abode that should be o f the nature “ ” Of our lodgings in New Forest wa s always

i n e kept sight , and the r sult was a house of peculiar and by no means convenient planning . On the first floor are all the principal rooms o f the house , and very good lofty rooms they

o n e are , opening all into the other , as was the

o f da custom that y , and occupying the whole of the first floor on both sides o f the house . These were no doubt the apartments reserved , and built T H E KING ’S HOUSE 109

for r expressly , the oyal accommodation , whether

on o r for the King himself his occasional visits ,

r W e who n for the Lo d ard n , , no doubt , was freque tly in residence .

o f On the ground floor was a suite rooms , Similar in area to the royal apartments on the

but five f upper floor , eet less in height , and alto gether inferior to the first floor and rooms . ’ Above the Old Verderers Hall was a set , pro

of o a k n o t o f bably four , panelled bedrooms , very

e large Size , but comfortabl , no doubt ; and in the second floor is a perfect rabbit warren of attics ,

V of 1850 reduced in number since the andalisms ,

f o which so altered the abric f the house . 1880 hi In , and the years w ch followed it , I was able to get a fewsanitary improvements

’ o ut W e carried . got the South Hants Company s

on water laid eventually , and were saved from the perils o f a very doubtful and preca rious supply pumped by hand ! An d in 1904 came the ever

so badly needed drainage scheme for Lyndhurst ,

a with which we were connected ; and , as a p rt

of i o ut the works carr ed in consequence, we attained at long last to the luxury o f a bath

- room, which we had had to forego for twenty four years of residence in a Government house 1 But in 19 04 there came to the old house a restoration better than any it had experienced 110 T HE NEW FORES T

19 03 e since Stuart days . At that date ( ) the a com moda tion fo r my office and for my staff had become impossible . Two very small rooms on the ground floor had to provide space for an enormous accu mula tio n of papers in daily use for reference ; for — — my clerk and a boy and on frequent occasion s f r o my three assistants , and all the men they were paying monthly wages to . The clerical work , owing to that extraordinary passion of the Civil ul Service for multiplying and m tiplying , and — multiplying again all papers and returns , mostly

in saying the same thing three times over , had creased to such an extent that my clerk , with a

n o t boy assistant , could compete with it , nor could

o o I do my outdoor business and help him t . The office accommodation was reduced to such a point that a n y fresh papers that came in had to find

- on fl o f their resting place the oor . This , course , doubled the work , for it generally took more time to hunt up o ff the floor the references required to

for make a report that might be called , than to make the report itself when the materials ha d been gleaned together . It was actually maddening. 19 03 Finally , in the autumn of , my health gave way from worry . I was ordered by my

t l o ut o f doc or to c ear England , to do no work

w or exer of any kind hatever, take any sort of

112 T HE NE W FORES T — they turned o ut to b e and in taking steps to

ffi better the o ces .

As i o f f to the prov sion O fice accommodation , that was a difficult problem which was long and Often discussed between Sir Stafford Howard and W myself. The Commissioners were quite illing to

or fo r buy , build , a house the purpose , though

that would have been very inconvenient to work .

wa s But there no suitable Site , and the only

n possible house was ot available . Suddenly the idea struck me o f restorin g the ’ old rooms over the Verderers Hall easily

e providing thereby the accommodation we want d , and at the same time restoring the old house

itself to its original proportions and appearance . There had recently retired from the service o f the Offi ce o f Woods o n e who had been my first

. R assistant for many years Mr oberts , a qualified

i l and ingen ous architect , particular y good , as I

ft f o ld o en ound , in adapting additions to build w ing . He thre himself into this work as a f o . labour love , and succeeded admirably The difficulty was that the height o f the

ha d s ceiling of the modern hall been rai ed , so that it was very difficult to adjust the new

o f h rooms to the levels t e existing building. The height of the building was limited by the height

o f a s . the house it stood However , these troubles T HE KING’S HOUSE 113

he o f were overcome . T height the modern : ’ ’ Verderers Hall was reduced by 2 feet 6 mc hes

n w without anyone ever notici g it . A ell exe cuted copy o f the fine old Jacobe an staircase in the house itself was placed at the northern

so to f end , as give access to the new O fices , and ,

o ut o f in fine, we contrived , what was previously

set o f wasted space , a capital of three rooms f o fices , with abundant presses for holding papers , f &c . o , drawing tables , and all the accessories a

’ land agent s office . The relief and assistance that was conferred on my Staff by this extra space was in con ceiv

fo able . Instead o f spending hours in searching r

e a pap r, heaped with others in a Slovenly mass o n the floor , every document was indexed and in its place . The saving in labour , represented

n s by pounds Shilli g and pence , went a long way towards paying interest o n the outlay and the additional salaries .

” al wa s But besides this practic view , there the immense improvement in the appearance o f the

Old house .

h fo W en first my proposals r a n. alteration of any kind to that portion o f it which was erroneously conceived by the public to be a

n wa s genui e historical building were made , I warned a n d well realised that an agitation and H 114 T HE NEW F ORES T an outcry was sure to be raised again st any action o f ffi o f this kind by the O ce Woods , who had not at that time earned public approval and con fiden ce in such matters by their singularly able b o f . preservation Tintern Ab ey Accordingly , we

a utho called in Sir Aston Webb , as the highest

our s rity obtainable, to examine plans and advi e generally . He cordially approved o f the scheme we had

nl propounded , o y stipulating that everything should — — be carried o ut not as in earlier days but with the best material and in the best manner . He

o r suggested a valuable alteration two , and thus , w armed ith his report , we were quite prepared fo r the inevitable question in the House of

Commons , asked by some member who knew “ nothing about the matter , as to a proposed de struction ’ of a historical building in the New

Forest .

’ One of the stipulations I made in the builder s contract was , that no brick Should be used in an addition to the old building that wa s no t certified

o ld to be at least two hundred years . When the contractor ran o ut o f what material he could pro

old t vide from co tages and the like , I provided him with the remainder from the walls of the o ld Bo ldrewoo d derelict garden at , abandoned for

o f many years , but considerable age . In this

116 T H E NE W FOREST dence was at o n e time o n lease to the Duke of Bedford— the Lord Warden of the day—and his

r but e f hei s , aft rwards occupied by the o ficer in

ll D Sur charge of the Forest, now ca ed the eputy v e or e f y , as the repres ntative in each orest of the

- who Surveyor General , was the ruler over all His ’ Majesty s woods , forests , and land revenues. At New Park were the carpenters’ and masons’ yards for carrying o ut the maintenance o f lodges and buildings all over the estate . In the Park there were impounded all animals found tres

in f passing the Forest , while the arm was princi pally cultivated fo r the purpose o f providing f odder for the deer i n winter time . This provoked the great indignation o f William

o n o f Cobbett , who visited the place one his rides in 1826 ; he inveighs against finding at “ New Park a garden , a farmyard , a farm , and a nursery . The place looks like a considerable

’ gentleman s seat . The house stands in a sort o f park and you can see that \ a great deal of ex pense has been incurred in levelling the ground

’ and makin g it pleasing to the eyes o f my lords ” of the Commissioners (who , course , used New Park as their headquarters when they visited

“ o n the Forest) . A little later , learning that the farm provided fodder for the deer in winter time , “ he says What are these deer for ? Who are to T HE KING ’S HOUSE 117

l’ eat them ? Are they for the Royal Fa mily

For what and for whom, then , are deer in the

! o f New Forest , and why an expense hay farm , o f s o f of shed , racks , of keepers , lodges , and other things attending the deer and the game ?

o f a n Cobbett was , of course , incapable taking y

o f but the most utilitarian view any property , but

-fiv e for all that his views , twenty years later , found expression in the Deer Removal Act o f

185 1 c o ut — , whi h wiped doubtless for sound — economical reasons on e of our most beautiful

national possessions , as it stood in its beauty at

o f m e that time . Probably the best the ast r ’ d o n e Bo ldrewo o d keepers lo ges was the at , which appears to have received more atten tion from its o ccupiers than some of the others .

o f 1789 a In the Commission report , an p “ en dix o f p contains The answer John Richard ,

o f Bo lderwoo d Earl de la Warr , Master Keeper

a o f and Eyeworth W lks , to the Precept the Commission of Land Revenue dated lst day o f June In it he states that he wa s appointed master keeper (a s above) by the Lord Warden during

ldr . Bo ewoo d pleasure He occupies Lodge , which

is in very good repair (no wonder , since the £712 178 1 Crown had just spent upon it , in ) and about 27 acres o f meadow groun d thereto 118 T HE NE W ‘ FORES T

adjoining . He receives 25 loads o f fuel wood

l r T for the consumption of Bo d ewo o d Lodge . his ” John Richard , Lord de la Warr , was appa ren tly a grandson of the Lord de la Wa rr whose letters appear in that delightful book by Lord

Rec or ds o the Old Cha r lton Hun t to March , f ( which I am indebted for the following pa rtic u

lars) They are from Lord de la Warr , who

wa s o f Boldr e woo d then master keeper Walk , to

D of Boldrewoo d the uke Richmond , dated from 1 32 1 in 7 to 738 . A 1 4 In , ugus t 7 7 we find him writing to the Duke who wa s at his house at Bo ldrewoo d en

ter ta in ed r by Lord de la Warr, his G ace apparently n o t caring to avail himself Of the

of re permission the Lord Warden , previously ’ counted , to occupy the King s House and stables ” whenever h e should choose to come . He refers in some detail to the “ new build “ he ing , which thinks will make the whole very ” convenient .

It appears to have comprised a new library , ‘ to be a family assembly room - and he describes at some length his reasons (if indeed they needed any apology) for putting wainscot in the Stone ” For for Parlour . the reasons he gives , and others , it must have been a great improvement . Alas ! all that is left o f this magnificence is

120 T H E NE W FORES T

h Answer to the Commissioners Of t at date , I have formed the opinion that he had no very

o r good grasp of New Forest questions , indeed had concerned himself very much with them . He states that he has no salary whatever as master keeper o r a s deputy to the Lord W but arden , as master keeper he occupies the lodge at Rhin efield and a small enclosure

o n e o f round it , of little value (this enclosure was 4 2 1771 acres) , and I Observe that between and 1774 about £530 were spent o n repairing and improving the lodge . I do not trace what happened to this lodge ’ after Colonel Heywood s death , but for some time before the date o f the Deer Removal Act ( 18 5 1) it had become the residence o f a groom keeper , and must have been much reduced in Size .

185 1 com After , when much planting was men ced o f , the lodge became the residence the

‘ en head nurseryman in charge . The small ” closure o f little value became a large nursery

o f ground , in which some millions ordinary forest

s o a k tree , such as , larch , and Scotch fir , were reared and planted out , and besides these , many thousands also of beautiful ornamental trees f were successfully grown . Many o these still

n in situ remai , but the great pinetum at Boldre T HE KING ’S HOUSE 121

— “ wood the Orna mental ride in Pound Hill D enclosure, and the avenue Of ouglas fir (so little

known and admired) in Oakley , with many i hundreds of other fine spec mens , are witnesses

s of much good and successful work in this nur ery .

t o f o f 1877 Af er the passing the Act , all plant in g and nursery work became abandoned in the

Rhin efield New Forest , and Nursery was closed

. l u down The house fel into ruins , and event ally — the property a most lovely Site for a house

was let to Lieutenant Monro Walker , who turned

old the nursery into pleasure grounds , and built on the old Site a large and very beauti

ll o ii t fu y designed mansion , with very well laid

r ga dens . The great house at Burley Lodge stood o n a ff di erent footing . It was occupied by the Dukes

o f who 130 Bolton , for nearly years exercised a ” sort of imperiumin imper io in the Forest diffi

o r cult to understand explain . “ ” Fo r near a century before 1789 the Dukes o f Bolton held the keepership of the Bailiwick

f e l o i . Holms e Burley ( . Burley and y Walks) , with ’ the great lodge at Burley and the under keeper s lodge at Ho lmsley . The last grant to the Dukes

o f o r 1 Bolton Paulet family terminated in 786 . But a further grant was made to the Earl o f Lonsdale ( a s family trustee) for an additional 122 T H E NE W FOREST

t thir y years . Finally , the interest in the grant was purchased from the trustees o f the Duchess o f 1809 Bolton by the Crown in , for a very con sidera ble sum o f money . The rent paid by the D 9 2 6d £ 8 . . D ukes was only , uring all those

D o f years the ukes Bolton controlled , as it were ,

o f o wn o f a forest their , within the limits their bailiwick . They seem to have exercised all forestal

- rights . They appointed their groom keepers , with their residences the whole thin g being

Crown property . They contracted under their grant to maintain the lodges and all fences within their bailiwick ; but they did n o t observe this

fo r 16 9 7 sumo f £ 106 obligation , in a was expended

o n a Hon . the lodge , as decl red before the Right

in 176 8 Anthony Lord Ashley , Chancellor , and we find that the Crown spent £ 1022 in the repairs ’ o f Burley Lodge ! As to the Crown s forestal

D to rights , the ukes seemed have usurped them fo r to s themselves , and have is ued warrants to

&c . kill deer , cut wood , , exactly as if that part of the Forest belonged to them . And in this they were supported in 175 7 when the Crown keepers disputed the killing of a buck under

f o f the warrant o the Duke Bolton . In the ff f a ray that ensued a keeper lost his li e , and the opposing Side were put on trial for murder . But Since the judge declined to hear evidence

124 T HE NE W FORE ST

Iron shill W The other great lodge was in alk ,

n o t in the Inn Bailiwick . There is much interesting history about it among the records

e that I have unearthed . It stood , like all thes

a ll~ the lodges , upon a beautiful site , before ground u around was planted p, and the fine old silver firs that were planted as ornamental trees in the grounds o f the old mansion stand up as a landmark that may be seen for many miles from the plateaus o f the Forest to the west and northward . In 1787 the lodge was in the occupancy o f W His Royal Highness Prince illiam Frederick , as master keeper of the Inn Bailiwick . Iron shill Lodge appears to have become some what noted in the matter of the heavy expen di

—e ture incurred fo r repairs a n expenditure which

r o f 1789 the Commissioners , in their eport , do not hesitate to suggest wa s fostered by the D eputy Surveyor , in accordance with a bad old

o f custom those days , under which he received a

o f commission five per cent . upon the outlay ,

o f and , further , had the sole supervision the

works . The Commissioners had the case of Iron shill

Lodge before them , and found that an estimate 9 3 1 16 0d £ 3 . . for repairs amounting to , had been

s given in and approved by the Trea ury . As they ’ T H E KING S HOUSE 125

um 1 88 1 s 3d . ha d s £ 7 3 . found that the , been laid o ut 1769 1777 upon this lodge in and , they “ thought the sum excessive , and , having the buildings viewed by a competent and experienced ” surveyor , found that the work might be done

3 0 s for £ 9 les than the authorised estimate . The question of the excessive expenditure on the repairs of these lodges in the Forest had been the subject Of comment from various in flu en tia l persons and memorialists for some sixty 1 24 years previously . In 7 the verderers had taken upon themselves to interfere in the matter , which was one quite outside their jurisdiction , and received a so mewhat severe snub from the

o Commissioners f the Treasury in reply . But there was no doubt room for a good deal o f suspicion and comment about the large sums

on which were Spent these lodges , and the possible peculation connected with them . And Since they were only held as an emolument of a compli f mentary and altogether sinecure o fice , public

di ' in gnation rose . The result was the gradual disappearance o f all these charming o ld resi

is e h den ces . It a gr at pity that t ey were not preserved and utilised o n sounder conditions . Iron shill Lodge must have been rather a fin e o ld o f house , from what we can read it . Its final office was to serve a s an abode for French 126 T HE NEW FO RES T prisoners o f war in the beginning of last ft century , a er which it was pulled down , and nothing remains o f it n owexcept what was once

cloa c a ma xima u a s its , now sed a stronghold

both by foxes and by badgers .

128 T HE NE W FORES T most o f her time there during his absence on

W of re his elsh campaigns . Some the papers “ lating to her stay are o f interest : On Tuesday

13th 1285 o f the November , in oblation the King’s daughters and others standing at Lynd

’ hurst in the Kings Chapel there , for the soul of o f the Lord Philip King France , deceased ,

33 4 d . .

This is also interesting because it points to the origin o f the handsome church at Lyndhurst the which replaced , some fifty years ago , very unpretentious building that did duty as the parish church . Lyndhurst was always a chapelry attached to the mother church of Minstead , and is to this day served by the rector o f Minstead

or . a curate appointed by him The origin , no

o f h doubt , a chapel being first established t ere was that it might serve for the King and Queen , and the large staff of followers and servants that accompanied them , at irregular seasons . “ o n 4 th 1289 : Again , the November To

Gun desa lo us Martini , sent by the Queen as far Southampton and P ortesmouth in a great ship

bu fo r which came from Spain , to y divers things ’ the Queen s use by view of Henry de Monte Pess who went with him to help him— namely

fi s oranges , raisins , pomegranates , dates , g , olive

Fo r a o f l c c . o i & . & , b skets , cords , and carriage ’ H E KI N G S HO U S E BE F O R E RE STO T O RA I N .

’ — T H E I N G S HO U S E SO U T H S I D E A S R E STO R E D I N K 1904 .

13 0 T HE NE W FORES T

James visited Lyndhurst pretty frequently , and

r most likely , after the building orde ed to be done

was completed , they were more comfortably housed . Her Majesty Queen Anne devoted her hunt

to o f she ing days the Forest Windsor , where regularly followed the chase ; but I trace no

o f record any visit to the New Forest , though I have already recorded her inspection o f the

of herd red deer at Woolmer . Neither George I nor George II had inclina d tions that led them to the Forest, but uring the reign o f George III at least two visits — 1789 were paid notably in , when he resided at

his ld o . own house , the house at Lyndhurst An account o f this visit is to be found in

’ Dia r a n d Letter s o M a da me D Ar bla the y f y, 25 1789 — “ June , Arrived at Lyndhurst , we

’ ” of i e old drove to the Duke Gloucester s ( . . the ’ D W n King s House, held by the uke as arde , in which capacity he was acting as the host o f the

King) . “ F l us but The Royal ami y were just before , the two Colonels came and handed us through

the crowd . “ for The house, intended a mere hunting

wa s seat , built by Charles II , and seems quite unimproved and unrepaired from the first fo un da i ’ f . s D o tion It the King s , but lent to the uke ROYA L VISIT S 13 1

. is o ld Gloucester It a straggling, inconvenient , but u ll house , delightf lly situated , in a vi age

n looking indeed at present like a populous tow , from the amazing concourse o f people that have crowded into it . The Bowmen and Ar chers and Buglehorn s are to attend the King while he stays here , and in all his rides . The Duke o f Glouceste r was ready to r e c eiv e a re the Royal Family , who all in the i highest sp rits and delight .

b ed- I have a small Old chamber , but a

r large and commodious , pa lour in which the gentlemen join Miss Planta and me to breakfast

to and drink tea . They dine at the royal table .

e to W are remain here some days . “ D ’ h uring the King s dinner , w ich was in a

a i p rlour look ng into the garden , he permitted

to wd the people to come the in ow , and their delight and rapture in seeing their monarch at d f table, with the evi ent hungry eeling it occasioned ,

of made a contrast admiration and deprivation ,

. so ex ces truly comic They crowded , however, siv el y, that this can be permitted them no more . They broke down all the paling , and much

of of the hedges and some the windows , and all

ul fo r r by eagerness and m titude , they were pe fectly ” - civil , and well behaved . 132 T HE NEW FORES T

No doubt , from her description , Madame ’ D Arbla y and her compani on occupied those old

’ r the rooms over the Verderers Hall , separate f om ” royal apartments , but as she says commodious a s to the principal apartment and lined through out with that fine Old Elizabethan oa k panelling (for that portion of the house was by no means built by Charles the remains of which form the dado round the Verderers’ Hall in its modern condition . King George III paid a second visit to the

o f New Forest , but was then the guest Sir George

Cuffn ells Rose , at . Neither George IV nor William IV a ppears to

r have visited the New Forest . No is there any record o f Queen Victoria having honoured the district with her presence ; but about the year 1903 , King Edward VII paid a flying visit to

New Forest , coming over from Cowes , where he

o n u was residing his yacht , and sailing p the

Beaulieu River , where he landed , and was met by

ex eri Lord Montagu , who took him for a long p mental drive (it wa s in the early days o f motor cars) all through the Forest . He paused at the ’ see ‘ King s House, just to it , but did not enter it o r descend from his car , as time was pressing .

