The New Forest is one of the largest areas of open land, including pastures, heathland, and forests, in Southern England. It covers parts of southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. William the Conqueror declared it a royal forest, and it is recorded in the Domesday Book.

The New Forest is home to the New Forest Commoners, who have long had the right to use the land for grazing animals. These rights are still recognized and managed by officials called verderers and agisters. In the 18th century, the forest provided timber for the Royal Navy. Today, it is a habitat for many rare birds and mammals.

The boundaries of the forest have changed over time, depending on the reason for defining them. It covers an area of 289 square kilometers (112 square miles) and is a protected site important for its biology and geology. Some areas, like Mark Ash Wood and Studley Wood, are listed as Geological Conservation Review sites. Other areas are protected for nature conservation. The forest is also a Special Area of Conservation, a Ramsar site, and a Special Protection Area.

Copythorne Common is managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. Kingston Great Common is a national nature reserve, and New Forest Northern Commons is managed by the National Trust.

Prehistory

The New Forest area was once covered in deciduous woodland, like much of England. After the ice sheets began to move away around 12,000 years ago, birch trees grew back first, followed later by beech and oak. Starting during the Bronze Age, some parts of the forest were cleared for farming. However, the poor soil quality made these cleared areas turn into heathland, which was likely used as grazing land for horses even then.

Although there was still a large amount of woodland in this region of Britain, it became smaller over time. This happened especially during the end of the Middle Iron Age, around 250–100 BC, and most importantly during the 12th and 13th centuries. Today, almost all of this original woodland is gone, except for the New Forest.

Within the New Forest’s area, there are about 250 round barrows, which are ancient burial mounds, and scattered boiling mounds. It also includes around 150 scheduled monuments, which are important historical sites protected by law. One of these sites may be the only known burial place from the Early Iron Age in Britain and the only known Hallstatt culture burial site. However, because the soil is very acidic, any bodies buried there may have broken down completely and are no longer detectable.

History

During the Roman period, many pottery kilns were located east of modern Fordingbridge. Production began around 270 AD and decreased a lot after 370 AD.

After the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain, Florence of Worcester (who died in 1118) wrote that the area became the home of the Jutish kingdom of Ytene. This name meant "of the Jutes," referring to the Jute people, one of the early Anglo-Saxon groups that settled in southern Hampshire.

Following the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror declared the New Forest a royal forest around 1079. It was used for hunting deer and created by removing more than 20 small villages and farms. The forest was called "Nova Foresta" in the Domesday Book of 1086, the only forest described in detail in that record. Some 12th-century writers claimed William evicted people from 36 parishes, but most historians believe this is unlikely because much of the area had poor soil and was already sparsely populated.

Two of William’s sons died in the New Forest: Prince Richard between 1069 and 1075, and King William II (William Rufus) in 1100. William Rufus is said to have been killed by an arrow from a hunting companion, though local stories suggest it was punishment for creating the forest. A stone called the Rufus Stone marks the spot of his death.

The New Forest Act of 1697 confirmed the rights of people living in the area. The forest provided timber for the Royal Navy, and in the 18th century, trees were planted for this purpose. During the Great Storm of 1703, about 4,000 oak trees were lost.

The New Forest Act of 1877 protected the rights of Commoners, limiting the total area of land that could be enclosed to 65 km² (25 square miles). It also reformed the Court of Verderers to represent Commoners instead of the Crown.

As of 2005, about 90% of the New Forest was still owned by the Crown. Forestry England has managed Crown lands since 1923, and most of these lands are now within the New Forest National Park.

During the First and Second World Wars, trees were cut down to meet wartime needs, and some areas were used for military training. Today, some of these areas are being restored to natural habitats. Rhododendron plants continue to be a problem in the forest.

During World War II, the Ashley Range area was used for bombing practice. The Beaulieu estate in the New Forest was a training site for secret agents operated by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) from 1941 to 1945. One of the trainers was Kim Philby, who later became a spy for the Soviet Union. In 2005, an exhibition at the estate displayed photos and recordings from that time.

Additional laws about the New Forest were passed in 1949, 1964, and 1970. The forest became a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1971 and was designated a Heritage Area in 1985. Planning rules were added in 1992. The New Forest was proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 but was not accepted. It became a National Park on 1 March 2005, with management shared between the New Forest National Park Authority, local governments, and landowners.

A 2023 report said the region will experience hotter, drier summers and wetter winters. In 2019, the New Forest District Council area emitted 928,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

• Death of William Rufus
• The Rufus Stone Memorial
• WW2 remains at Ibsley

Common rights

Forest laws were created to protect the New Forest as a place for the king to hunt deer. People who interfered with the king's deer or the plants the deer ate were punished. The people who lived in the area, called commoners, had rights to use the forest in certain ways. These rights included letting horses and cattle (but rarely sheep) graze in the forest, collecting firewood, cutting peat for fuel, digging clay, and letting pigs roam from September to November to eat fallen acorns and beechnuts. People could also gather bracken after September 29 to use as animal bedding.

Pigs eating acorns is an important part of the forest's ecosystem. Pigs can eat acorns safely, but large amounts of acorns can be harmful to ponies and cattle. Pannage, the time when pigs are allowed to roam, lasts at least 60 days, but the start date changes based on weather and when acorns fall. A group of officials called verderers decides when pannage begins each year. At other times, pigs must be kept on their owners' land, except for pregnant sows, called privileged sows, which can roam if they do not cause trouble and return to their owner's property at night. These sows must not feed and sleep in the forest at the same time, a rule known as "levancy and couchancy." This rule also applies to other grazing rights.

Commoners must have land outside the forest to move animals if needed, such as during a disease outbreak. Rights to use the forest are tied to specific land or hearths, and different areas have different rights. Some rights are far from the forest itself. Unlike other commons, there is no fixed number of animals that can graze. Instead, each animal owner pays a "marking fee" yearly. A local official called an agister trims the animal's tail with a unique pattern to show the owner. Ponies are marked with the owner's brand, and cattle may be branded or have the brand on an ear tag. Grazing by commoners' animals helps maintain the forest's habitats and wildlife.

Recently, this tradition has faced challenges as homes with forest rights are inherited by people who do not use them. Many families rely on inheriting homes with land, rather than buying them. The Verderers and Commoners' Defence Association has worked to protect these rights. The EU's Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) provided financial support to some commoners. For example, commoners who mark animals for grazing can receive about £200 per cow and £160 per pony yearly. More money is available if they join a stewardship program. A commoner with 10 cattle and 40 ponies could earn over £8,000 yearly, plus more if they also let pigs roam. After paying fees and costs, this income can reach thousands of pounds annually. However, it is unclear if these subsidies will continue after Brexit. The BPS payments were based on the number of animals marked, not whether they actually grazed in the forest. As a result, fewer animals graze the forest than are marked.

Geography

The New Forest National Park covers an area of 566 km (219 sq mi), and the New Forest SSSI covers nearly 300 km (120 sq mi). This makes it the largest connected area of natural plants in lowland Britain. It includes approximately:

• 146 km (56 sq mi) of broadleaved woodland
• 118 km (46 sq mi) of heathland and grassland
• 33 km (13 sq mi) of wet heathland
• 84 km (32 sq mi) of tree plantations (woodland inclosures) started in the 18th century, including 80 km (31 sq mi) planted by Forestry England since the 1920s.

The New Forest is classified as National Character Area No. 131 by Natural England. This area spans 738 km (285 sq mi) and is bordered by the Dorset Heaths and Dorset Downs to the west, the West Wiltshire Downs