189 5 s n In August , the Alder hot comma d of

’ v New r l troops isited the Fo est for mi itarytraining ,

13 4 T HE NE W FORES T

’ to o r the Queen s House for this that purpose , among them the Duchess of Connaught and Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg, who visited

of the church and surroundings the house, and

remained to tea . N0 more royalties visite d us until 1902 or

n ot o f thereabouts (I am quite sure the date) , when the present Crown Prin ce o f Germany then quite a young man—came over to England

o f to pay a series Shooting and other visits , with

L o f a sojourn in ondon , under the auspices my Am old friend Count Metternich , then German

r w ba ssa o . d , whom I had kno n for many years

i o f l My first ntimation this , fo lowed by an

explanation from Metternich , was a telegram from

wa s Lord Lansdowne , which reached me when I

’ - A grouse shooting at llenheads in Northumberland , asking me to take charge o f the Crown Prince

o and Show him the F rest , and to provide four

b c use o f nice a ks to ride about upon , for the — himself and his staff a pretty tall order for a

to o f man comply with in the month August ,

o o f with the gr und like iron , who at the best f times was master o a very small stud .

However , I hurried home , and provided the

i be Crown Prince with a n ce horse of my own ,

cause , at that date , I thought it was important ul that he Sho d not break his neck . Things are ROYA L VISI TS 135 — altered now and o ur universal provider o f horse

Mr — flesh , . Bradford , found me mounts the best

u — ' f he co ld for the rest of the sta f, with a gentle f o r . ll beast the ambassador We , we wandered

the over Forest for two whole days , and I wonder who wa s the most bored person amongst us probably Metternich . I who had been to German

o f forests , and knew something their manage

a ll ment, was sorely put to it not to expose the difficulties and deficiencies lying in the path o f New Forest management in forestry matters .

o H wever , we got through very pleasantly , with ’ fo r tea a long interval at the King s House , a

n S ir ll so . lu cheon with Wi iam Harcourt , and forth Metternich had got the Crown Prince out of

for his o wn London two days , to great relief, and the day after he left us he was Off to

Scotland , and , as I think and believe , to merrier surroundings . There must be many a heart besides my own

o f thinking sadly that visit of a cheery lad , and

Al o n e o f all that has taken place since . though cannot forecast such things , there certainly fell ,

o r o f his f by look word , from any sta f or himself, nothing to cause a foreboding of the terrible shadow that was to fall over us in a brief dozen o r so years .

An d again , curiously enough , the next sovereign 13 6 T HE NEW FORES T

’ s i to vi t the King s House was the Emperor , Kaiser

William II himself. In 1907 he came to reside for a brief period

ff en at Highcli e , near Christchurch , and Sp t his k time in motoring all over the country . I new ’ that he would be sure to want to see the King s f House but hoii se o f , at that time it was a

mourning , and a black shadow lay across it. K I took pains , however , to convey to the aiser , d through Metternich , my hope that he woul give ’ o n e r w me week s g ace before he came , after hich time I would be willing and anxious to Show him

wa s o f e the house , and tell him all that inter st

about it .

to His Imperial Majesty , however , selected

come at a time when I was perforce away . He

e o f e looked over the house , b ing shown , cours

of o r o f nothing interest , and , calling f a sheet

- letter paper , wrote for me , as a visiting card ,

a large William I . and a second sheet was covered with the signatures o f his distinguished ff sta . But I am bound to say that he afterwards sent me a very kindly worded letter through ff Count Metternich to the e ect that , if he had h ascertained that we were away from ome , he

would not , at such a time , have come to the

to . house at all , though he wished visit it It

CHAPTER XI

F OREST RY

AT o the risk of being tedious , it is necessary to g rather fully into the history o f the sylviculture o f the New Forest , for most people have the

how vaguest ideas as to the various woods , espe cia ll y the older and most beautiful areas , origi n a ted f , and under what di ficulties the growth

e o n of trees was , at all times , carri d in the New

. E Forest specially the notion was , up to a cer

tain date , entertained that all the more ancient

e woods were primeval forest , Spontan ously

of grown without the assistance man . It is no wonder that such erroneous ideas prevail when we find them endorsed and put forward by such bodies a s the Committee of the House o f Commons on the New Forest

18 5 on e question which sat in 7 . In more than report suggested for adoption it is roundly stated that no cultivation o f trees had ever existed in

Act o f 1698 W l the Forest prior to the , in il iam

’ a c III s time . The Committee seems to have

ce ted o f p this view , in sheer ignorance the FORE STRY 139 ’ i Forest s h story , and it suited the book of those

‘ a ll who opposed the Crown , in it ever had done

o f m or proposed to do in the way anagement , to be able to argue tha t since fin e woods had grown in the past without any assistance at all , the proper course to adopt was to put a stop to

or all forestry cultivation , and let the Forest

o f 1 take care itself. An d the Act of 877 was intentionally framed on lines devised to fetter and impede everything in the way of forestry

as much as possible indeed . Its principal pro

moters openly admitted as much . Leaving out the open heaths covered with

o f of gorse , and groups stunted trees various

kinds , and , in places , with fine attempts at a

o f natural regeneration Scotch fir , both valuable ,

and interesting to watch , we have first of all

5300 old some acres of woods , all planted before

o f of the times Charles I , and many them going

back to much earlier days . Then there are

o f oa k o f woods , mostly pure , dates varying

from two hundred to one hundred years old ,

7000 a of covering about acres , and a b lance younger plantations from seventy to forty years — of age totalling about acres roughly . These between them make Up all o f the New

Forest tha t is devoted to the culture of trees . AS to the history o f the woods in the last 140 T H E NE W T O RE ST

is a ll three categories , there no doubt at . The Acts of Parliament under which they were made, and the returns as to their formation and plant

too c ing, are too recent and easily inspe ted to a mi f It d t o any dispute in their case . is in ” connection with the old woods , the great

e of o f b auty the Forest , which the opponents forestry use to bolster Up their case by arguing ” that they are primeval , and natural , that we have to look up ancient records long before the year 1700 to Show that all these woods Were just as much the result o f the care Of the Forest officers o f those days as is the youngest Crown th enclosure in e Forest . It is not possible to trace to its commence ment the practice o f enclosing land for natural i regeneration , and for reproduct on of stool shoots and seedlings ; but the wording o f the first Act

I can find on the subject , that of Edward IV

14 83 o n e in , recites the practice as a common , “ In forests and chases within his realm o f

or o f England , purlieus the same , and extends the period during which the land might be en closed fo r that purpose from the existing limit of three years to one of seven years . To go to the New Forest particularly; we find a return in the sixteenth year o f Henry VI by Henry Carter of Wa lha mpto n and Thomas

142 THE NE W FORES T

W 1 4 the Preservation of oods in 5 3 . The keynote

of w Act to the t enor the hole , best known as the “ ” o f W Statute oods , was struck in the pre amble The King o ur Sover eign Lord perceiv mg and right well kn owing the great decay of timber and woods universally within this his realm of Englan d to be such that unless Speedy remedy in that behalf be provided there is great and manifest likelihood of scarcity and lack as well o f timber for making repairing and maintaining o f houses and Ships and also for fewel and fire wood for the necessary relief of the whole com mon a lty of this his said realm And so the Act goes o n to make provision that no coppice woods Should be out until they arrived — at a certa in maturity that when they were cut “ ” o f sta n dils a certain number storers or , to be o f oa k wherever possible , Should be left to each — acre that these sta ndils Should n o t be c ut fo r timber until they arrived at certain dimensions

SO u d and forth , drawing p, indee , a working plan for every wood throughout the kingdom , to be strictly followed o n pain o f a fine for every Single iii d iv . o f s . transgression , no less then It will be noticed that in all these ancient records , woods are always referred to as coppices

the s t o r en co ppicemen t. That was universal ys em FORES TRY 14 3 o f o in wo dland management those days . Plant

ing four feet apart , with nurses , draining and t all the rest of it came in long af erwards . The ancient practice was Simply to exclude all harmful

animals from the woodland , to encourage all the

e o f natural s edling growth , the proper kinds that u would assuredly spring p, and to cultivate and

- realise that self sown produce in various ways ,

into which I will go presently . Every one of the beautiful old woods which we admire so much as we ride through them in

or summer , revel in the cry of hounds that echoes

in and resounds among the old timber winter , is

o f o f en co ice the result such a process enclosing, pp

ul is ment , and c tivation as prescribed in those

Acts of four hundred years ago that I have cited .

it Ash Bra tle o r Whether be Mark , y, Ridley

Ver ele o r Woods , y Hollands Wood , Matley or

r W o is a . Fair Crop Bramshaw , it all the s me ith

o ut t the fostering fence and care , hey never

s o r could have come into exi tence, survived the ravages of the King’s deer and commoners ’ cattle

and ponies . There are plenty of New Forest records to 1542 show this . In we find an Exchequer order

from Wm . Paulet , Lord St . John , the Surveyor

n o f w o Ge eral all the Cro n woods , giving instru

D D of the tions to Robert orne, eputy Surveyor 14 4 T HE NE W FORES T

’ d o f So utha m tom King s woo s in the county p , to ff the following e ect , that these shall be on behalf of our Sovereign Lord to authorise you and your sufficient deputies by these presents not only to survey the King’s said woods both great and small with their values and ages in every Lordship and seignory within the said County , and the

n d a to wastes a s les made in them , but also ’ use make sale to the King s , at the best price

o f you can before Easter next coming as ! many ’ coppice woods as are o f fourteen years growth ” and upwards .

o f 15 6 5 In the reign Elizabeth , in the year , ’ r Roger Taverner , the Queen s Surveyor , was o dered

v of to make a comprehensive sur ey all the forests,

o f his south Trent , and complete return of the New Forest and its woods is highly interesting to those who know the country well . Most of the lands capable o f growing hard

i d o wood are include . S me can hardly be traced

- Old n . be e under their ames Others can identifi d , but are now absorbed in larger and more modern 200 plantations , though some of these woods are

- years old to day and more . But many a name Shows us the old open woods of to - day in their

f n c ic mn s 1 6 condition o e o pp e e t in 5 5 . Though various Acts were passed by James I and by Charles I and Charles II dealin g with

14 6 T HE NE W FORES T

—to single rail , for twenty years the detriment of o n e— « no might be accorded to them . But

' this is prohibited by an Act that honestly meant

to a s b e well the New Forest , but , it came to it ‘ drafted , struck it the severest blow had encountered since the last well meant Act

185 1. A ! two in las between Acts Of Parliament , pulling in diametrically opposite directions , the d poor Forest came to sa grief. I am writing now to those who love trees and understand forestry- not the economic for estry o f the German

is professor , though that all very well in those — — parts o f this o r any forest that are suitable

b ut m of for it , ore that the Estate Forestry practised in these islands among parks , ancient

New — chases , forests , such as the Forest where

o f the beauty the surroundings is the first object , and where the annual production o f so many cubic feet o f marketable timber is not put in f front o all other considerations . Two things

o ld will strike them , first , that these beautiful

o f woods are mainly composed beech timber , and for that reason their life is likely to be all k o a . the Shorter , than if the predominated But they will have observed in those speci mens of modern en coppicemen ts and natural

o f Go d a re regeneration , which , thank , there a — good many Denny enclosure is a fine example FORESTRY 147 — that the woods do not Spring up now as b o f o a k eech woods , but mixed and beech , where

o the s il is suitable for hard woods , and of h . t e Scotch fir where it is not In fact , oak

— ‘ predominates therefore certainly the sa me thing took place four hundred years ago , and the — ? question a rises where are the oaks W but here should those oaks have gone , to the Royal Dockyards to play their parts in the fights o f the nation and the protection o f ? the realm For that purpose they were grown ,

e and for that they were prop rly used .

o n the In all surveys and reports Forest, the growth o f timber especially for the use o f the n was avy the first question considered , and that encouragement to pla nting of o a k wa s needed is

o n sh wn by the retur s .

o f 1608 In that , there were shown as trees fit for the use o f the navy but in 1783 there were shown only The planting authorised by the A ct o f 169 8 was doing what it could to remedy this state o f things , but it could have produced no navy

of timber as yet . The great sacrifice timber , shown by the drop from trees to

out o f o ld came the woods I am speaking of, converting them from mixed plantations to

a o somewh t sparse beech wo ds . 14 8 T HE NEW FORES T

Much of this timber went where it ought to f . o go , viz to the upkeep the Royal Navy .

176 1 178 the Thus , between the years and 7 Forest yielded timber valued at o f which went to the Royal Dockyards 1707 while before that date , in , a warrant was

for u o f issued c tting, for the service the Royal 300 Navy , trees annually for forty years , and

for further , felling yearly such trees as Should

An d be found most useful for the navy . in 184 9 1852 the years to , when the utilitarian

Spirit mostly prevailed in the Forest , when a navy purveyor for some three years occupied ’ h the old the Queen s House itself, w en also wooden walls of England were about to be

o f renewed for the last time , upwards — of timber went to the dockyards rightly and - l properly enough , if it was fit for ship bui ding .

For what is a Royal Forest meant , if it is not

e to supply timb r for national service , and if its growth is not cared for and maintained so as to keep up that supply ? And there wa s another constant drain on the more valuable oaks in t he constant thieving that

o f went on all over the Forest , by the neglect

f to the Forest o ficers check the malpractices ,

n ot if, indeed , they did participate in the h profits made , and increase t em by the bad

15 0 T HE NE W FOREST

Browne , and the presentment was made absolutely ” o f against the consent the regarders and verderers , being solely fermented by Pha n a tics who have a ” m o f prejudice to all custo es used tyme out myud .

Prays to have fine remitted .

u wa s I am afraid , though , that the p nishment

inflicted with but little thought for the preserva ~

t of o f ion the timber the Forest , and a good deal o f that desire to put a stop to a ll ancient forms of recreation which prevailed during the lugubrious

o f times the Commonwealth , like to the famous — prohibition o f the Sport of bear -baiting not

n e because it gave pai to the bear , but b cause it gave pleasure to the people !

There are , however , some cases where these old

so o f . woods consist wholly , or nearly , oaks alone There can be no doubt in these cases that the woods were carefully cultivated with a View to the

of o f purposes the navy , to the exclusion other

considerations , and that great pains must have

e to e be n taken radicate all the beech , under the impression that the oak would thrive better with — out it a view that is not endorsed by modern ul foresters nor by the res t before U S . A second point will strike any observer o f

a s trees he wanders through these ancient groves . — It is that almost every beech and some oaks

An are pollarded . d it is perhaps to this treat FORES TRY 15 1 ment that they owe their great size and their age, exceeding the average life of the beech . But why was this pollarding done ? And under what circumstances The rea son is to be found in the method of cultivation practised in the early da ys of these

n O ic mn o ut e c e e tS . pp , viz to farm them upon lease

n n to various tenants u der very strict conditio s .

The crop rea lised was mainly the underwood , a n d f r used no doubt o fuel and charcoal . It was

e to not permitted to fell timber tr es , nor cut down trees such as o a k and beech which might

Ul m ti ately become timber . But a sort of cultiva tion by pollarding on underwood lines o f young

to . trees seems have been permitted Only , the

o r tenants farmers were well looked after , and presentments a gainst them in the Forest courts are Often recorded . 15 71 Thus , in , we find a presentment of the regarders of the Forest to the effect that “ a coppice called Ridley Coppice hath been spoiled ” by cattle by o n e John Marlowe . And again , there is an indictment for felling five dotards

6 An d 3 . containin g ten loads of timber , value

fo r 200 again , shrouding trees in the said coppice “ a nd and selling the same . Again , for divers ” ma ny young oaks felled for stakes for the hedge . All these things appear to have been inconsistent 15 2 T HE NE W FORES T with the rules laid down to regulate the method of farming the coppice . W Ridley ood , where these misdemeanours

on e occurred , is of the most beautiful woods in the whole Forest . It consists almost entirely of pollarded beeches , with wide Spreading heads of

ff o f numerous di erent stems , some very large dimensions, forming , both individually and as a f n o r . whole , woodla d scenes very g eat beauty It has amply repaid the care that wa s bestowed upon it in its early days . There were other forestal crimes committed

en co ic men s with regard to these ancient pp e t . In on e case the Regarders and Preserv a tors o f the Bailiwick of Fritham make oath and say in

cO ic e English words , that in the pp called Hock nold (Ockn ell Wood) there is felled by the gr oun d ” —i re - e . four oaks . the pollards might be pollarded , l e but not fel ed . These records , trivial in th m selves , when taken with the story that the Old

of woods tell for themselves , throw a flood light on the origin and history of the ancient wood lands which most profoundly interests the prao

is tised Observer . That they were first enclosed certain by the records and by the heavy bills we

fin d being presented to the Exchequer o f the

of the day fo r the charges doing work . That

e out u they were farm d , on pec liar terms , is Shown

: FORES TRY 153 by the leases and grants to the various tenants ; how they were farmed , we have to glean from the complaints as to breaches o f the conditions o f the leases . That the underwood was regularly out r either by the tenant or by the C own , is

o f Shown by the receipts for sales this kind . All

“ actual timber seems to have been ta ken for the

Navy . “ But the presentment as to the shrouding , “ o f n b trees , and as to the cutti g of four oaks y ” the r oun d g , Shows , if the woods themselves did t not ell the tale , that pollarding the trees was e the pr scribed practice .

ff r The e ect , quite apart f om scientific forestry, is certainly most beautiful . The great Spreading trees , covering , no doubt , five times the space they ought to occupy when the main consideration is the number of cubic feet of timber to be produced

er p acre , are therefore anathema to the forester , wh o avers that he is nothing if he is not com — mercia l but to the ordinary lover of beautiful forest scenery they are very dear . I well recollect one o f the most distinguished scientific foresters of my time declaring to me that he had never seen an English hedgerow tree — that was worth looking a t as a tr ee .

o f o f I , with my mind full hundreds glorious hedgerow ashes in the Ea st Riding o f Yorkshire 15 4 T HE NE W FORES T

, of the magnificent oaks in the fields o f He reford

r ff . shi e , Sta ordshire , and a dozen other counties

o f of ! D t the elms Berkshire and orse shire , stood did aghast at the saying, coming as it from such a distinguis hed authority . But I took heart when he explained to me

e that what he meant was that all thes trees , beautiful objects as they were to the sentimental — forester a being he described a s altogether o ut side the pale and not worthy of consideration were to his mind all o f the wrong shape for the production o f timber . That they occupied fiwve times the Space they ought to cover , if the gro ing of timber on proper lines ‘ was the object, and further , that in any case they shaded and spoilt a certain area . over which the farmers crops ought

c to be the sole consideration . And no ac ount need be taken of . the beauty of the country or o f o f the estate the landlord , who after , all , let it to on the farmer, or cultivated it himself, terms which had been previously considered with re gard

o f to the existence the trees . Well; everything that my distinguished pundit d f sai was per ectly true , but for all that , and for all his immensely superior science , gathered in

ed various parts of the Empire , I dar to disagree

b i e with him , and was thankful to el ev that even yet there are thousands o f English landowners

15 6 T HE NE W FO REST

W e can therefore safely assume that all the old pollards forming the woods so greatly a ppreci ated by the public are not less than from 200 to 300 years old . Probably the latter date is more nearly the correct one . A lover of scenery con n o t fail to contrast their picturesque forms with those of more modern woods—even those planted immediately after the Act Of 169 8 and there is food for reflection in the mind o f the arboriculturist as to the extra term of years and the beauty of form that has been conferred on these trees in consequence o f their maltreatment in early life . The holly was always a principal feature in

! is the New Forest . It in truth the weed of the

a . Forest , and very beautiful weed too The rich glossy evergreen foliage which clusters around — the great stems o f the beeches in winter and I have never found anything that flourishes under the immediate shadow o f the beech as the holly does in the New Forest is o n e of

o f the great features forest scenery . It was — always deemed to be o f importance whether for covert for game or for browse for the deer seems uncertain .

But in the report of J . Norden on the New

its 16 09 Forest and coppices , made in to Sir FORE S TRY 157

ul ’ J ius Knight , Chancellor of His Majesty s ” Holmsle Exchequer , he relates that y Coppice , (which took its very n ame from its Splendid production of the tree whereof we are speaking)

o f or for consisteth only holly holm, which are

t old the mos part very , and by reason that the country people have taken the bark o f the most of to all them make bird lime , they are decayed and dead , and if they be not taken they will

v be utterly perish and the co ert will destroyed , whereas the cutting in a sea sonable time will ” revive and continue the same . This is an interesting record as to country ” f n li e and what was then called birdi g, and the means whereby it was carried out ; but it is also interesting as showing the ancient know

n owSO r O e r ledge , often forgotten , of the p p way

ul . to c tivate hollies and similar evergreens , viz to lOp and pollard them a s soon as ever they

s o f show igns decay .

By this means , and by this only , such Shrubs may be kept alive until they attain great age a n d dimensions ; a n d it is to this method o f

a e fo r tre tment , chiefly adopt d the purpose of

browsing of deer in winter , that the existence of some of the almost patriarchal trees O f the New

Forest is to be attributed . Those who are familiar with the Forest will 15 8 T H E NE W F ORES T have noticed that most of these fine polla rd trees ’ n o old stand t far from the keepers lodges . It was to browse their deer that they out these ft d vigorous old stems , as o en as they woul t stand it , and for obvious reasons they selec ed — those nearest at hand a n d these gradually multiplied : at such places will be found grand

o f 7 8 t old stems and feet in gir h , with fine

a on a Spreading heads , that Show cle rly examin tion the marks where they have been apolla rded three and even four times—probably at intervals o f o r thirty years so , thus prolonging their existence—and that as noble forest trees—to a period e normously in excess of that of the ordinary holly shrub as we know it in gardens d and pleasure groun s . W hen the deer were removed , the reason for pollarding and lopping o f hollies went with u them . But luckily a new demand sprung p,

o f with the great increase population , for holly , and especially berried holly , at about Christmas

n time . Fortuately for the hollies , and incidentally fo r the Crown revenue also , this demand goes a long way towards taking the place o f the old f th lopping for browsing purposes . I e demand

o n goes , and the cutting is judiciously done , the Forest may continue to hold its ancient holly trees for centuries in the future as it has done

160 T HE NE W FOREST

to n This is a right , attaching certai defined houses

to e of in and around the Forest , hav , free any

of of payment , a certain number loads fuel wood annually from the Open and unenclosed wastes o f - sa the Forest that is to y, from these very en 00ppicemen ts of mature age of which I have been writing . About 100 years ago these claims amounted to 84 0 d but over loa s annually , at that date the Crown set itself to reduce this impost on the

o f al best part the Forest in re earnest . All allowances o f fuel made to the lodges of

- master keepers , groom keepers , and all other forest officers were commuted or extinguished as All the appointments fell in . the rights attach ing to the -then very numerous—copyholds of the Manor of Lyndhurst were also extinguished

An d as the lives fell in . the Crown kept a market Open from that date until now to purchase at full market value at any time all rights o f this I nature that the owner would sell . n these ways the number of the rights fell from 84 0 loads to

370 to about at the time when I came the Forest , and they have since been bought o ut whenever opportunity arose ; they stand somewhere about

24 0 loads at the present day . It is very desirable

out that they Should be wholly wiped . From the earliest days the exercise o f this FORESTRY 16 1

as common right w deemed most hurtful . In the twenty -sixth year Of Elizabeth an Exchequer

of e order was issued , with the view ch cking the

n o o f practice , that inhabiters any house newly ’ builded since the beginning o f the Queen s reign Shall be allowed any wood in the same Forest to be burnt and expended therein . The right is thus limited to houses that stood

t in when Queen Elizabe h came to the throne , cluding such reconstructions and renewals as have been rendered necessary during the lapse of years . This right Of c ommon was formerly the subject

f f or o . o great abuses Whole trees beech , even o f oa k so , were assigned as representing many

ul o r loads , and were quite unlawf ly sold made use o f for any purpose rather than that o f the necessary fuel of the house to which they were

ha s assigned . In later years the fuel wood always been cut and stacked by the Crown , and good timber is never included in the assignments , so is that it at least fuel wood , and fuel wood only,

o f that is now carried f . But the right is at the present date more

so injurious than ever , although much money has been sunk in reducing the number of claims , because the area of Open and unenclosed woods ” from whence the Supply can be drawn is also f become so much reduced , that the tax alls far 16 2 T HE NE W FORES T

ft more heavily upon the area that is le . It is the case that they a r e becoming so old and decayed that the frequent windfalls go some way towards satisfyin g the claims to fuel wood . But it ’ 1 happens , often enough , that the sovereign s Sign manual authority has to be obtained for the

100 or 200 o f old e sacrifice of these tr es , and

i s e the loss too s vere to be often repeated , when the drain by windfalls is also considered . In

1883 o f W Sir Henry Loch , then Commissioner oods , introduced a bill into Parliament with the Obj ect of a rbitra i' il obtaining powers to buy Up , y, all

fo r o f these rights, the purpose protecting the o ld a s . w woods The price , whatever it might be , to

i n of be fixed by arbitration or , the case small

s. amounts , by the local magistrates in Petty Session But the commoners resented any interference

for with their right , whether it was the benefit

o f or the Forest not , and , after the bill had passed

its second reading and committee stages , the

third reading was blocked , and , owing to press

o f business we had to abandon it . Thus the right still contin ues to be a perpetual drain on

o f to sa d the most precious part the Forest , the

detriment Of the public property . The traveller

1 No tree o f timber dimen sio n s ma y be c ut in the o pen pa rts o f NewF o rest witho u t the a utho rity o f the Sign M a n u a l o f the o i n S vere g .

16 4 T HE NE W FOREST

’ o f Com crows and other vermin . See Report missioners of 1789 .

A a pparently, the dense pl ntations thus formed

u on the were never thinned , but grew p principle “ ” of of the survival the fittest . Whether these are good principles or bad ones must be decided by the pundits of the modern science of Forestry . W But the result was undeniable . hen the French

o f professors forestry from the school at Nancy ,

Boffr e i o f headed by M . , the ch ef that institution , visited the forests and woodlands of England in

1885 on , they left it record that nowhere in Europe had they found pure o a k woods with a larger quantity o f cubic feet to the acre than in these Old William III plantations in the New

Forest . W m u hat is ore , p to that date , when the

e W u old tre s ere well nder two hundred years ,

of n the majority them were sou d timber , though — some were showing signs of old age a n in dica tion of the brief limit of life to be enjoyed by our

o best timber trees , in the very moderate s il and

of f bad exposure most o the New Forest woods . the And sure enough , in thirty years during which I have occasionally thinned those woods , the quality of the timber has been steadily de

teriora tin 19 13 g until , in , it was worth but little 88 more than half the price it fetched in 1 3 . FORES TRY 165

The portion o f the Old William III woods that I had to deal with was not much more than a remnant . The greater portion o f them had been

' f Act o f 185 1 felled soon a ter the , partly to bring in revenue and much needed timber for the doc k

yards , and partly to clear the better land, which they occupied (our ancestors always chose good la nd to plant , or else did not plant at all) . At the time o f what I may call the anti ” 1875 forestry agitation in , much blame was sought to be cast on the Commissioners of Woods dl ” for cutting these plantations , which undoubte y consisted of very fin e old trees o f peculiar char

acter . But it is difficult to see what other course

c ul o f they o d pursue . The formation these woods ha d b een originally authorised solely on the plea that when mature they should Supply the needs o f the navy . They had arrived at the mature

o f al stage , and contained a large amount v uable

timber of which the navy stood in need . It was

o f a l impossible to resist the claim the dockyards , though to grant it involved the sacrifice of many acres o f beautiful woods which were a source of pleasure to the inhabitants of the locality .

They loudly protested against their removal , and

of o f from the economical point view , the action the Commissioners of the day is amply justified by the decay and deterioration of the remaining 16 6 T HE NE W FORES T

a woods of that ge to which I have just referred .

u nl They were o t o y just in time .

However , to leave New Forest ancient history , as far as we can in dealing with old woods , the next series of plantations to come under Observa

a re 1776 a nd tion those of thereabouts, such

o f An d 850 . as Furzy Lawn , Copse Linwood , here — may be observed a new thing viz . the presence

o f w the Scotch fir , hich has not been apparent in

any on e o f the Old woods hitherto referred to .

In such plantations as I have named , it would appear to have been planted for protection belts

on o f the outsides the woods , and also in areas

- — often o f s ome size where obviously the oa k

too had failed , where the soil had been shallow

on to o the upper lands , and the exposure severe

for A d it . n in various such places the Scotch fir has grown to fine dimensions and produced good

It ' was about the year 1770—1 am not sure — o f the exact date that an Exchequer order was issued for the making o f experiments in order to — ascertain if the Scotch fir that exotic in the — ul u Southern counties co d be successf lly cultivated , in order to provide top masts and bowsprits fo r ’ o ur o f wa r The fir eX eri Ships . st evidence of p New ment in the Forest is that little enclosure ,

w r o f f r ith the t aces its original ence a ound it ,

16 8 T HE NE W FORES T all this growth dates back to no longer than 150

years . That it was indigenous to the South of Eng land in prehistoric times is proved by fossil r e

mains , but it would appear to have completely — — died out for a period possibly of aeons and then to have been reinstated not two centuries ago by At the hand of man . any rate it thrives wonder

in New t fully the thin poor soil of the Fores ,

o n land which will grow nothing else , and seems to have been Specially designed by nature to

clothe these barren wastes . Its propagation became more and more fre quent in New Forest a s its value became a p

on h o f parent , and , passing to anot er series 1805 18 15 woods , viz . the oak plantations Of to , we find a deep shelter belt of Scotch firs round

every plantation , and also Shelter lines planted

so here and there right across the wood , as to break the prevailing winds . There is a pretty good area o f woods o f this — — class roundly about 6 000 acres and some of them e are fine timber , such , for instance , as Amb rwood ,

Ockn ell or Rhin efield , Hurst Hill , Sandys , and ll Aldridge Hi . It is very interesting to trace the growth of methods of forestry by examining this series o f woods . They appear to have certainly been FORESTRY 169

n o f grown by planting , not by sowi g acorns . The principle o f using nurses o f conifer ous timber to draw up and protect the delicate young oaks is adopted by means o f the Scotch fir protect

ing belts . Occasionally we find larch in these

the woods , but they are more in form of groups

than in that of nurses regularly planted . Thinning was the essence of the cultivation

f o f o that era . From the first removals any

thing that might be called nurses , to the cutting o ut of oa k at the earliest age when it was in

any way marketable , every tree was cut that it “ ” was thought could be Spared , in order to give more room to its neighbour to Spread an d be

n come a fine tree , and incidentally to bri g in

an annual inco me to the Crown . I n the New Forest I found a regular five ’ a years rot tion, dating back some fifty years , under which each section of o a k wood that was o f e — mark table age , and would yield bark then — worth £4 to £5 a to n was gone over as each “ lustrum revolved . Income wa s the ov errul

Ofiice ing cry from the of Woods and the Treasury , and so the woods were scraped over for income till they were thinned to death .

There is some common sense in this method . It is quite reasonable to come to the conclusion h that you will eat your cake, and not ave it to 170 T HE NEW FORES T

hoard . But it is not reasonable to hold up

to English Forestry contempt , as compared with m ff continental ethods , when two entirely di erent methods are being pursued . It may be that

E of two the nglish method is the worse the , but if the accounts of the two systems could

o f be compared , I am not sure which them

on would , the whole , show the better balance. There is no doubt that the revenue obtained by thus heavily thinning these plantations o f

a hundred years old was a very large one . The

ffi u wa s to di c lty , how deal with the standing crop that remained when the la st cutting that could reasonably be called a thinning ha d

taken place .

a Of course , German forester would not hesi

d iml —a n d tate for a moment . He woul s p y quite — rightly, in accordance with sound forestry clear

o r the whole standing crop and plant anew , he would endeavour to provide a young crop to spring up to succeed the older generation that

fo r he was realising profit .

But in the New Forest we have no choice .

Act of 1877 The , which laid down a system of

sentimental Forestry , provided that under no circumstances wa s a Single acre o f plantation “ ” so to be wholly levelled or cleared , that, good ” o r sufic ien t r or bad , decadent not , a numbe

172 T HE NE W FORES T

the fact that owing to the regenera tion that has

u ll be taken place , the gro nd wi not wholly

suflicien t levelled or cleared , but that a number

o f the best trees will be left on the land , so

that , in this case , sentiment and practical forestry

can for once walk hand in hand . After the plantations of the date of round b 1815 a out , there was rather a lull in the

o f planting the New Forest . A certain number of plantations were formed in the period 1840

1850 r . , but they are not of very g eat importance l In them is to be noticed the advance o f the

its r use Scotch fir, and more f equent as a nurse

and for a belt . Of these plantations are such as ’ King s Hat Fo xhun tin g Enclosure (why so called ’ I never could divine) and Fletcher s Thorns . But now we come to the period of the great impetus in planting caused by the Deer Removal

Act of 1850 , and this resulted , despite the check so speedily placed upon its powers , in the enclos

of ing and planting about acres . The first process was to complete the powers ‘conferred 169 8 by the Act of William III in , and to take in the whole of the acres authorised there by . Accordingly , such plantations as Oakley and Islands Thorns were made—great woodlands

—of 600 or 700 now some acres each , and for the most part very promising young woods . These FORES TRY 173 were planted more o n the lines laid down by Mr .

of o f . Brown Arniston , the right hand man Mr

of Kennedy , Commissioner Woods in the years

184 9—5 1 the o f , and cause that great revolution u ffi W which nearly broke p the O ce of oods, by uniting against it the whole force of the deputy surveyors (then a numerous body) and all the local officers in the service all over the country .

o f It ended in the removal Mr . Kennedy from f f . o his o fice, by Mr Gladstone , then Chancellor

the Exchequer .

n . However , the pri ciples of Mr Brown endured , and the plantations of that date were planted

oa k with where the soil was good enough , with

’ nurses in alternate rows up to four feet apart

all over , and , where the soil was hopelessly poor ,

with Scotch fir only . Larch was largely used for

v ll u o the nurses , and did ery we p t a certain

age ; but after about fifty years of growth , it

e b gins to fail in the New Forest soil , and soon

a . deterior tes On the whole, the scheme paid well ; the millions of larch and Scotch fir that have been cut out of Islands Thorns a n d Oakley plantations—to name only two—have brought in money enough to repay the cost of the planting

t to several imes over, or to produce enough cash

o n yield a good interest the capital expended , and

o n to leave a thriving crop of oak the ground . 174 . T HE NEW FORES T

These woods , with Parkhill , Pound Hill , and

s oa k other of that date , went far to exhau t the

r il t a ll g owing so of the Forest , which , af er , is but a small proportion thereof, and quickly they

to b a d a nl came the he th lands , which could o y

carry Scotch fir, and that none too well . The result necessarily was the formation of un a ttra c

n h Slufter tive fir pla tations, suc as , Highland D W or . ater , Hawk Hill Had the eer Removal

out ‘ to of Act been carried the full , the extent woodlands o f this character would have been

fiv e-f An d increased old . this would , at the present / a ttra ction s o f date , have seriously depreciated the

s e the Fore t , though in future y ars a great area

o f c fine Scot h fir forest, well grown and well

thinned , might have greatly enhanced it . — Perhaps the last enclosure made that of — Denny was the best ; and I believe it was in

tended to serve as an object lesson to the public . For some years the accusation had been levelled at the Office o f Woods that they deliberately included fine o ld woods within the limits o f

their plantations , and then cleared the ancient

r beeches , in orde to replace them with rows of

Scotch fir . That story was false ; the fine old woods now standing in such comparatively o ld enclosures as

Kn i htwo od Vinn e Oakley , g , and the Heronry in y

176 T HE NEW FORES T should be n o selecting o f small areas of the best soil only , to the detriment of the commoner . Therefore in every plantation was a consider

o f — o f able area inferior land some it , especially

. A in the younger plantations , very bad bout that there was no doubt ; Scotch fir was the only possible crop . Some soil was quite good , and here again oak was without hesitation selected as the proper crop . But between these two grades o f soil wa s a — very large area which might or might not grow oak to some dimensions at any rate . It

so was no easy point to decide , and I found that my predecessors had given the benefit of the doubt to a considerable area of moderate land ,

oa k and planted upon it .

It is for this reason that , now that the ex

erM en t p has been proved to be a failure , the observer of woods finds so much stunted hope

of less oa k o f fifty years age .

o a k I think it was wise to give the a chance , since the growth thereof was the primary object in forming the plantation ; but the result is a

of failure in many these doubtful cases , and will have to be corrected , some hardier crop , such as

Scotch fir , being reverted to . CHAPTER XII

HU NT ING

HU NT ING has always been an integral part o f

NewForest economy . For that purpose it was

ff n o t first a orested , and without hunting it would have continued to exist during all these ages .

its In earlier centuries the deer was , of course , the object of the chase , probably by hounds driving the deer to men armed with bows and arrows . ‘ They are apt to follow the same line year by f n o r . year, accordi g to the conformation the g ound It is curious that the spot where Rufus wa s killed is the very on e in that part o f the Forest where any person desirous o f viewing a hunted deer would take his stand . The reason is that the

Ca n terton two ancient manors of Minstead and , then as now enclosed , narrow the open Forest to an isthmus between their respective fences . Then , as now , the line which the deer were sure to take ran past the spot where Rufus stood , and now , a s who then , the follower of the chase wants to view the deer takes his stand just where the Red

King met his fate. T HE N E W FORES T

But from ancient books o n hunting we know that in the Middle Ages the practice of hunting “ - ft o f deer at force that is , with a swi pack hounds that can run him down—had become popular on the Continent but we have not precise records o f the date when the practice became

general in England , and in the Forest . Indeed there is very little to be found about hunting in

e the New Forest in those early times . W find plenty to show how rigidly the deer were pro

’ o u te cted and preserved t the King s se . Neither the Forest n o r the deer were thus conserved except

fo r o o f purp ses sport , and we may take it for

of o n granted that plenty royal hunting went ,

though I cannot quote chapter and verse for it , without more research than I have given to this

matter .

e a W find in Stu rt times more regular records . “ In 163 8 is a return o f the sale of timber em ployed for making o f bridges and causeways to secure His Majestie riding over the boggs and moores there and not being otherwise used to ” the said waste . For what can His Majesty have used them save for the chase ?

How o f us many have hastily galloped , per

ho t . Spiring in chase , across these most convenient little pa ssages and causeways without giving a thought to the noble King who had them co n

HUN TING 179

o structed , and the subsequent unhappy epis de in d t . Whi ehall One causeway, indee , near Matley , “ ’ ” is known to all men as the King s Passage ,

' Kin ma de but which g it , and at what date , we ” o know n t. Some of these causeways are very

h e use old . Let t os who now it for hunting bow the head and thank the monarch who ordered it to be made , without forgetting those who have maintained it in good order during all these

s centurie . In 164 1 a warrant was issued by the Earl of Holland to the officers and minister of the said Forests (be ing this side Trent) to permit

‘ f o f this noble French Lord the Baron Vieville ,

son o f V ille to n d second the Marquis iev , hunt , a

or o f kill with his hounds beagles , the game hares

W or within the said Forests , Chaces , and arrens ,

o f e any th m , for his recreation , at reasonable times and in convenient places where herds o f deer do ” f sic n ot li e ( ) . The order issued by Charles II for the addi

’ tions and repairs to the King s House and ’ for the erection ( see preceding pages) o f a stable to ” fortie to contain horse , seem to point the main

n ce o f te a n a pretty large hunting establishment .

n And the casual refere ce, which I have quoted

o n e n a prec ding page , to the Ki g and all his

16 37 o ut a n d attendants , in , having gone hunting 180 T HE NE W FORES T

o f returned roundly wet , all them , shows

o n that they were keen the sport . It comforts me a little when I recall the many times that I “ have returned from hunting roundly wet , d starve and shivering , to find that these dis comforts were experienced two hundred and fifty years ago by such exalted personages . A lthough George III was a keen hunter , it does n ot appear that he took the trouble to bring his hounds from Windsor to the New 1836 find Forest to hunt deer . But in we that D the Royal Buckhounds , with Charles avis as

he re d their huntsman , came down to hunt t deer ,

of t carrying such them as they ook , back to the

Swin ley paddocks at Ascot . Lord Erroll was then master. It is recorded that two thousand people were

For present at the meet at Lyndhurst . several

suc years subsequently the Royal Pack , under cessiv e o f Masters the Buckhounds , visited the

New Forest , and enormous crowds attended their

fixtures . Of course red deer only were hunted “ f by this pack , and the hunting was at orce

- sa that is to y, the hounds alone were relied upon to run down and take their deer , by unaided Speed and endurance . The o ld French “ ’ custom o f using r ela is o f hounds had long died out he re .

18 2 T HE NEW FORES T to assist the Crown by removing deer with the aid o f v a r io us packs which they a ssembled together . So great , indeed , was this competition , and s o manifold the disputing and quarrelling

among them about prior rights , that the Crown

had to take a firm stand , and eventually narrowed permissions down to o n e pack only hunting in

” o the spring months , sometimes under the auth rity f f o s s o . Mr . Morant , and ometime Mr Lovell of

Hin chesl ea ,

o f A pack harriers , too , belonging to Colonel

Mon tresso r visited the Forest fo r two f o r three

An d on e successive springs . in year Lord ’ Wolverton s famous pack o f bloodhounds came

n f to try conclusio s with the wild allow deer , T f with but moderate success . his visiting o the

Forest by strange packs , especially in the spring ,

— o f for hunting the quarry being, course , the fox ,

of before that removal the, deer which made — ' hunting them possible se ems to have been a

r o f Reco ds o the p actice long standing . The r f

Cha/rlton Hun t to , which I have previously

referred in connection with Boldrewood Lodge . shows ho wthat establishment annually travelled

o ut of S ussex , and took up their quarters at

Boldrewoo d o f W , the residence Lord de la arr though this pack also made a practice of visiting

the Forest in autumn . H UNTING

About 174 0 the Duke o f Bolton had his pack o f o f hounds at his residence Burley Lodge , and correspondence passed between his Grace and

D of the uke Richmond , complaining that there wa s n o t room for both packs . That wa s likely enough , with the kennels barely two miles apart , but there is nothing to indicate to us which pack were deemed interlopers , and which ought to give way . A little later Lord Eglinton ca me to reside

S omerle wa s at y , and though that mansion well

s A acro s the river von , yet he seems to have pursued his sport in the New Forest , and again

the D provoked remonstrances , this time from uke o f to Richmond , while foxes seem have become — very scarce no wonder . In these circumstances the hunting of the country must have become

. o n e chaotic , and it was high time that some should intervene fo r during all this time the f c o o f . local pa k hounds , which Mr Gilbert was

wa s master , hunting over the whole Forest when

' ever he could squeeze in a day . It was high time that the matter was taken 1784 m hand authoritatively , and in we find a manifesto issued by the proper authority — for controlling these matters : viz . the Lord W h H wo E . H . arden , at that time was . the

D o n uke of Gloucester . This edict throws light 184 T HE NE W FORES T o n e l - or two o d fashioned hunting practices . It runs thus :

ADVERTISEMENT

No boun ds are to be permitted to hunt W ’ in the New Forest except the Lord arden s , and (if he should choo se to come) the Duke ’ o f o f Richmond s , but in the month April

lst 30th viz . from the to the , both days

inclusive . That no pack he suffered to go out more

on e than three times in week , and , to prevent W ’ confusion , it is agreed that the Lord arden s W e are to hunt Monday , edn sday , and Friday , ’ o Mr . Gr ve s to hunt Tuesday , Thursday , and

two o f Saturday , and no more than packs hounds to be in the Forest at the same

time . [It is necessary to remark that the Duke o f Richmond had liberty from the preceding W ‘ Lord arden to bring his hounds , which was

D of continued to him by the uke Gloucester , and this was the only person who had per mission to use not only the kennels and ’ stables , but the King s House likewise , if his

Grace should choose to come , which is very

improbable . Then any stran ge pack must give way

18 6 T HE NE W FORES T

S U TH AMPT a 7t O ON J n ua r 2 h 1784 . , y ,

I R - S , The keepers and others in the New Forest having represented to His Royal Highness the Duke Of Gloucester the great scarcity o f foxes at

s n to pre ent in the cou try , he thinks proper revise some regulations that were agreed to with the Duke o f Richmond and Lord Eglinton when they

had liberty to bring their hounds in the Forest .

He wishes also to add a little to the regulations , as the necessity appears greater at this time . As your hounds have occasionally been in the

to ou Forest , he commands me send y a copy of

the the regulations , and he hopes , as Forest Hounds

‘ will strictly adhere to them , there will be no

objection on your part .

o The Lord Warden has given his name t Mr . ’ u for Gilbert s ho nds , and the future he will look

o f upon them as the established pack the country , but does n o t mean to prevent your hounds coming — o ut under the enclosed regulations I have the

honour to be , etc . , etc .

M E TO E . GROV .

is x The letter interesting, as it e plains the position which the Lord Warden felt himself com — pelled to take up that of having a pack of his HUN TING 187 o wn nl , and putting all other packs , save o y that o f D o f the uke Richmond , which stood in an unique “

. position , into the category of strange packs

He had , however , as far as we know, no pack o f his o w n, and therefore by giving his name

o f . n o t to the existing local pack Mr Gilbert , he

n o f o ly constituted them the pack the county , but entitled its followers to wear the royal button o f o f the Lord Warden that date , with the Crown

’7 and the Stirrup emblem o f the New Forest en

was graved upon it . The button identical with that worn by the keepers and all other servants

the of Lord Warden . But when first I inquired o f how my companions in the hunting field , it came about that they ’ wore a royal button on

o n e their hunting coats , I could not find any who could enlighten me , and even at the present date there are plenty of pe ople who suppose that they wear a crown on their buttons in right o f a

oxhoun ds subscription to the New Forest F , and have never thought o ut the reason why this pa r ticular pack should be privileged to wear the f . o r royal emblem It is , course , not eally a

hunt button at all , and is shared with the

o f a e followers the ch se , by all the k epers , under keepers , and other servants of the Crown who

n wear a Crow livery . But it is an ancient his torica l o f emblem , which the wearers may be far 188 T HE NEW FOREST more proud than those whose coats are decorated by the initials or the twisted cypher of some ’

of . local pack , a mere hundred of years standing

ul ue I note partic arly these matters beca s , when 1880 m I came to the New Forest in , I found y self confronted by a situation very like that which 1 84 had arisen in 7 .

As I have before observed , several gentlemen laid claim to be granted permission to assist the ” Crown in removing the deer by hunting them

o f own with packs their , without any regard to the Sport or convenience of others who claimed f . on e the like privilege In act , at time there

’ were no less than four packs in the Forest , and to reconcile any permissions to them with proper — regard to the pack of foxhounds the senior t — pack , hun ing three days a week needed no little

consideration , and perhaps a firmer hand than

Mr . James Kenneth Howard , then Commissioner o f W oods , the kindest and most genial of human

i . be ngs , cared to exercise He had therefore delegated his authority to settle these vexed questions to the then

Master of the Foxhounds , Sir Reginald Graham , who again put the matter into the hands o f the

of New Forest Hunt Club , a body composed the F subscribers to the New Forest oxhounds , and of — them alone not the covert owners at all .

19 0 T HE NE W FORES T

of and I , without the slightest knowledge all

to this turmoil and bad blood , was launched in the thick of it in complete innocence of the temperature of the hot water into which I wa s f o ficially desired to plunge . Very hot it was too l

However, I got hints from reliable friends , both inside o f and far away from the Forest ; and , while I realised that an unfair , and indeed inl ossible I p situation , had been brought about , determined to let a couple of seasons go by while

o f I followed the sport both packs, and could

t for W judge of hem myself. hat amazed me was the intense bitterness of feeling which the official mana gers o f either pack d isplayed towards

Of of the promoters the other form sport , while all the while they each o f them followed and subscribed towards the maintenance of the pack

! f a they said they were Opposed to In act , e ch faction cordially approved of the proceedings o f

the other , provided only that they were allowed to dictate them ! ’ After two years watching of the working o f

New Forest hunting, conducted in close friend

wi r Of ship th the maste s all three packs , and

a having all their griev nces poured into my ears ,

—first I came to the conclusion , that there was

abundance of room for all of them in the Forest ” and that under proper regulations (a n d here I HUNTING 19 1 had the invaluable rules of 1789 to guide me) none of them need interfere with the sport of

must the other , but that there be a supreme controlling power .

r r u h As to the Har ie s , I tro bled about t em

a in l r not t all . The nom al y oppressive ules which the New Forest Hunt Club had imposed on

ff n ot them a ected them , for they regarded them

n o fo x- in sort of way . The hunting community

knew better than to quarrel with Mr . John

Mills, a large covert owner outside the Forest ,

whose support was valuable . No on e ever tried to enforce the somewhat ridiculous boundaries which the r New Forest Hunt Club had induced the Commissioners of Woods to impose o n this

ml l n o har ess ittle pack . I assuredly did t ! There remained the old and deep sore Of the quarrel between the master of the foxhounds

s a and any ma ter of a deerhound pack . It p ’ pea re d to me from a couple o f seasons observa

o f ih tions that the hunting the wild deer . the New Forest was one o f the finest Opportunities for making a good pack of hounds a n d sho wmg first-class sport that could be hit upon by any

enthusiast .

so sa ft eX e ri I even went far as to y, a er a brief p

to o n e o f o f ence of this , the older generation

men va New Forest hunting , who , I inly supposed , 19 2 T HE NEW FORES T

e had really studi d sport , that it was pretty

o f clear that , given an equally good pack hounds , ff an equally good huntsmen , and a sta equally well mounted , it would be far easier to Show good sport in hunting the deer than by hunt

fox ing the over this same country .

wa s My old friend , I found , of the Opposite faction , and without consideration voted me a But heretic . I have never swerved from the

x Opinion I then e pressed, and am satisfied that , provided the numbers of the deer are kept within reasonable limits , the man who hunts them , if

o f only he has a good pack hounds , has a better Opportunity to Show sport than has the man who hunts the fo x . “ But , after all , in either case the good pack ” O f hounds is the first and the last consideration .

to 1882—I Well , go back to found that there were two forms of hunting to be enjoyed

t. in New Fores One , shared in common with h many other countries in England , the ot er with one only —that which dominates hunting down in the West Country . f Both , under air treatment , could Show equally good sport . Both had ardent supporters . One

o f was free , with a good establishment hounds ,

&c d kennels , the other was hampere and impo v erished but , with nothing a scratch pack of hounds

194 T HE NEW FORES T

so o t h And , after having g all t is into my head

e by observation and practical xperience , I laid the case as it appeared to me before Sir Henry

o f W d Loch , then Commissioner oo s , together with the pe tition fo r hunting facilities which — wa s put forward by the committee a strong on e -that was formed to promote deer-hunting and to guarantee that it should be properly

a s carried o n . Sir Henry w quite uninterested in any o f the hunting disputes and squabbles

o f the New Forest , and he decided to put in force the authority exercised in a somewhat

the W r 1789 Similar case by Lord a den in , and to lay down regulations for the carrying on — Of all hunting in the New Forest first and

foremost having regard to , the convenience and

o f necessities the New Forest Foxhounds , the f ’ o . successors Mr Gilbert s pack , to which the “ ” 1 89 Lord Warden gave his name in 7 . These

e a s were therefore r garded the senior pack , but not permitted to exercise any authority over any

to other pack which the Commissioner, acting

as the successor to the Lord Warden , might

have extended his permission to hunt . It was my unhappy duty to have to stand

N6 W « up at a meeting of the Forest Hunt Club ,

and announce , with all the suavity I could com i mand , that any authority hitherto exerc sed by HUNTING 19 5 that institution for regulating the proc eedings of a n y packs o f ho unds in the New Forest other than that o n e which was under their own control

se must now cea ; that they, with other Sporting u u instit tions , must understand that they all h nted on the same conditions under the permission and a of o f egis the Crown ; and that , if any them

ff or found that they su ered any hardship , that their Sport was interfered with by any other

pack , they must report it to the Commissioner , who ul wo d act as arbiter in any disputes , with out delegating his authority to any o n e of the

interested parties . I shall never forget the nervousness with which I rose to make this

announcement . I knew it would be a sad blow

to a d cert in old foresters , who care much more for regulating hunting than partaking in the

o . sp rt Indeed , in the field later in that day,

one dear o ld friend wept openly at the sorrow of seeing what he called the other lot getting their ” n o w way .

to But the thing had be . The hunting quarrels

o n too of the New Forest had gone long, and about 1879 the country had go t a bad name all over the hunting world in respect o f its squab

. nl on e out blings There was o y way of it , viz . that some overriding power of landowner and

on covert owner , whom the bulk of the sport , 196 T HE NEW FOREST

e o f &c l pr servation foxes , rested , shou d assert

itself, and settle disputes once for all . This power had not happened in the Forest

Since ninety years previously , but at that date

so it brought peace , and it did when it was again 1883 invoked in . A ccordingly , a conference was held , and the

e o f a mast r the Foxhounds , s the senior pack , hunting three days a week , was asked to name the days for which he desired permission . He chose without discussion to adhere to his exist d in . g days , viz Tuesday , Thurs ay , and Saturday , each with a particular section of the Forest a t

o ta ched t it . The Buckhounds had Monday and Friday allotted to them , each also with a

o f section the country assigned to it , so planned that there should be only a remote possibility of their disturbing country to which the Fo x

comm hounds were g the next day . So long as these regulations were strictly observed , there

1789 o f was , as in , hardly a possibility the Sport of either pack clashing with the other .

As of a d a matter fact , the scheme worked mira bly. I doubt if there is a hunting man in the Forest who could point to a da y within his memory when the sport o f on e pack interfered with that o f any other .

And , indeed , the oddest thing about the whole

19 8 T HE NE W F ORES T

bitterness that had to be reconciled , I remember well how my heart misgave me when I dared

o d to forecast a period when peace and g o sport , backed up by all alike , might reign in what

truly ought to be a paradise for all hunters . It

to took twenty years bring it about , but it is on e of the comforts left to me in my old age to reflect that the ancient wars and troubles have f died away , and that I le t a thoroughly friendly , united body o f Sportsmen where I had found a

ff o f very di erent state feeling .

188 ose To go back to 3 . It was at once prop d that an established pa ck o f buckhounds Should

h o f . be formed under the masters ip Mr Lovell , who made over to the managing committee all the hounds he then had in kennel , and under took to continue the use of those kennels at

Hin cheslea . l At . first Mr Love l carried the horn himself,

to o n in v i as he had been wont do , and , his ta tion u , I habit ally rendered him all the assist

l o n e ance in the field that I cou d . He had only

is i whip , a groom of h own tra ning, not brought u p to kennel work , and an extra hand in the

u to . field , even an amateur , was very usef l him

of 1885 In the spring , owing to the sudden

. l death of Lady Rose Lovell , Mr Lovell cou d not

hunt . He was , however , quite willing that the HUNTING 19 9 hounds should go out if the subscribers wished

a n d u it , they co ld make any suitable arrange

a to ments . I was asked to undert ke hunt the

L Lon desbrou h mi hounds , and ord g pro sed to supplemen t my small stud by lending me what , horses I wanted . On these terms I agreed to

o f try what I could do . I had the advantage

e knowing ev ry hound in the pack , and what ’ his capabilities were , and , after a few days horse

exercise with me, they became handy enough ;

so but even , it was no easy task to hunt another ’ r n o t o wn man s pack , with se vants my , but only

temporarily under my orders , and riding horses

o l ! lent by an ther person sti l However , we did ’ not have a very bad Spring season s hunting . “ Though I was n ot able to achieve a record

or run , we had two three very good days 27 notably on April , when hounds ran hard in the morning for forty -fiv e minutes and killed

old ft an buck , and in the a ernoon ran a buck from Rhin efield down into the Avon valley W beyond High ood , and , turning back to the ’

P M . Forest , bayed him at seven o clock . , in the

stream by Burley Manor, after a long and varied hunt over all sorts of country of some three hours

. so f duration As is o ten the case , when it came

o nl to cultivated land , hounds c uld o y walk after the wild deer ; he is much more difficult to hunt 200 T HE NE W FORES T

over ploughed land than is the fox . I remember , too t , a the finish of this hunt , poor Wanderer , a useful dog , and the first to bay the buck , got severely handled by him , being caught , when mi swim ng, against the high bank of the stream and badly punished ; though he did not at the time seem seriously hurt, and came home well w ft enough ith the pack , he was a erwards very ff ill , and seemed to have su ered from blood ’ — poisoning from the hurt o f the buck s horns a t any rate , it took him the whole summer to

on recover , and he lost every hair he had his body before he recovered . ’ It made o n e think of Turberville s ancient dis tich

’ If tho ube hur t with home o f H a rte t will br in g thee to thy i b er , ’ ’ But leeches a r t ca n bore s hurt hea l ; thereo f thoun eedst n ot ’ fea r f

W e had other good days , but nothing of ’ great note . I had fourteen days hunting , one o f l which was practically blank , and ki led eight deer . I believe that the field were pretty well

so l satisfied , and I know I was glad to get we l

of f l out a very di ficu t job . 18 6 8 . In Mr Lovell was laid up by illness ,

-in and it was arranged that the whipper , W .

Perkins , should hunt the hounds , and that I

202 T HE NE W FORE S T

on case I wasted less time , and laid the pack ’ after an hour s tufting on to the two stags

o ff rather a risk , but it came . They ran together

Roe u right across the Forest to Wood , abo t eight

a miles way , and then divided . I watched them

. W e o w separate had several checks , chiefly ing to the way the field persistently galloped after

over u o f the deer and the ho nds , but , in Spite

f o ur these unnecessary di ficulties , we brought

a k st g right back across the Forest , and illed ’ a n r on him at C te t . It wa s a three hours hunt t not very Slow, but frequently in errupted , and I

‘ made it about seventeen miles o n the map . ll but We ki ed eight deer this Spring also , I think Will Perkins had rather better Sport than

two . I had , taking the spring seasons through A fter this season, Mr Lovell realised that the strain of the long days o f deer -hunting was rather more than a man of his years could

comfortably sustain , and he thought it best to f engage a pro essional huntsman . Just at that G juncture , my old friend , Sir eorge Brooke , had

e to r o d cided reduce his pack o f ba rr ie s in C .

D to to ublin , and wrote me recommend his

huntsman , whom he described to me as being

v r always keen , never cold , ne er hot , never ti ed , ” ! never hungry , and never thirsty This was a good recommendation from an R BE R AL L E N O T , H U M S M A N TO T H E BU C K H O U N D S 18 6 , 9 .

204 T HE NE W FORES T

us and sympathetic friend , and sent year by

ft - d dis year a dra of dog houn s , from which , if temper was not too hard on us, we could easily select the Small entry required to be put forward

- - l for a two days a week pack .

wa s Lord Portman , too, ever a generous friend from first to last , and in most years sent us a

or t o couple wthat were most serviceable . Some of his hounds , I noticed , year by year , took more

on e w than season to enter and settle do n , but they were generally very stout hounds , and in many cases lasted for a season or two longer than the average .

too From Brocklesby , , where my old friend Ma un sel Richardson was at that time hunting the dog pack , Lord Yarborough often sent us a useful young hound , and everything that came from Brocklesby always had plenty of tongue, and used it in the right place .

e Little dogs , those that in great kenn ls would

e have to run with the bitch s , if kept at all , were

to d what I used beg from my kind frien s , and many a charming hound was sent us that was

too deemed good to draft at first , but was not up to the standard of a really high -class dog pack . But he generally grew enough to look quite at home in the pack o f 23-inch dog-hounds

s which wa presently got together . HUNTING 205

a Of course , from the day that the p ck was i started on an establ shed footing, nothing but A unentered hounds were taken into it . hound h t at had even hunted , still more had attended

u o f fox ul the f neral a single , was scrup ously

e rej cted . In a very short time my anticipations as to the sport of the New Forest were realised to the full . In about two years a capital pack of

e . working hounds had b en got together Naturally ,

of n o t being a pack draft hounds , there were a great many of those beautiful creatures among

Fo x to them that Mr . Lane used refer to as

of summer dogs , but they all them helped to

o f catch deer , and a succession excellent seasons

’ with capital sport followed o n Allen s appoin t

ment as huntsman . 3 189 . In Mr Lovell , feeling the burden of

advancing years , retired from the mastership , and

l - was . W a o f succeeded by Mr ker , an ex master

o . 189 4 the Cr ome hounds In Mr . Kelly , who

Northerwood fin e had lately purchased , a place

near Lyndhurst , became joint master with him ,

1896 o f and in he took sole charge the pack . Up to this date Allen had continued to carry the

n 1897 n hor , but in his health fi ally gave way , u and he had to give p all idea of hunting . It — had been painful to him very often unendurably T H E NE W FORES T — so sometimes and he did not very long survive i his ret rement .

e Wh He was succe ded by Harry ite , who came to W the New Forest from Mr . Charles right w wa s of hen he master the Fitzwilliam Hounds , but had previously hunted both the Vere and D hi umfriess re packs . Though perhaps a little past his quickest form in the field , he was the very b est kennel huntsman I have ever seen . Under

a f a t w the gre test di ficulties , times , o ing to

o f f changes kennels and the like , he never ailed

out to bring his hounds in perfect condition , fit

to hunt all day and looking , beautiful in their

fo r . At coats one time , and that a great part

of fo r a season , he was actually reduced , kennels ,

to of i a range p gsties , a small cowhouse , and a loose - box ! More than one master of great establishments ha s admired to see his hounds come o ut day after day in the pink of condition from such wretched accommodation . I think ’ Harry White s remedy fo r his miserable kennels

— e l o - N . B h d ( . had on y g hounds in his charge , and no bitches to seclude) was to keep his hounds

ever in the open air . His love for them was

to himwas very great , and their devotion equal

' o f t to it . Neither them desired anything bet er

e re than to stroll about together in the For st ,

a rdless for o f g of weather , most the daylight

208 TH E NE W FORES T

sa will find that a small pack of hounds , y twenty

eight couple , can be kept healthily and well in

of kennels surprisingly cheap construction .

No doubt everyone knows this , still there are “ ” many people who think a pack of hounds needs a great expenditure in order to house it . To these I would merely recount what we found could be done in the New Forest in a very humble f ashion . Certainly the kennels did not in any

ff our o way a ect go d Sport . But when we could

so . obtain better kennels we thankfully did . Mr

on 19 08 'he Price carried the hounds until , when suddenly threw them up at the beginning of the

season . Mr . George Thursby and Captain Timson

o jointly t ok over the pack , and got the hounds

u e Mr . into working order by abo t Christmas tim , Al Thursby carrying the horn . though they laboured under these disadvantages , the joint masters were not long in reviving the class o f t Sport which his pack had shown in former years , i and in a few months they mproved upon it .

Before the Spring hunting , which is always such

ha d a feature of this sport , Mr . Thursby an ex

cellen t if rather a short , pack of working hounds , while Captain Timson supported him by taking

of charge the tufting, and turning the pack to

him when in chase .

In a couple of seasons more Mr . Thursby HUNTING 209

SOle o f the took charge pack , and by that time

fir st- a really class pack of hounds , judged by the

o f standard work in the field , had been got to

e gether , and most excellent sport was b ing shown

day after day . Mr . Thursby found himself obliged to follow rather different lines from those which

we had adopted , in getting his entries together . The practice of selling drafts of young hounds by

auction at Rugby had come into fashion , and

old this raised the price a goo d deal . In days it

was possible to bespeak , year after year , the

d of whole raft from some kennel note , where the working capabilities o f the hounds were unim pea cha ble and the number o f young hounds d annually bre was large . m u In this way any provincial packs , built p in successive years from hounds bred in particular

of kennels , became not only very good packs

hounds , but also packs with a distinct character

' o f of o wn and points excellence their , that cannot so well be formed by bringing into kennel a number of hounds of many different strains and

qualities , from diverse places . d However , matters have change , and , since the auction mart led to very high prices being

‘ t o f given for smar young hounds average size ,

his Mr . Thursby thought it wise to raise standard

s o f above the usual ize a foxhound , and with a 0 2 10 T HE NEW FORE S T

o f 2 6 to of minimum height inches , get hold the

o ut o f x big hounds , that were place in fo hound

but mm . kennels , were otherwise sy etrical By doin g this he eliminated all competitors but D two , viz. the evon and Somerset Staghounds , who

a s ll a s on e also have a big pack , we of the usual W standard , and the occasional foreigner . hen once u the West Country pack had made p its numbers , it was not difficult to pick up what wa s wanted out

of the remainder of the big houn ds in the market .

I was not altogether happy about this at first ,

n o t of for I am very fond extra big hounds , and

feared an accession of lumbering great dogs . But

r a I was completely mistaken . No lumbere s p

ea red wa s a s p , and the pack smart and quick f ’ as any little pack o bitches; under Mr . Thursby s

An d control . I do not think there has ever been a pack in the Forest that got over the ground

e faster , and ran better together, than thes big

— n dog hounds , while the echo of their cry amo g

old the woods was magnificent . ' ’ to ex q Much of this was due Mr . Thursby s ception a l qualities a s a huntsman and a judge o f

or . hounds , whether in kennel in the field I certainly consider him the best and quickest gentleman huntsman that I have ever seen or

o f s heard , except perhaps the late Sir Charle

Slingsby, who is to me but a recollection .

2 12 T HE NE W F ORES T

their hunted deer and take it up again , is a most interesting lesson on the intelligence and

of sagacity hounds . Except when I actually hunted the hounds

n o t myself, I did keep a diary , and memory is a treacherous guide to enable on e to recall the

first- s or many cla s runs I have seen , failed to

o see in spite f my best endeavours .

o n e a I recollect such hunt with young stag, that I viewed away myself from the Franchise

W on th o f ood e northern verge the Forest , in

the county o f Wilts .

‘ fa st a n d The hounds ran hard , straight across

the whole Forest , passed over its southern bound

o n o f ary , and went towards the shores the Solent—his point no doubt—but he was bayed

M o f and killed near ilton , a mile short the sea .

one o f run o n e No really saw all this , and no

a horse could have got through it , at the p ce

hounds went , the point in a direct line being fourteen miles and the time less than an hour

. r m M . . and a half Thursby , Mr Compton , and y

for self were well with them the first seven miles , but were all misled by a false holloa and got

behind hounds . Mr . Thursby , riding a racehorse ,

ot u made a lucky turn , and g p to them near

Brockenhurst , thus gaining much on us . He f ollowed his hounds right down to Milton , till HUNTING 213

his good horse was reduced to a walk . He put l ui him into the hotel stables at Mi ton , req sitioned

on ll to a fly horse , and this unwi ing steed got hi s hounds, where they had pulled down their di beaten stag in a tch , not more than a mile

me o n from salt water . As for , I carried with tail hounds to the southern verge of the Forest , aboutwtwo miles from where they killed the deer ; but hen these hounds lost the line , I turned

hO in my tired horse homewards , p g that my second horse might yet turn up to my assistance . An d so o f old it did , to the great credit my groom , ll but , alas , not ti I had turned for home some

Mn so . to minutes , and missed him I was glad

—a — get my horse very good animal safe home , ’ and it was a long time before Mr . Thursby s gallant

o ut thoroughbred came again . In recent days I recall a fine run with a 1 1 fallow buck in April 9 3 . He was roused in

Lo oseha n er g , outside the Forest on the north , but quickly recrossed the Forest boundary , and the pack were laid on . They ran fast and straight over the Ashley hills , across by Broomy Lodge , and on due south in a perfectly straight line .

Ro e W In ood the hounds got among fresh deer , but put themselves right— all but two couple that were beguiled by the hot new line . One check ensued at Ridley Wood , where Mr . Thursby for 214 T HE NEW FORES T the r u fi st time lent his ho nds assistance , and the

on pack swept , bending a little westward, over the open heaths that lie between Burley and the

A o n von valley , and , over the Forest boundary ’ s to Mr . Mill property at Bisterne , where they killed him in the open a bout a mile from that ’ gentleman s house . The point was eleven miles , probably about thirteen as hounds ran , and the time an hour and a half. The run wa s nearly

so to e all in the open , that it was easy rid , and a

l Lecon field large fie d , including Lord and Lady ,

of s and various other masters hound , saw this good gallop . In former year s bucks used frequently to run

to A down the river von , and, crossing it, even

Wa s t s when it in flood , would ake to the enclo ed D land and heaths beyond , even near to the orset

c e boundary . I remember on one such o casion , lat in April (as illustrating the unusual dates at which

o n fi New Forest hunting is carried ) , the eld were making for a gap that appeared to be the most practicable exit from the land hounds were cross

his ing. The huntsman arrived first , and warning

i a n hand , signall ng d nger , sent the field scuttli g

o ff . W to find a better place hen , however, I asked — Allen what wa s the matter for I sa wno dan ger ’ ’ - e he replied , There s an ard turk y hen sitting ’ ’ w on her eggs i that gap , and I didn t ant them

‘ 216 T HE NEW FOREST o f d delight and a jolly bald crown , but the houn s

o n for turned short from him , and , running another

- s u half mile , ran into their buck fairly bur t p with never a check from the find . A usual event .

When we gathered our forces together , and

o ff fo r moved to look another deer , the Colonel rode up to Allen (I was riding o n the other side o f Al I him) , and said , Well , len , killed that deer ’ for you . I saw the o ld huntsman look up as this startling view of the case was presented to him , but , too polished a courtier to contradict , “ he said , Thank you , Colonel , but (with an apologetic glance at the pack trotting around “ ’ ” him the ll ! ) , y never believe that

New When I arrived in Forest , I found the present Sir George Meyrick master of the fox

a s hounds , and I joined as heartily in his sport

r es a n uta d mi m time and the g s o would per it . I have gone into the earlier history of this

sa ancient pack in a former chapter , but I may y that its existence can be trace d back to quite

the earlier days of foxhunting in this country , for

o we have the record f Mr . Vincent Gilbert of ’ Lamb s Corner owning a pack of foxhounds in 1781 1784 , and in this pack was , as I have previ

o usl y related , formally recognised by the Lord

W locus sta n di arden , and given a in the Forest ,

which ha s been maintained ever since . HUNTING 217

However , my personal recollections begin with

Mr . the mastership of Meyrick , which began in 1878 . No expense was spared to organise a good

a o f p ck hounds . A commencement was made by the purchase ' of his bitch pack from Sir Reginald h Graham , the retiring master . T en other hounds hl were lavis y procured , and large drafts, notably

r f om the Grafton , were obtained .

Mr . Meyrick had a very large pack in , and passing through , his kennel , and when he resigned

of do -b he sent to Rugby a very fine pack g ounds ,

a s ul as well a bitch pack , which by itself wo d ha v e gone far to satisfy the requirements of the country . After his retirement considerable diffi culties c v arose , and finally it was de ided to di ide the country into two sections . The western half

. a was taken ! over by Mr John Mills , who s crificed his perfect little pack of barriers and got together the best pack of foxhounds that he could , while the eastern half was at first taken by a com mittee ha d on which I the honour to serve , and ,

b of ere unting began , Major Browne Hall Court came into the country with a small bitch pack

his o wn of , and relieved the committee of its duties in the field .

Meanwhile , the committee in question , having good kennels and stable accommodation , with some

boun ds money in the bank , decided that a pack of 2 18 T HE NEW FORES T in the kennels in question would place the country in a better position to treat with a prospective

s u o r in ma ter , either at the present j ncture

. wa s future Accordingly , I empowered to go to the s la out sum a s sale at Rugby , and y a certain , fa r a s u it would go , in procuring the n cleus o f a s a pack . I took with me my counsellor f ll George Carter , rom the Fitzwi iam pack , and

r o f n ~ I felt su e getting sou d, if perhaps plain

f fin e old o m . Sp ken , advice rom that hunts an In the upshot I bought (if I recollect aright) some

n -fiv e o f t where about twe ty couples bi ches , half ’ Me rick s own c a n d from Mr . y pa k half from the

. be Burton , then in the market I also bought ( cause they were a ba rgain) some three o r four ’ o f l do -b couples Mr . Mark Rol e s g ounds, and these

(as they were unsuitable for our purpose) , I traded away for bounds that would serve us better , and that to some advantage . This little

to ha v e orn venture , in which I am glad b e a part , started the pack belonging to the country at

e k present in the New For st ennels , and long may it remain there . Major Browne only remained in the Forest

on e . a for season , and was succeeded by Mr Br d

o f burne Lyburn , a local landowner , who engaged

a John Da le as his huntsm n . He again was b d 1889 . succee ed in y Mr Stanley Pearce , as

T HE NE W FO RES T But up to 189 5 there was no trouble about

finding foxes . In that year commenced that great epidemic of mange which raged almost all over

England for three years . It gradually spread to e the New Forest , and not only were dead fox s , u horridly diseased , picked p all over the Forest , but in some cases we found badgers woefully ffl a icted , either dead or wandering about , blind — — with disease and that by broad daylight or lying

ha d dead . Most of the packs in England , during

this epidemic , to curtail their days of . hunting

and their season . But so abundant was our

of to stock foxes in the New Forest , that , my surprise (knowing as I did the numbers that the

u o ur o ut keepers picked p dead) , hunting held r far longer than in most count ies , though , of course , hounds had to draw more country to find foxes . l But in time the stock began to fai , and there seemed to be a fear that the “ great scarcity of ” W foxes , which was reported to the Lord arden u 1789 s . in , was again upon u B t . by the time that Mr Powell , after a

r of troublesome and anxious pe iod mastership , b a d resigned the reins of power to Mr . Christopher

W a lha m ton 1899 wa s Heseltine of p , in , there little fear in the minds of those responsible fo r the welfare o f New Forest Sport but that the

stock o f foxes would Shortly be ample for . the HUN TING 221

o f o f prosecution the particular sport foxhunting . And the results of the nex t year o r two justified

a t their prognostic ions .

on Things went all right after that , and we

' had no more epidemics . I think that when I bid f 19 14 arewell to the Forest in , there was as fine a Show of foxes in it as the country has ever d produce .

Mr . Heseltine , whose hounds were hunted by

ha his Mr . s brother Godfrey Heseltine , who since acquired fame as a huntsman in countries

ha d n o t abroad as well as at home , long been

W a r o ut master when the South African broke . The Heseltine brothers were among the first to

volunteer , and , their services being accepted , the l ft Hunt was e perforce somewhat in the lurch . ll . a However , Mr Heseltine made arrangements for carrying on hunting until the en d o f the

ha d season , when the country to seek a new

master . A curious coincidence then occurred .

1800 of In the year the sudden death Mr . Vincent Hawkins Gilbert threw the hun tin g arrange ments of the country into considerable disorder

o Mr . John Compton f Minstead Manor stepped i into the breach , and by tak ng over the master

e f ul ship solv d the immediate di fic ty .

on e So , exactly hundred years later, when by the force o f circumstances in 19 00 the Hunt 222 T HE NE W FORES T

in . found itself a similar predicament , Mr Henry

s c in Francis Compton , the de cendant and suc essor

f M F . of 1800 o . . H title the , came forward in

a nd the same manner , , being elected by acclama

o of e c a New tion to the p sition mast r, arried the

its f d c Forest Hunt over di ficulties , and con u ted its a of oper tions , with success equal to any the best of his predecessors . It wa s a rather curious thing that in both y cases the hea d o f the Compton family should come

to forward relieve the Hunt in its troubles , the

’ more so perhaps that during the hundred years

e two t int rval between these occasions , no o her

of M F a H. lord Minstead cted as . .

. m a 1905 Mr Co pton continued as m ster until ,

was fo r . when he succeeded , a second term , by Mr 190 W Henry Martin Powell . In 7 Mr . alter Caze

his ex er1en ce nove brought skill and p to bear ,

o n - first , breeding a high class p ack , and next in

s o the . howing go d sport , in most genial fashion W d . hen he retire , Mr John Cooke Hurle , who

D c had previously hunted the artmoor ountry , took the b oun ds jointly with his brother Major

o f o Cooke Hurle , the latter whom I left in p sses sion when I bid the Forest and hunting a f 19 14 sorrowful arewell in , though at that junc ture Major Cooke Hurle was summoned to the war with the Terr itorial Regiment he now com

2 24 T HE NEW FORES T good enough to maintain the standard o f his

a s o pack . But he w determined t have nothing but “ the best procurable , and I think he bought

of more than he bred, when he could hear them . When he wanted to give them up and start foxhounds, no buyer was in the market , and it ended by this perfect little pack being sold for a mere song . “ Mr . Mills always delighted in a good cry , and he used to run twenty o r twenty five ‘

o f b o un ds couples these little , and truly the cry wa s as melodious as it was abundant . It really “ ” f ba r i rs was a pack o merry r e . At the time

o f that Mr . Price was master the Buckhounds ,

o f he started a little pack foot beagles , with

b e n which hunted hares rou d about Lyndhurst , and this Sport became very popular with the

of An d tradesfolk and foot people Lyndhurst . n o t unfrequently they hunted over enclosed lands by invitation , and visited sundry farms in the A neighbourhood . fter Mr . Price left New Park ,

of m another similar pack beagles was for ed , and subscribed to by the Lyndhurst residents . It still

Shows sport in that locality under the master~

of Da ship Mr . y.

W so on ith much hunting going , it was not too easy to map o ut a country and for mula te a permission which should give these HUNTING 225 humbler sportsmen reasonable facilities and yet not interfere with the arrangements o f the senior packs . ! Bu we t wherever were met with a good will , dif ” ficulties n soo melted , and the merry beaglers have had as much hunting as they could possibly

on require , the terms laid down by the Crown . il Naturally , in a w d country like the Forest ,

o f n u where all Species fau a are protected , s ch animals as otters and badgers are common

fox enough , and , like the , hare and wild deer are laid under contribution to . provide each their

of share Forest sport . The habits o f the otters in that locality are

of rather peculiar . The streams the forest

run proper are small in size , but in most cases

o1mn down , without j g any larger river , to the sea direct . Otters use these streams a s main

s a re roads , without (unless cub laid down) lying for o n very long in any of them . They pass their incessant travels up on e stream to its

to source , then pass over the watershed the e l head waters of som other little river , reve ling among the frogs and Slugs to be found in the

s o f boggy part the New Forest , which they

so s al traverse , and pa s gradu ly down the stream

s they have arrived at , halting as they plea e by the

n is way , u til tidal water reached again , and , after

a sojourn on the shore , the pilgrimage starts again . 226 T HE NEW FOREST

In the case of old dog otters concerned with their affairs of love and war (for they are perfect

on e fiends at fighting with another) , very long distances are covered even in a single night ; but l the orthodox routes are trave led . These habits of the otte r lent themselves pretty well to the hunting thereof. W e used to get very frequently most delightful trail “ ” or boun ds out hunts , drags , where the traced

o f the the wanderings otter through the night , but sometimes the b olt to which this trail led lay where the steam was too small to afford a good hunt o r to give fair play to the otter . But

o f this did not very often happen , for the banks these same streams a re lined with great forest t o r rees ancient alders , which have positive cavern s of small size running under their roots

o f to a point far inland from the stream, all

c ff whi h communicate with each other , and a ord strong fortresses for the otter , even if there be a depth o f but a few feet of water outside their

. to hide portals This , however , is quite enough him , if he thinks well to abandon one fortress to

Al is take refuge in another . together it aston ishin g to see how long a time it takes in these

to old woodland streams to bring hand an otter , although the actual water of the river may not

core a rds be half a s y in width . ‘

228 T HE NE W FO RES T that delightful country abounding in huntable

o n of t streams , with otters every reach hem,

I ha d where, in the pleasant South of reland , I my happiest and hardest experiences with him .

Major Hill came down , and inspected the New

n d Forest streams with me , a , with that abstruse knowledge which enables the expert to state with certainty how many otters there may be on a t river , and of what size , pronounced mos favour ably on the prospects o f Sport on these practically unexplored streams .

o f But alas , just then his kennel the most valuable otter hounds perhaps that ever were

o t g together , was being decimated by rabies, and he was hard put to it to keep a pack together to hunt any country at all , still less to embark

n e upon a new o .

ft o f of A , er a couple seasons uncertainty , Major Hill finally resigned all claim to the New Forest r streams , and ve y few people know that , even for this short period , the New Forest formed a portion

- o f the Hawkestone otter hunting country . Still for years I would wear no other than my

hun ted Old H . O . H . uniform whenever I in the

New Forest .

But we desired to get our otters hunted , and ’ to hunted properly , and Major Hill s advice me

to . W o was try and induce Mr illiam C llier, HU NTING 229

master for ever so many years of the Culmstock

-b t of D to Otter ounds , in the coun y evon , bring

b o un ds hi s himse his and men , and above all lf, to hunt our country for the fortnight o r so that it

can well provide Sport annually . Perhaps no better piece o f advice was ever

“ o given , and I was very pleased when I got int

n . commu ication with Mr Collier , and found that if the way was smoothed for him as to the con s

o f sent riparian proprietors , accommodation , finance,

to and the like , he would be very pleased come . These little matters I was in a good position

s to arrange , and I took care that whatever trouble

o n to ' u arose , they should fall my sho lders and

o f not on those Mr . Collier .

us 1884 His first season with was in , and he soon wo n all hearts by his kindly courteous

b o f m earing, typical the old West County yeo an

o wn landowner , who had lived in his house ,

o wn o wn cultivated his estate , hunted his hounds

o f Over his own lands and those his neighbours , and dating back at least three o r four generations of his D ll forebears . ear old Wi iam Collier might well have stepped from a picture of two hundred

D o f years ago , and, except in the ales Yorkshire

n and in his own cou ty , it would be very hard “ a to to find a m rrow him in these days . He was , moreover, the most accomplished artist on 280 T HE NE W FORES T the straight hunting b orn that ever I have i to . s l stened He was no mean mu ician , and,

V I believe , played the ioloncello well , and in his earlier days was possessed of a beautiful te n a e nor voice . Eve in his old g in the New Forest days it was worth listening to in after

of Dibdin dinner songs , often the type . But he ,

e unlike any els I have heard , put his musical soul into the battered old straight born that he

a a n d a c rried , the melody th t he contrived to throw into the notes that he produced from that “ wonderful and ancient piece (like Captain ’ Costigan s hairbrush) was a r evelation to many a man who was accustomed to hear an ordinary huntsman blowing his hounds out of covert with ’ a similar instrument . It was in Mr . Collier s first season with us that he had that extraordinary drag hunt on the line o f an otter that he has described so well in his chapter of the Badminton volume on Hunting . Meeting at the kennels o f the foxhounds near

/ L n dhurst with hun tin y , the view of g down the m s all river that runs past them to the sea , he u struck the drag of an otter p the stream , and ,

- n casting round the large mill po d just above , hit the line where a little runlet comes down from

the higher ground . Following this line , hounds t led us with a merry cry , away from all wa er

23 2 T HE NEW FORES T

o n a Well , we went with certain but failing

' we b olt line for another mile till came to a big ,

a e hea d . strong place , very n ar the of the stream — Some of us knew of this and it was the ace up — the sleeve o f o n e o r two weary souls and he

! n o t Al was not there No , he was . though some o f the younger hounds marked rather strongly , l yet it was only Old sta e, constant scent , and the

- o f ancient wise heads the pack , after a first and a i second try , absolutely discarded it . Aga nst that solemn contemptuous verdict there is no appeal . But the old huntsman—I really think the least

o f us— in tired all of held them forward , and a “ ” o f Set quarter a mile , old Harlequin , and chopped , in a hedgerow , the otter that had led

she o n us this tremendous dance , before ever was

b n her feet before the o u ds . From point to point o f this bunt (it was not a ” o f wa s run in any sense the word) eight miles , but as the bounds ran it , it was about thirteen e ’ miles . And this repr sents the night s workings and

o f 14 travelling a little bitch Otter , no more than lb .

ff l to i weight , that is stu ed in my ha l th s day . Truly the habits and vagaries of otters are f ul di fic t to understand , and it is this very thing that makes otter-hunting such a fascinating abs truse so f Sport , di ficult from all other hunting , and so interesting in its many details . HUNTING 233

To recount all the merry days and good hunts that we had with Mr . Collier would fill a

o f but book itself, there came a day when the Old man had to tell us that he was no longer

b oun ds . able to hunt his , and his nephew , Mr

d to o f Fre Collier, succeeded the mastership the m 189 0. Cul stock Hounds . This was in Fred Collier was a Splendid Specimen o f an athletic Englishman , and as an untiring walker simply unrivalled . Of course he knew all about

- did r otter hunting, but he not conside his field

a t enough , and was very p to stride from end to end o f a good trail and then decide that hlS otter was left between the two points , and back

s he would stride to find him . Very often thi

o ff ha d did not come , for the day grown older , a n d b olt u the where the otter was laid p, which the slowe r progress o f Un cle William would

' wa s n o t so o n have located , easily Spotted foiled ground , three hours later . However, with this

o f little fault , born lusty manhood , Fred Collier 1899 showed us capital sport till , when an accident e b b fell him , and he resigned the ounds. Meanwhile a quasi- local pack had come into

e o existence under the exp rienced hands f Mr .

o n Courtenay Tracy , who established a country

o f D W . the rivers Surrey , Hants , ilts , and orset

. He very badly needed a wild sporting bit of 23 4 T HE NE W FORES T

e country lik the New Forest, and it seemed right that this county pack should have the local country . d f This was soon arrange , and rom that day

this W to , the excellent pack kennelled at ilton ’ has provided a capital fortnight s Sport in the

New Forest streams .

x of Mr . Tracy had a large and e cellent band followers , wearing the green coat and white

e his a br eches of hunt uniform , who lived ne r and helped him on the widely scattered streams which in three or four different counties consti ” tu r ted his country . These brought g eat

to ma the assistance the ster when he visited ,

New t v Forest, and impor ed no little convi iality

\ and good fellowship into our hunts . They are in possession of the country now , and , though the master himself has so fa r yielded to the burden of years that he no longer carries the horn himself, hewhas able substitutes , and the Sport goes a s ell a s ever . Long may it continue to flourish ! Badgers are now very numerous in the New W o w Forest . hen I first came , I f und there ere a good many, and for thirty years I never a llowed them to be destroyed , deeming them , ml generally speaking, har ess creatures , such as ought to be protected in a State Forest amongst

23 6 T HE NEW FORES T

in o n c and digging badgers s ientific principles , and indeed it is not a Sport in which a novice

can succeed , nor nearly as simple as it looks .

In ' o f the Forest many the eartwhs are made in a stratum of sandy soil , beneath hich is clay t or boggy and wet grounds . So tha the earths

8 or 9 but do not run more than feet deep , often s pread over a s much as three - quarters o f

an acre , with innumerable entries , galleries , and

o n e passages , all communicating with another

over this extent of ground.

ft i o f O en there are two stor es such galleries ,

one running above the other , and the badger moves from his ground -floo r apartments to his first floor a s he thinks he can best baffle

the dog .

to o f Now , in order get hold him , he must

be located , and driven in and around his earth till he can be got into a corner by means o f

a s o ff digging cross trenches , so to cut him

o f here and there from parts his stronghold . At last the dog , if he be good enough , locates him

a with cert inty , and , lying not too near him, but ha in il us w y g lust y , tells where to dig do n first

on to himself, and finally to the badger , which is

a little way in front of him , and can be secured by opening out the earth till some on e can grasp his tail as he turns to dig onwards , and HUNT ING 237 he is hauled out unhurt and popped into a f ha s sack. Very o ten after the dog found the

e him to s badger , and mov d about various part

is of the earth , there a long silence , and the “ f Wh dog comes o ut completely ba fled . at has

? a dv a n happened Why , the badger , gaining an

to ta ge over the dog, has managed dig himself

” o ut a s in , viz . to open some narrow p sage in

a al u his great c stle and work ong it , throwing p loose sand in Spa desful till he has blocked w e him completely the hole passag behind , and the place appears like a load of loose sand just deposited .

s is u oe Thi a truly artf l man uvre , and requires a clever dog to circumvent it . Perhaps the dog that ha s been working the badger is an old

o f ha s hand , and is pretty well aware what

to c happened . He may go back down the blo k ,

—n o t and bay there at the badger , which he

see cannot and can hardly smell , but in order to his o f ha s mark knowledge the way he gone . In fact we can hear him digging away in order hi to follow s enemy . No wwe quickly Sink a Shaft leadin g down

to do . where we can hear the g working And ,

fin d sure enough , we him digging at a newly

o ut blocked hole , and scratching loose sand by the spadeful . 23 8 T HE NEW FOREST

“ W e help him with the spade, and get the

a t passage clear , and, putting dog into it , presen ly hear the angry bay which tells us that he is face to face with the badger again

we the Now , if have been wise, and cut at first a cross trench confinin g friend Brock to that

o f to corner his castle which he has retreated , it But will not be very hard to get himere long . if he ha s all the great ea rth to retreat into un

o f ha v e checked , a great deal work may to be done over again , and some hours may be Spent “ is over the job . This what is meant by selen

tific . digging But if we have dug scientifically, we ot have g him into a corner where all the puppies can see him and bay at him , and find “ out what sort o f a customer the gentleman in ” i s to is to o . grey , and how near him it wise g Many people suppose that badger -digging is

a n d a brutal bloody sport , where poor high co ura ged dogs are out almost to pieces by their d formi able opponents , and poor Brock himself

f ‘ barely escapes with his li e . This at any rate is a delusion , for, however often he may be Shaken

ff in con up , he is far too well protected to su er

v en ien c e . All d depends on how the Sport is conducte . If—after having got to the badger in some easy

o f e l place , by the aid a r ally sporting ittle terrier,

240 T HE NEW FORES T

o ut o f clever little terrier retreats a yard or so ,

e n ot dang r , and does risk even a nip , but never leaves his foe , never lets him make good his r r his to et eat, and never ceases baying signal the reinforcements that he knows are hurrying i to h s support . Such a dog as this is a very highly trained

o f and valuable Sporting dog a particular variety .

He is full of courage , but also well supplied with

n ot his discretion . He knows that it is business

' to get his jaw bitten o fl by a much more powerful

al is anim than himself, but that he also a dis

fo e u graced dog if he ever leaves his , even tho gh

of he is down in the dark bowels the earth , with

u o f eyes and mouth f ll sand , until the welcome daylight breaks in upon him and he b ea rs his ’ master s voice . His job is done then . It has

’ him two probably taken hours . He has shown them the badger . The young dogs who are being educated at the quarry, the hard bitten dogs that cannot get into the earths , may do the rest for all he cares . You may dig a dozen badgers to such a dog as this , if you can get him, and it will be very

out o n exceptional to find a single him . But you could not have done without him . It is always best to use little short - legged

o f n ot terriers , a good hunting, but a fighting HUNTING 2 4 1

e . r strain . The smaller they are, the b tter Fi stly , they can get into the earths , while the hard bitten

or - larger terrier , the modern Show fox terrier , ft who is o en hard enough , when you bring him within view ' of the badger cannot get about the earths after him . When once Brock begins digging himself in , in small pipes, you might as well have i a Newfoundland dog to help you as a big terr er . dl Secon y , and most important , when in the earth and confronting the badger at the moment

o f that he makes one his sudden savage charges , the little dog can hastily back out of danger

r to w and escape , eturning at once his job , hich

of n u is that an oying and holding p the foe , when the violent attack ceases . But if this chances with the bigger dogs; they cannot re f o . treat because their bulk They have to stay , — and face the attack nothing loth , to do them — ff credit but they su er considerably , and at that sort of game they do not serve their master for

many years . Two years or so ago we had got out seven

- s badgers , all full grown , in a day , u ing almost

the entirely little Short legged , wire haired

r terriers that my f iends used to breed . We had

old employed good dogs to find the badgers , and young ones when things became easy ; but o n all the days—about ten—there was not to be Q 242 T HE NE W FOREST

found a single out that required the least atten ~

do n o o r tion . I t mean to sa y that u dogs never

n got hurt . Sometimes they got a few cuts u der particular c1rcumsta n ces ; but if properly managed

and understood , the extraction of the wild badger from the most complicated earth may be very

n ot hard work for the men , but ought to be in the least a cruel or brutal business for either

o r dogs badger . I do not think I ever saw a badger hurt by the dogs, and I must have turned out , after they

u o u d t . W e had been g , many scores did not always carry them back to Lyndhurst , and it has often been a comical Sight to see four or five badgers clumsily rolling off down a ride together r in the broad daylight , g eatly upset and per turbed at all the happenings to them , and much perplexed as to how in the world they got to ! where they were , at that time of day

There is an ancient sport , followed chiefly about Christmas time , by the humble Sports

' o f of men the district. It is the chase the

he squirrel among t trees . Some years ago they were very abundant , until there came an epi demic which reduced them for a long time to small numbers .

f o f This is a very ancient orm chase, pursued on T . e quite primeval lines h squirrel , when

24 4 T HE NE W FORES T yards ; while to see them fetch a squirrel out

of Of the tops of the highest the forest beeches , sometimes as he bounds from one branch to

or another, again as he flattens himself for con cea lment against the trunk o f the tree a t ninety u e . feet p, is a p rfect revelation “ In fact the squail is never out of the hand (or the pocket) o f that class of the New Forest — — labouring population too numerous by fa r who ’ never can be induced to put in a week s con secu ff tive honest labour , and a good deal of stu other than squirrels a n to them by the skilful use of this weapon as they Spend their days loa fin r g about the fo est. Up till recent times the great congregations of squirrel hunters about Christmas time all met

o n e o r of together in the evening, at other the

- 7 of local public houses , and enjoyed great suppers “ ” ’ squirrel pie , the product of the day s amuse

r ment , but of late yea s squirrels have hardly been abundant enough to furnish material for these epicurean feasts . But I have been assured ” s ha d a n d that quirrel pie is not half , I know

o f that hedgehog, properly cooked in a paste

is clay according to the ancient custom , most succulent eating . The squirrel hunting is probably a survival

of o f very ancient Sports the kind , and is a curious HUN TING 245 continuation o f the use o f the more primitive

n o f weapo s the chase . In no other district of England save the New Forest could it have sur v iv ed and been successfully practised to the pre sent day . But I think the New Forest management ha s always been lenient in its control and friendly did to sports that no real harm , and Sportsmen

r of all classes , f om the highest to the lowest , have ever found it to be a happy hunting ground . CHAPTER XIII

SH O OTING I N THE N E W F O RE ST

S INCE first the art of shooting game flying came

be New to practised , the Forest must needs have been a tract o f land where rough Shootin g such

ln d in a s obta e then could be had perfection . An d

use although the principal made of the Forest ,

wa s from a Sporting point of view , to maintain u it as a great chase bountif lly stocked with deer , yet that very system necessitated the employ

o f f o f a n d ment a large sta f keepers , who guarded

so protected the ground very adequately , that

o f all wild game whatever kind was well preserved , and throve accordingly .

Pheasants , no doubt , were not as common as

fl o f they are now , but there were numerous ocks

n o w black game, while much ground that is drained and planted was in earlier days the haunt of i snipe , and woodcocks were always plent ful l a mong the ho lies . The earliest records I have been able to Obtain come from the counterfoils o f an old book of tickets showing the heads of game sent week by

24 8 T HE NEW FOREST

The total o f the game sent weekly in — season 184 5 4 6 amounts to

Sn ipe B a ga ‘ l ck me Phea sa n ts

184 8 is o f In , there a remarkable series D 3 1 184 8 weeks between ecember , , to January

30 184 9 284 o f , , in which head game , mainly snipe ’ His and woodcock , were sent to Royal Highness larder . It must be remembered that these figures represent only a small portion o f the game killed

as in New Forest . It w only that which was killed by two keepers in a restricted area Shooting “ ” f r solely o the pot . A much larger amount must have been killed by the body Of licencees who wa s o f had the privilege , as it then , shooting in the Forest .

D s o oubtless the e keepers were go d shots , from the practice they go t ; a n d they were quite

to certain provide themselves with good dogs , which in the Forest is more than half the

battle . ’ Readers of Daniell s Rur a l Spor ts will doubt less be familiar with the account o f the pig which

o n e o f was trained to point game by Toomer ,

e Wilv erle the New Forest keepers , who liv d at y SHOOTING IN NEW FORES T 24 9

L d o ge , I believe . He must at least have been a patient breaker , and those who know the New w “ Forest s ine can , quite believe in the ranging and quar tering of which the pig might be capable . There used in ancient days to be a very long

of e list distinguished persons, to the numb r in all o f a s eighty , who received , a compliment at the

o f hands the Sovereign , the permission to Sport

s in New Fore t .

In most cas es it was a compliment only .

o f R mi Sundry members the oyal Fa ly , who never

the o f visited the Forest , Lord Mayor London , and

di r similar gnitaries , were never likely to t ouble the game much . In addition to these , however , there were the verderers o f the New Forest and various of the landowners and residents therein , to whom the Lord Warden wa s pleased to extend il the priv ege .

wa s l O a . n e The fee paid sm l guinea a year , and an entrance fee of £ 5 paid to the Charity — for the Widows o f the New Forest Keepers a fund which , from small beginnings , has developed i is n nto a very prosperous charity, and thrivi g now . There were no rules laid down a s there

wa s are now , but there an unwritten law which

be it was expected should very strictly observed .

It was summed up in the terms of the licence , 25 0 T HE NE W FORES T which was to be used for purposes of recrea

tion only , and with that moderation which is ” fitting .

o f c Consequently the holders the licen e were. careful a s to the Spirit as well as the letter of

wa s their actions . It not thought right to shoot

two oftener than or three days a week . Rabbits were deemed the perquisite of the keepers (a very bad thing) , and were severely let alone by the licencees . Anything savouring o f poaching o r unfair practices led to the certain forfeiture o f the

An d licence . as a new licence was only granted when a vacancy in the list occurred , and there were always many applicants anxiously waiting

wa s for that chance , there a fairly good police system in existence ; and anything savouring of undesirable practices wa s sure to be reported ere

wa s very long . It a thoroughly sporting concession , u and was expected to be sed in good sporting fashion .

1 6 f In 8 7 all this was altered . An arrange ment wa s come to by which the property of

o f Claremont , then part the Crown property surrendered by the Sovereign to the nation , in return for the Civil List , was handed over by

W &c fli ce . the O of oods , to Her Majesty Queen

c o f Victoria , in ex hange for her surrender the right to issue licences to sport in the New Forest .

2 5 2 T HE NE W FORES T

previous season , and in the following March I could not have been persuaded that in a couple ’ o f years time I should have been resorting to all kinds o f devices in order to keep down the

rabbits , which were amounting by then to a

r positive danger to o u plantations .

Certain new regulations which I made , and

l o n have al uded to a previous page , soon told a ff W tale , and I went at once to the O ice of oods

“ and told them that, if we were to pretend to

out o f make a Shooting revenue the Forest , we

must necessarily , as other people in the same

position have to do , rear some game to replenish

o r u stock . The Forest is a fine country for wild pheasants

a n d (allowing for foxes) , in a good year they

s thrive wonderfully well . In a bad wet sea on ,

they do no better than in other places ; but , as

t . a rule , the district sui s them very well My e object , seeing what a drain th re was upon the

o game , since the ground was s hardly shot over, wa s to produce each year such a number o f young

e hen ph asants , which under our rules were pro

tected a , th t , if the following Spring were a

on e favourable , we should be secure of an ample

a breeding stock and a good show of wild g me .

h s . a . On the whole, this succeeded well enough

a re In all years now , good or bad , there ten SHOOTING IN NEW FOREST 25 3 times the number o f pheasants that existed when

first I came to the Forest , and in favourable

r ' t t yea s , I think the stock mus be increased fif y fold .

As cooks or o ld to the , young , whether hand

or reared wild bred , the licencees were heartily

as o welcome to kill all they could , s on as they were sufficiently mature to take care of them

An d selves . the more they killed , the better I was pleased . But I never had any sympathy with the shooter who in the early days o f October would prowl round my breeding fields in the

e hope of getting some immatur cock , scarce per haps distinguishable from a hen (and very often the hen was not distinguished at all) just to fill his bag . t u “ To deal wi h s ch sportsmen , I had the ground around the breeding fields driven in ,

so a s more than once a day , long the birds were too young to protect themselves . As soon as

November arrived , the cock pheasant could look f i a ter h mself, and he got no more protection from me . This protection was made into a great grievance by some . I used to rear these birds — — generally about 800 in all in three or four

ff r di erent places , which were f om nine to five miles distant from each other . Like all game

on m s preservers , I picked up my eggs y out ide 25 4 T HE NE W FOREST

on boundary , just as my neighbours did their ha side of the fence . But I always d o n e or two

o f small sets , pens with breeding birds shut in them which gave me a good supply o f eggs ; and when

or it seemed advisable , I bought a hundred two of eggs to supplement home production .

t e These reared birds , af er b ing fed , and kept together with a barley stack or two until November, were allowed to stray where they would . They

“ were never shot , in any systematic way, but

. of ook of course the licencees go t plenty the c s .

That wa s what they were reared for .

I have known licencees , shooting singly, to

14 0 o r of get their so pheasants in a season , and

o f 80 o 100 bags from t were common enough .

Rabbits , however , as in most other places ,

’ of formed the weightiest part the shooter s bag , and afforded very excellent Sport among the furze brakes of the Forest . Good spaniels and hardy ones were necessary for this work , as the rabbits need a good deal of pressure to induce them to leave such thick covert . In good seasons 100 rabbits in a day to a couple o f shooters was no uncommon bag early in the

500 to 700 season , and from rabbits in a season have often been killed .

! ha v e l v er Black game , alas y nearly died out in

t n so the New Fores , where O ce they were plentiful .

25 6 T HE NE wFORES T

W e ha d f . ew transitory , as before , a additional

set broods , and then the decrease in again ; and n ow fo r it has prevailed so far that , the last few years , the days when one encountered a blackcock or greyhen were few , and to be marked with a

An d white stone . I can recollect myself counting “ 2 3 blackcocks on a curling ground near Ridley

o n e Wood . In those days never rode about the

o n n e forest, especially its orth rn side , without

n e coun terihg at least half a dozen black game . The truth is that when a stock of game birds

lo w o f gets down to a very ebb , especially that a variety so easily destroyed in the early d ays o f a s im its life is the black grouse , it is almost , possible to revive it in a country where it is customary for foxhounds to pursue their Sport for five and even six days a week without the fear of o f sa d to running short quarry . It is have to record it , but I found the two things incompatible . AS an illustration o f what the New Forest shooting is like , I am able to give an extract - l . from the carefu ly kept game book of Messrs H .

. W of . . F . F and C ingrove Langley House , Totton These two brothers shot together systematically 1886 for many years after , and during the ten

. . W preceding years Mr H . F ingrove shot either

o r alone , with a licence that enabled him to be accompanied by a friend . SHOOTING IN NEW FORES T 257 This shows what could be accomplished by two young men in the prime of . life , excellent

S walkers and good hots , provided also with dogs l particularly wel suited for the work . They used to shoot the Forest three days a week on a

’ n ot ev er on e tha t ul regular system , and it is y wo d

o ut o care to lay himself so entirely for the sp rt ,

SO s . W and work hard at it . Mes rs ingrove paid attention mainly to rabbit shootin g in the earlier

of part the season , and as the season progressed

nl went mai y after snipe . Pheasants they merely

d of took as chance provide , and many the licencees killed each year many more than they did . The figures shown o n the bottom lines of pages

25 8 259 r o f , , rep esent the sums money they paid between each year for their Shooting . Various other gentlemen have given me par ticula r o f 189 s their bags in the Forest . In 7 the

f o n h s hi late Mr . Howard o G lde a ye sent me s totals for the year as follows

Pb ea sa n ts Pa rtridge s Wo odc o ck Sn ipe Duck

TI a r e s .

Ra bbits Va rious 25 6 T H E NE W FORES T

f . ew transitory We had , as before , a additional e broods , and th n the decrease set in again ; and n ow ha s for it prevailed so far that , the last few

on e years , the days when encountered a blackcock or greyhen were few , and to be marked with a

An d white stone . I can recollect myself counting “ 23 blackcocks on a curling ground near Ridley

W o n e ood . In those days never rode about the

o n forest , especially its northern Side , without

n e coun terifig at least half a dozen black game . The truth is that when a stock of game birds

lo w gets down to a very ebb , especially that of a variety so easily destroyed in the early d ays o f m its life as is the black grouse , it is almost i possible to revive it in a country where it is customary for foxhounds to pursue their Sport for five and even six days a week without the fear of of a d to running short quarry . It is s have to record it, but I found the two things incompatible. As an illustration o f what the New Forest

a n shooting is like , I am able to give extract

- from the carefully kept game book of Messrs . H .

. W of . F . and F C . ingrove Langley House , Totton These two brothers shot together systematically 1886 for many years after , and during the ten preceding years Mr . H . F . Wingrove shot either

o r him alone , with a licence that enabled to be

e accompanied by a fri nd .

60 2 , T HE NE W FORES T

wa s - Mr . Howard always a single handed shooter ,

to and did not work himself death . But two years later he writes me a comical letter of com

off plaint as to the woeful falling in his Sport , f 5 57 4 6 his score having allen to , with only 9 1 4 4 1 pheasants , against , and rabbits as against

6 87.

But he confesses to hav e been exceedingly Slack both as to days and hours Spent in pur

of ha v in suit game , and also in particular g been

f e a flicted with a very inf rior kennel of dogs , on

so . h which much depends But , taking eit er year,

’ to I don t think Mr . Howard had much grumble about as to the result o f his expenditure of £20 ; and he wa s a good average Specimen of the suc cessful New Forest shooter . f . D o W Mr . C C . allas , Eastley ootton , was

’ o n e o f those Sportsmen who keep a very accurate

be s game book ; and , while generally took a grou e

b e moor in Scotland , devoted himself in the autumn to the New Forest and to the shooting

o f b e there, a form sport that greatly prized ft generally , however , going abroad a er Christmas . The record he sends me in summary is that he shot from 1886 to 19 14 consecutively for the whole o r part of the season ; that he was o ut on 114 4 84 9 5 — days , and killed head not a great

but o f average perhaps daily , in the case g enuine ' sn o o TI NG IN NE W FORES T 26 1

a ll W few rough shooting , in weathers , hen a

n o t to blanks must be looked for, it is a record be despised by the sportsman who is not solely

o f a shooter . Nor must I overlook the record

my neighbour Colonel Austen , who , shooting always

alone , and rarely employing any conveyance , averaged 138 snipe to his gun for ten consecutiv e

— As years this in addition to other game . , for

o n e o f s instance , in the year I am referring

4 72 o f to his grand total was head , which snipe 116 accounted for only . The figures I have given were a fair criterion o f what wa s done in the way o f shooting in the

' Forest in my day by the fairly active division . Of There were course , as always , some Sports

e in ul men who , b coming advanced years , co d no longer make the most o f what is undoubtedly

e o f rough shooting in every s nse the word , both a s to a n d rough walking long distances to travel .

! But there are many who set great store upon

' the healthy exercise they get combined with

. amusement But , taken all round , the New Forest ’ is the poor Sportsman s paradise . He can for the small sum o f £20 get and more acres

to shoot over , with the certainty that there is

to o something sho t . He gener ally impresses his

o r his v bea er gardener groom into the service a s t .

If he employs a man from outside, no remunera 60 F O RE ST 2 , T HE NEW

wa s - Mr. Howard always a single handed shooter ,

to and did not work himself death . But two years later he writes me a comical letter of com

off plaint as to the woeful falling in his Sport ,

f to 5 57 4 6 his score having allen , with only 9 1 4 4 1 pheasants , against , and rabbits as against

6 87.

But he confesses to hav e been exceedingly slack both as to days and hours spent in pur suit of game , and also in particular having been

ffl e o n a icted with a very inf rior kennel of dogs ,

so . which much depends But , taking either year, ’ I don t think Mr . Howard had much to grumble about as to the result o f his expenditure of £20 ; and he was a good average Specimen of the suc cessful New Forest shooter . f 0. D o W Mr . C . allas , Eastley ootton , was o n e o f those Sportsmen who keep a very accurate

game book ; and , while he generally took a grouse

moor in Scotland , he devoted himself in the autumn to the New Forest and to the shooting

o f e there , a form sport that he greatly priz d generally , however , going abroad after Christmas . The record he sends me in summary is that he shot from 1886 to 19 14 consecutively for the whole o r part of the season ; that he was o ut on 114 4 84 95 — days , and killed head not a great

but o f n average perhaps daily , in the case g enui e

26 4 T HE NEW F O REST

ef m r Ther ore he ust stand , not attempting to d aw , o n the instant he acknowledges the scent of a a 1 0 snipe t from 80 to 0 yards . This wary quarry

l o f a wil allow no ne rer approach by him . But if l he stands firm til his master joins him , the quiet f approach o the two should result in a shot . There come a few days in most winters when heavy rains or a sudden thaw swell the rivers

of Test and Avon , to the width their respective valleys . Then everything , the snipe included , is t m driven out of hose extensive water eadows , and th e snipe flock up in great numbers to the wet

f r o . fo healthy uplands the Forest Then , just a

o few days , a sho ter , with a careful setter such as

I have described , may do very well indeed . I have often known ten couple to be killed by o n e

v gun in the day , but that number is not ery often exceeded .

the But whatever the weather, all depends on

e ar dog, and he must be sel cted for the particul

of on a n kind game that is to be sought y day .

A old clever , well broken retriever , that

o f really understands the management Sporting, is a very valuable assistant . If he has become steady and knowledgeable enough , he may be

- n o t used as a close ranging Spaniel , tied to his

’ a s master s heels in his earlier days, but allowed liberty enough to use his nose . SHOOTING IN NE W FOREST 26 5 such a dog will keep close enough to interfere with neither setter nor spaniel , but he

t will in sure that his master does not pass any game within reach of his nose that the setter ,

: or fli ht ranging a little wide , a g y spaniel may perhaps have missed . He is a most useful aid , and , with his education and training , can be relied upon to do nothing wrong .

own As for my Forest Shooting, much as I appreciated it—and though I have taken part ’ in many and many a big day s shooting, yet I never enjoyed anything much more than a good — day in the Forest with my dogs I Ca n Show no such records as those of the keen sportsmen

I have just referred to . My time was far too fully employed for me to sacrifice it to the long hard day’s work that

. a s I have been describing Moreover , such time I could spare from my Office and from other f O ficial duties, I preferred to devote to hunting , when I could survey a good tract of the district

n o u e u der my charge, and st re p many a not as to the condition o f various matters as I rode about the Forest . Further, there was the question Of keeping within bounds the wild deer that ever and ever were encroaching in numbers , and this alone occupied most o f my bye -days

So a that ltogether, year by year, my book tells 26 6 T HE NE W FORES T me that about fifteen to eighteen days’ Shootin g was about my average number of excursions

- with the fowling piece . But it suited me very l we l to use this privilege on the Old lines , viz .

is with that moderation which fitting . It was a convenience to be able to put in a ’ f couple of hours work in the O fice , and then be o ff to some district near at hand to do a ’ half day s Shooting . Some of them were very pleasant , but I rarely went very far from home . I had the privilege o f being able to enter the enclosed and reserved plantations , and in that way securing , however late I went out , the

o f chance beating undistur bed ground .

o r Except for one two points , this privilege was not worth much . The game , as a rule , chose for its haunts the open woods— the older o a k plantations where the acorns were falling ,

o f the and the sunny parts Forest , rather than the thick enclosures ; only in on e o r two cases

on e was this seclusion valuable , viz . where of the Streams , open enough in places to attract

o n e o f wild fowl , ran into and through these plantations .

In cases such as this , it was an advantage to start late , when the fowl , if there were many about , had been disturbed and Shot at at various places , and had sought refuge in the secluded

26 8 THE NE W F ORE S T A o n w . t fowl the ing at once f er that , teal and

” ducks a re fiightin g round with the intention of

r es returning to their snug quarte s , and pr enting d rocketing Shots at every height a n every angle .

A SO fter half an hour or , this flight ceases , and the ducks sheer O ff to quieter quarters that they

o o f know f. Some these lay in the Forest e ’ streams , and specially that stream which ran from Minstead Manor through the thick enclosure ’ B k s us ett n . Of Law . Mr Compton would often

o f his to his notify me intention Shoot pond ,

on e o f and often also ask me to make the party . I would then requisition from him o n e Of his

o f guests, and , leaving him to Shoot some his

o f us coverts until the afternoon , the pair would

e o n to proc ed a maraud down the stream , get what we could for ourselves , and to drive the e c ducks back to the pond th y ame from , so that the party might have a second turn at them .

Some Of these walks were very pleasant ones . I quote the result o f two or three

it a a n t 3 Ra 3 . od D . 3 A o n . . o 1894 . ec . l e Phe s s , bb s , W o T a c ck , e l, Alo n Tea 14 D 8 . . 1895 . ec . 1 . e l, u T 2 n . a 7. D ec . 11. 2 1896 . g s e l ,

a a n t H a 1 Ra it A o n . . 1897 D ec . 24 . . . l e Phe s , l re , bb s ,

T a z = oodco 1. l7 2 5 . 5 . W ck , e l,

Ra it T a 1. No v 2 A o n . 1898 . 2 . . l e bb , e l , R a it i d F 1 = 2. o 2 . un . w Nov 29 . 2 8 30 1899 . . g s bb s , W l , 26 9 SHOO TING IN NEW FOREST ,

’ I don t remember any days of shooting that I have enjoyed more than these quiet walks after teal along the winding stream that ran

u e thro gh the young woods , here wid ning into

v a pools , there gi ing a vist down a reach , but

o n o always leading e t the unexpec ted . Then the

h o f e l l sudden flus the t a , a most always through

t was thick covert , exac ly like Shooting woodcocks ,

s ft o n e mo t exciting. Immediately a er a Shot , had

n e im to stand to arms for five mi ut s , as it was possible to kn ow whether o r no there was a big flock Of teal just a little farther o n which was flushed . Often enough there was , and they ul wo d come swishing over , sometimes very high ,

f to and again quite low, as they ailed realise the ff danger. In either case they a orded the most beautiful Shots to anyone who wa s quick in the

his c use of gun . Sometimes , after se uring a right

ft of o n e and le at the rise of a couple teal , could secure two o r three more without moving from the place a s they came rocketin g over from some unsuspe cted hiding place . Weather a n d water had to be carefully con

of n sider ed. A certain amount wi d wa s essen

o r tial , else the wary fowl would quickly detect the approach o f the Shooter pushing his way through the dense covert ; and the water had to

f -fish r be watched with the keenness o a salmon e . 270 THE NE W FORES T

too too If it were high , the ducks also sat high , and could detect the approach o f their enemy over the banks which Should have concealed him .

too f If low, it might not attract them su ficiently t u to settle at all , and the whole S ream wo ld be t l blank . It was , in all , a horough y sporting

e o f piec Shooting, dependent upon all the chances and risks and disappointments that go to make up genuine Sport . When these chances were f avourable , they yielded what I thought to be a most delightful day . I know that twenty or thirty head does not seem much to many a

ba shooter used to big gs of driven game. But in the NewForest we were content with small

o ur o wn figures and rough shooting, gained by

x personal e ertions ; and , believe me, for I am very f t amiliar wi h both forms of Shooting , there is no less Sport to be gained from o n e than there is f rom the other , to anyone who is willing to t it work for his pleasure , and ob ain by his own exertions . — There were —other days sometimes days of very good Sport that I was able to Obtain in

. of connection with the keeping down rabbits .

AS I explained before , the old system , that

m of w obtained before y day, allo ing the keepers to regard the rabbits a s their perquisite wa s a thoroughly bad one. It led to the preservation

272 T HE NE W FORES T

’ on only had ten days notice , and was , as such

on e to days as the I am referring , favoured by

weather , he had every rabbit above ground , and

they were well accounted for .

1897 for was a very good year pheasants, - f both wild and hand reared . One o the lodges where I generally reared pheasants was only a

mile away from the scene of action , and we had turned out some four hundred and fifty young

to a birds there st y where they would . The only toll taken o f them o n behalf of the Crown that paid for them was on such of these birds that came among o ur fifty pheasants o n the

da y in question . Of course we only Shot cock

birds .

Sloden on D 10 We had a good day in ecember , 1896 17 , when eight guns killed pheasants , 2 — 8 84 7 30 . rabbits , woodcocks total , This is the only day I ever had in the Forest

where we attained to a total of over 300 head . ’ on e But I have seen better days sport , and the

o n D 10 1897 I described ecember , , was a better

n o t so day , though the bag was good .

A o f Sloden fter that , the stock rabbits in was pretty well mastered ; a bad breeding year or

two supervened , the trees got larger and safer

o f from the attacks the rodent , and the peril of

the rabbit passed away for the time . SHOOTING. IN NE W FORES T 273

But earlier in my New Forest times , I had far better days than these . They came just at the time that I realised that if rabbits were to

see or be kept down I must to it myself, else run the risk o f se eing them allowed to multiply so that the keepers should make a profit o ut o f their excessive numbe rs . But at that date some o f the young plantations were still o f the height and growth to hold woodcocks .

’ Sloden b , a ove referred to , was one ; King s — Garn was another n o t so much that it harboured

of our rabbits itself, as that good neighbour Sir

o f Henry Paulet , across a narrow strip open

o f forest , chose to maintain a considerable head rabbits in his excellent coverts of Ca n tertOn f Manor . I ound I had to take this in hand , and in 1887 had the rabbits well ferreted and attacked them in force . The keeper had told me beforehand that a great number of woodcocks

n were usi g the covert , but I did not think they were in anything like the numbers that really

As were there . soon as I realised what was actu

o f ff ally the state a airs , I was rather in a dilemma .

wa s o f Here a great number woodcocks , and a

chance of a record day . On the other hand , the

rabbits had all been got ready for the day, and

to we were there kill them down . So I stuck

' 126 — to business , and we killed rabbits all we S 274 T HE NE W FOREST

— 2 could have done and 7 woodcocks . But two days afterwards the keeper of the walk came to tell me that not only wa s there still in the

a ll f covert the woodcocks we had le t , but also u that a fresh flight had come in . I hastily s m mo n ed by telegraph a number of the best Sports

men that I thought could be got together , and met those who responded on the following

e morning . W found all the woodcocks we had

o n . left the previous occasion , and a few more I placed the guns on the rides and Open spaces k solely for the woodcoc s , just as I had placed

n them o the previous day solely for the rabbits .

W e 4 1 got woodcocks , and incidentally some

30 a h rabbits . I had previously rranged to s oot

Slo den the rabbits in early in the following week ,

b 130 s 20 and it yielded , esides some rabbit , 88 l woodcocks more , making woodcocks ki led in three days comprised within a Single week . I do n o t think this record ha s been often beaten in

—a t England any rate in the southern counties .

al ! n o t u o f But , as we could keep p this sort u Shooting . The coverts quickly grew p, and became draughty under the trees o n the ground ; our good friend Sir Henry Paulet passed over to the

o n o maj rity , and longer supplied us with hordes of ’ his surplus rabbits to make us a day s Shooting .

1888 Slo den ro In , I had a day in which p

CHAP TER XIV

F AL CONRY

AL TH OU GH the New Forest is a country so un

fo r suitable hawking that , except on a very few

occasions I was unable to follow the Sport there , f ’ yet my li e at the King s House , and in fact

r SO u u whe ever I have been , was bo nd p with the

o f h training hawks and with falconry , t at it would be impossible to omit mention thereof in any Sketch of my pursuits during my New

r Forest life . I do not know when I fi st took to

falconry . I cannot remember the time when I

wa s n ot A devoted to that pursuit . lthough quite

o f a ll ignorant its practice, I devoured books I

could get upon the subject , and in my Eton days endeavoured to put in force what I learned from reading them upon a ny unhappy kestrel I could

get hold Of. But my feet were first set on the right path

o f h o n by the kind teaching t at fine Sp rtsma , the

o f wa s a s late Sir Charles Slingsby Scriven , who

good a falconer as he was a huntsman . In my summer holidays I would toil over on 276 FA L CONRY 277 my pony as often as he could find leisure t o be

o r bothered with me, the thirteen miles so that

e e divided Harewood from Scriven , and r ceiv edu

in cation the handling of hawks . Sir Charles was a past master in managing the Sparrow - hawk—perhaps the most difficult kind

to of hawk control and keep in health , and with

his friend Mr . Bower used to have capital sport

with blackbirds and thrushes in July and August . ul wi In this Sport I was a tr y lling novice , and ul was also allowed , under caref supervision , to do ” a little carrying and training of the young hawk which had been set aside for me to try

my hand with . At last the day came when I was allowed to take it home and do my best with it all alone ; and I was a proud boy as I rode home across the countryside with my hawk o n hand for the first

time in my life . ’ o f Well , the history all beginners hawks is

much the same . I devoted myself to her . I got more education for myself than ever the hawk But suspected . I got her perfectly trained and

fit to go hawking with . And then I was wrecked

” ” o of i so to o f us on the r ck cond tion , fatal all ,

d s ol hands and beginner alike , and the delicate

o ut little hawk got of health and soon died .

r a s f But I had become fairly sta ted a alconer . 278 T HE NE W FOREST

I could feed and handle a hawk properly ; cut out

o wn my tackle , even imp a feather , and , except fo r out rare intervals , I have never been of reach o f a hawk Since . 1866 Soon after this , in , I was allowed to spend

o n i l o n part of my Easter vacation Sal sbury P ain ,

o f D ft the invitation Mr . Cecil uncombe, who a er

of e wards became one my best and dear st friends . The hawks were those belonging to the small club that afterwards developed into the Old

Hawking Club , and were managed by that famous old m Sportsman Clough Newcome , for erly one of the shining lights o f the Loo Hawking Club in

n the palmy days of heron hawking i Holland .

of f f Robert Barr , a member a amous amily o f r Scotch falconers , was the professional falcone

’ Newcome s under Mr . superintendence , which was ,

so however , minute and careful that it left his subordinate very little to do .

sa w al Here at last , and for the first time , I re hawking . I studied the use and training of the f noble peregrine passage alcon , so great and so powerful compared with the hawks I had handled

The u to . p the present quarry was the rook , and

o f d the hawks the highest class . An a second ull visit stimulated my eagerness yet more f y.

“ to Ca mbrid e a n d The following year I went g ,

eltwell . as F , where Mr Newcome lived and kept

280 T HE NE W FORES T

o f o r some twenty more hawks , mostly peregrines,

and two o r three goshawks . The Maharajah had

o n e or a very good saker , and there were two hawks Of the rarer and most valuable kinds such

o ur as falconer of later years , John Frost , always ” s described as menagerie hawk . But altogether this great joint establishment

of so a so hawks , numerous , cont ining many of

of ae the noblest possible Specimens the Falconid , wa s certainly the most magnificent hawking

establishment that I , or possibly any other living

sa w person , ever .

As to Sport . Many of the French hawks

were very good ones , but were chiefly game hawks , that had been flying very well in Scotland at grouse the previous autumn . They had one

o o o r two good heron hawks t . The gerfalcons were all flying to the lure in

o r the most magnificent form conceivable . Two

to sa w three had been entered hares , and I a few flights at that quarry , but was not very greatly impressed by it as a form o f sport suit

-fl in - able for the swift y g long winged falcons .

ft s SO o f w A er eeing much these Splendid ha ks , I could not be happy without a hawk about me

wn nl o f my o . I should think I was the o y undergraduate of the nineteenth century who regularly kept a trained hawk in his rooms in F AL CONRY 281

. ! College Moreover , I had a dog also but the

in Magdalene dons were k dly folk, and looked the

AS other way when my dog was in the court . to hawks , there was no law against them , and I had a perch , with the necessary flooring, put

of r r across the corner my ooms , whe e my hawk could sit very comfortably . But I always blamed the loss Of a bea utiful little passage tiercel , that Mr . Newcome gave me , to the old

o f e n o cat a b dmaker, who , doubt , thought “ ” hawks nasty messy things , and I have good reason to suspect that She untied the leash and Al left the window Open . Professor fred Newton ,

a s whose rooms were in the same court mine ,

sa w fli him in the distance as he took ght , but

of 186 9 . I never heard him again . In Mr New

come died , and the Hawking Club was broken u p, and the hawks divided amongst the members . Cecil Duncombe gave me the falcon that fell to R his share , and obert Barr took service with the

Marquis o f Bute . In the following spring he went with what hawks he had to enter and fly them at rooks D o n the Wiltshire owns . I took the falcon I

o n e o f had had given to me , and another my

own , and went down to join him at Market

Lavington . On my way thither I stayed a day

s in London , and at Tatter alls speculated in a 282 T HE NE W FORES T

on e e s for pony , for at least horseman is s ential

a n d rook hawking, very well did that pony turn

out.

W of f c ith this modest equipment , two al ons i 1870 and a pony , I Spent the Easter vacat on of

e assisting Robert Barr . W had a certain amount

“ o f sport , and I learnt a great deal about the management of hawks . The pony was a capital hack , and carried a hawk well . Except for what I did with some merlins o f

o wn my , and subsequently with a young goshawk ,

sa w or SO at rabbits , I little hawking for a year ; but in the autumn of 1871 it befell that Cecil

D . A . . o f uncombe, Mr E Knox , a member the former Hawking Club, and myself forgathered at Gordon Castle as the guests of the Duke o f

Richmond . The question of reviving the club

\ wa s mooted , and then and there letters were

o ff r written to Lo d Lilford , Captain Brooksbank ,

o r also original members , and to one two others ,

to I proposing to them start the club again .

o f myself wrote to John Barr (his brother Robert, o ur old wa s to falconer , dead) , propose to him

o ur a that he Should become profession l falconer , hi and soon made terms with m. All the old

us members gave support , especially Lord Lil

ffi . ford , whose generosity smoothed all di culties

o f Francis Newcome came in place his father ,

284 T H E NEW FORES T

t l . a t n a o her trave lers , from Mr Gl ds o e to K iser

o f a Wilhelm , both whom p id visits thereto , as i did many another d stinguished personage . But the most attractive sight afforded by the hawks to the people o f Lyndhurst came A during July and ugust , when the young

o f peregrines , to the number eight or nine , were “ — sa flying at hack , that is to y, in perfect freedom , all round the village , using, as a rule , the pinnacles and tower of the church a s their

AS chief resting place . they began to get

o n , a s stronger the wing their evolutions , they

“ chased on e another around the Spire and all

e u . over the village , were v ry beautif l to watch I have seen Six or seven chev yln g one another all over the village , and perhaps half a hundred visitors and inhabitants standing in the street watching the aerial Show . So long as these young hawks come regularly to their food , morn

a s f ing and evening, they are just as secure owls

r let out to feed . But e e long Symptoms are

o n e n d shown that they have , at a time , lear e to procure food for themselves . Steps are then at once taken to secure them , and the happy period of liberty , which rarely extends to more

. than three weeks , is at an end . The hood and but the jesses control the holiday maker , it is only a very short time that elapses before he P FA L CONRY 28 5

n a n d is on the wing agai , trained under control , and shortly to be allowed to kill his first grouse five hundred miles from where he learned the ” use of his wings , flying at hack and roosting on Lyn dhurst spire .

D n f uri g my li e at Lyndhurst , a great many — first-class hawks hawks such as perhaps have had no superiors—passed through the mews at ’ the King s House . Of the young hawks that used the spire so persistently in their youth were many very superior game hawks , coming most of them year by year from certa in eyries

ff o f - D in the precipitous cli s north west onegal . Whether it was the intensely wild and stormy

o r surroundings of their birthplace , whether it wa s a peculiar Strain of dark-coloured peregrines l f that haunted those precipitous c i fs , I cannot tell ; but year by year hawks o f the highest class were sent us from those eyries to mature

h on o f round Lyndhurst spire . Per aps e the best

to was that famous tiercel Persimmon , who came 1897 19 00 us in , and lasted till , killing , year

ft o ld o f a er year , cock grouse up to the end the — se ason a thing that not o n e tiercel in ten i s

o n e ll able to do . In year he ki ed seventy head

' f ul r li o . C v e c fl game But again , from the in the — Isle of Wight a n ancient eyrie in which hawks — have bred for centuries o n e tha t was specially 286 T HE NE W FORES T reserved for Queen Elizabeth for her own personal — use we got on e year a very good game falcon

us s called Vesta . She served for nine sea ons ,

u - during the short period for which gro se hawking , by far the finest form of game hawking that

ca n . D exists , be carried on uring that time her score vva s :

Gr ouse O ther ga me

o r 37 head every season that She flew , but in

- her later days She was rather self willed , and her ff scores su ered proportionately . In her earlier days they were much higher .

of The object the Old Hawking Club , revived

1872 to first- in , was maintain a class establishment

fo r u of working hawks , all p rposes , for the use of its members , where they wished . Every year it obtained from the Dutchmen at Valkenswaard

o f s f a number freshly caught pa sage alcons , and by that means kept an ancient but declining in

r on dust y its legs . These were always at first trained to rooks , and used during the annual visit o f the club in March and April to Salis

. o ur bury Plain Here we all forgathered , though quarters Shifted from time to time as certain com

288 T HE NE W FORES T

would year by year have the hawks at Langwell , to o f s help to entertain some his guest , at that

o f . lovely place , prolific all Sport . Mr St . Quintin and Colonel Brooksbank would take a moor and

v SO . ha e the hawks for a month or Once , I 100 remember , in that space of time they killed

of brace grouse with them , and then the hawks

o went n to Langwell and killed a number more . Later still that season they killed 105 partridges and made up a total fo r the game season of 35 3 head . Lord Lilford , though the country around his un home was not suitable for hawking, was happily too great a cripple to be able to join uS

our but in sport farther afield , he always liked to have the hawks with him for a Short time , and ’ a good hawk in full practice could Show him

in many successful flights at partridges , even a cramped country .

D s o ut The uke of St . Alban did not come hawking or care for the Sport . But he considered that his position o f Hereditary Grand Falconer of England (with an income of £ 1200 a year) put him under an Obligation to do something for the

o f o ur Sport falconry . He therefore joined club , and gave us a handsome subscription on the understanding that if ever he were called upon ’ by the King to produce ha wks and Show a day s

use o f sport , he Should have the the club estab F ALCONRY 2 89 lishmen W w is e t. hen some years after ards h Grac commuted the pension he enjoyed in right of his

a s position Grand Falconer , he withdrew from the

club . I think the club was strongest and Showed

1 86—9 6 The its best sport about the period 8 . members in 1886 were

o Li fo L rd l rd .

N c F ewome . .

H St ui tin W . . . Q n .

Lo d n or ou r Lo desb gh . Jo n B . H. es .

a Duke o f St. Alb ns . Du O f o t a n d ke P r l .

H n B Po t n . o . E . a . W. r m — Hon . G L a s M a na er . . celles g

HONORARY M EMBERS

H on C i Dun . . ec l combe

H n G R C . i o . H . . ll .

Co on B oo a n l el r ksb k . F Sa vin Es . l , q .

In the previous Spring season the hawks ki lled on

D s 24 3 e o f the owns no les than h ad rooks , crows ,

and magpies . The total hea d Of game killed durin g the 5 15 77 season was , including ra bbits taken with

a goshawk . 29 0 T H E NE W F OREST In 189 0 we had an extraordinarily good lot o f hawks , and they killed in March and April no

2 7 of &c u o 5 . o t f 29 3 less than head rooks , ,

flights . Among these hawks was a rare old

a t for falcon called Elsa , flying rooks then the ft fi h season in succession , and killing them as f well as ever. But She had also Spent the our u previous a tumns in Scotland , flying at grouse

—in and killing them in the grandest style fact ,

two o f e e in her four s asons , She made the high st score o f all the team . Yet after each Spring She

out would , having well moulted , come again in

A a ugust , as a rook h wk , and make year after

or of year either the best , nearly the best, score

i s to all the lot . It very unusual get a hawk that will thus excel in two entirely different forms o f f so sport year a ter year , and for many seasons, and when such a jewel is discovered there is n o end to the amount o f Sport that can be got out

on o f her . Elsa went flying grouse into her

the Sixth season , and then was lost at Langwell ,

of scene o f many her triumphs . It is to be

ot an d n hoped that she g clear away , ext Spring found herself a mate and bred young eyases o f

wn her o quality .

n Her mantle to some extent fell upo Ursula , ’ a falcon caught in Elsa s last year with us , and

She a s was just as good her predecessor, though

29 2 T HE NE W , FOREST f taken rom the nest , which is almost afraid to lose sight o f the man who has always brought

o to ur a s f od it . It is f ther twice hard to tame as even an ordinary wild caught hawk of the

first year , which is not yet a twelvemonth old ,

and is more easily reclaimed . Many a haggard is not really worth the

trouble it takes to reclaim and train . Moreover ,

o u for if you lose her , and leave her t but twenty four hours , the old call of the wild comes

to to her, and you have a wild hawk catch

a o f o again , inste d merely a l st friend to find and recover .

But if you once get your haggard trained , you

have a hawk indeed . For you have got no

amateur that needs entering and training ! to

a to r —on e te ch her fly , but a genuine p ofessional that has at the least maintained itself for two or e o r three years , killing som wild sea bird ,

on rock pigeon most days , and harrying the

on wild fowl their migrations , and possibly has also brought up a family needin g far harder

work from her , and plenty more killing in order to suppluy the larder fo r the whole brood . S ch a hawk as this can fly like a swift , and

to catch prey wherever She is well placed do so . She has for her lifetime exercised domi mo n over ” the fowls of the a ir at her sweet will and plea FAL CONRY 293

“ sure ; and if yo u can get her to exercise those

for powers your behoof whenever you please , yo u have got a hawk worth any amount of

o i of . o u tr uble . It s all a question temper If y

o n e - e light a really sw et temp red haggard , and l have the patience and experience to hand e her , you may get a hawk worth many ordinary ones .

Such a hawk wa s Shelagh . She became as

- sweet tempered and gentle as a bird could be , and

s : we all loved her . A to performances in her first

she e fift - her year kill d y four rooks ; in second ,

- o ut e sixty two . She came in her third y ar as good as ever , and was beginning to run up a score

she again , when was lost , owing to a clumsy

. ! so blunder with rotten tackle It is , alas easy to lose a good hawk ; and the better she is to fo r the harder it is recover her , a good hawk is never hungry . W e have had other good haggards, some that were for long so u handy as to be usef l as game hawks , but Shelagh wa s the nearest approach to a perfectly tractable wild falcon that I remember having handled . — W e have had many a notable hawk such 185 as Josephine , who killed rooks in three and A l 72 and a half seasons ; imwell , who ki led rooks — her first season but it would be tedious to recount 29 4 T HE NE W FORES T

f s the , doings of these various avourite , interesting

a s t ma to h n s hey y be t ose who wit e sed them . There ha s nev er been a year up to the present time that has not produced o n e or two very good

o f out hawks ; but, course , some of them stand

n d re as exceptio ally goo ones , and are remembe d d accor ingly . All o f these hawks that I have named were t t trained at Lyndhurst , wi h many o hers, year by year . The mews was always Open to visitors

who took an interest in the sport , and the early lessons on training were all given o n the Lynd

of hurst racecourse , where some scores good hawks first learned to use their powers of flight under

the control of man .

But I regret to say that , although the exist ence o f a pretty la rge stud of trained hawks

e r n b excit d some little inte est in the eigh ourhood , the ancient Sport of falconry has lost its hold over

o f any but a small band of enthusiasts . Th e amount patience and time necessary to success in a very difficult Sport does not appeal to the modern

Sportsman , who lives at a faster rate and requires a larger return of quarry brought to ba g to repay him for his time and trouble than he can get

of l out a trained fa con . Those who are once bitten with the desire to

29 6 T HE NE W FORES T

once the wildest an d most attractive part of our country—where the hobby and even the raven

— is of built there a vast city tin houses . The camps to the south Side o f the Avon — La r khill and others were soon afterwards estab

lished , and then commenced the artillery practice over all the wide Downs almost from Stonehenge

a n to L vi gton . We withdrew to the remotest corners o f the

D on o ur owns the western Side , but range is v t a n d o ur o n ery limi ed , Sport its last legs in

that district .

However , I do not doubt that many another keen falconer of earlier generations has died in the firm conviction that the sport he loved was dying with him ; SO I hope that a s to my certain

errror knowledge those veterans were in , and that it has fallen to my lot to maintain this

time -honoured sport for a Span , of nigh upon ft fifty years a er they had passed away , so may I also be mista ken in my gloomy prognostica

tions , and better and younger men will carry “ o n what h a s been well described as the noblest ” ” ha s l Sport in which man ever indu ged , for the benefit o f many future generations after I have

o ceased t take a part in it . W ith this somewhat digressive chapter , I bring to a close my history of my New Forest FAL CONRY 297

f . e li e As I hav explained above , although hawking had not much vogue in the Forest , yet

ha s it always been identified with my pursuits , and in my old age and retirement I am thankful

’ that the tinkle o f a falcon s bell is generally to be heard in my garden . I N D E X

ACT of 1543 142 o r l a 229 , C llier, M . Wi li m , o on 9 C mm ers , 1877 20 14 6 o of 1868 16 , , C mmittee , 1 20 875, A 102 1889 50 gisters , , A o of 1870 19 o n H 2 a n o . . F . 22 git ti s , C mpt , Mr , A a a o o o a 293 o o H a o 222 imwell , f m us r k h wk , C ke urle, M j r , A Ho Fo 66 oo Ha 27 lice lt rest , C per , rry , Al n Ro 202 otta e n 46 le , bert , g buildi g , An n e n c o icemen ts 140 143 o n n of G a n 135 cie t pp , , Cr w Pri ce erm y , A on 9 6 . G . 49 pril, m th , Culley, Mr , H n E 4 0 A . o . shley, ,

A n C ol. n 261 uste , , s ipe killed , A n Ma no 133 L LA S Mn oo n n 260 utum euvres, DA , , sh ti g retur , Da n c ea wa a o o o a 29 1 y, f m us r k h wk , ’ D Arbla a a o 130 y , M d me , Mem irs , D GER n 235 a a 180 BA diggi g , D vis, Ch rles, n o f 238 la Wa o 117 scie ce , De rr , L rd , a in n o 271 R o a A 11 82 B gs , killed e cl sures , Deer em v l ct , , a r of 169 a of 68 B k , price , Deer , peculi rities , a Ro a on 278 of 91 B rr , bert , f lc er, weights , Jo n al on 29 a n 90 h , f c er, st lki g , a n Lo 38 fi n s 93 B si g, rd , ghti g buck , a A 66 n n a a 193 Bl ck ct , Deer hu ti g , e rly d ys , a a 246 255 n ewa 198 Bl ck g me, , with p ck, oo o n 85 88 182 n n n a Bl dh u ds , , , whe hu ti g the p ck Boldrewoo d o 117 199 L dge , myself, o on of 82 121 183 oo n 199 201 212 B lt , Duke , , , g d ru s, , , ,

rn r . Bra dbu e , M , 218 213, 215 for n n 178 nn En o r 175 Bridges hu ti g , De y cl su e ,

oo G . 202 o a on of 164 Br ke , Sir , Deteri r ti timber , ' o n Ma o 217 Disa fioresta tion 19 Br w e , j r, , ro n of 6 3 of on na 133 B wsi g deer, Duke C ught,

a G . 60 n o Hon . 278 Bumste d, , Du c mbe, Cecil , o 12 Burley L dge ,

E RLY a on 1 A educ ti , CANU T B 64 Ea o n a on 219 , rth st ppi g regul ti s , a z n o ML 222 E a I 127 C e ve , , dw rd , n of 1670 80 E a II 1903 132 Ce sus deer , , dw rd V , visit , a a n Ha n 279 E a n o e n 128 Ch mp g e wki g Club , le r , Que , ’ a a t K n Ho 128 E f a n 97 Ch pel i g s use , l rid , Quee , ar II in 1637 129 E a a on a con 290 Ch les , visit , ls , w derful f l , o a 116 E o o 180 C bbett , Willi m , rr ll , L rd, o Ja 61 E a a nn a 4 5 C les, mes , stim tes , u l , F d 233 Ex a on o f o 71 o . C llier , Mr re , pedit ti d gs,

3 00 T HE NE W F ORE ST

R d 2 t A a n of 288 W. 7 S . ee , , lb s , Duke ,

R s of o on s 12 . n n Mr . 288 egi ter c mm er , St Qui ti , , R ua run of 177 a s do t 73 eg l r deer , Stirrup, used g tes , R a on for n n 184 194 of E z a 144 egul ti s hu ti g, , Survey li beth , R o of 1789 26 of 1700 163 ep rt , Sylviculture ,

R n of 1608 &c . 147 etur s timber, , , Rhi n efield o 19 L d e , 1 g n - 9 T hoo , 267, 268 a r on . M 204 s ti g R J . 1 m h d , , , ic s T i s R on D of 1 5 183 err ers , best breed h d , e , 7 , ic m uk oo o of 231 240—1 R oo 1 2 g d w rk , , e d, 5 idl y W T on a of a 197 Roa in Fo 29 estim i l pl te , ds rest , T J. 219 o Mr hursby , Sir , R s . 112 bert , , T Mr . G . 208 209 211 Roe hursby , , , , e , 70 de r T an of 159 Roc k a n imber, gr ts , h , 278, 281 wki g T on a a n 208 Ro a H on 1 7 ims , C pt i , n b , 8 y l u t utt T a ou na 233 Ro a a r a un n r cy , Mr . C rte y, a n fo h e h , y l w rr t r ti g T a C 1 203 179 re dwell , . , , Tw A o 123 elve p stles ,

WING n n a on 4 2 A e e , , ERD E RE RS 21 S gi s litig ti V , o c fir n o on o f 166 16 ’ h , , , 7 Ha 105 113 Sc t i tr ducti Verderers ll, , a Of 168 p e , a a o o a 286 s r d Vest , f m us gr use h wk , n i n a o 170 e e , V o a o n H o 5 S t me t l f r stry ict ri C u ty ist ry , S 263 e , of Ro a o n 180 tters Visits y l Buckh u ds , a a on a a 29 1 Shel gh , w derful h gg rd , oo n n 249 251 261 Sh ti g lice ce , , , S n Sir a 276 W L KE R M r. , 205 li gsby, Ch rles , A , Sn oo n 261 264 a a a , 66 ipe sh ti g , , W lth m Bl cks 4 Sn o v S ua ll 24 3 a n Lo 59 , 183 , 2 7 gg . q , W rde , the rd , o n Ho n 88 W e Ha 206 S uther u ds , hit , rry , a n 262 o 268 Sp iels , Wild f wl , ’ a oo a ro a 277 Win rov e s M s , b , Sp r w h wks , g , essr g me k n n 242 Squirrel hu ti g, oo n 2 3 273 S 245 oo oc h , 6 , quirrel pie, W dc k s ti g — o o a o f 2 4 5 a f 44 b , 7 St f, g d gs ea n o f 149 151 152 oo Fo , 65 St li g timber, , , W lmer rest

THE END

4 P in ed b BALLANTYNE HANSON 6 00 . r t y , Edinburgh ér' Lo ndon

RETURN FO RESTRY LIBRARY TO 26 0 Mulfo rd Ho ll 6 4 2 - 29 36

ALL BO O KS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER7 DAYS

DUEAS STAMPED BELO W

UNIVE RSITY O FCALIFO RNIA BE RKELEY , F R D 1 BE RKE LEY CA !M 7 2O M N . D 5 6 m O O : , , (fin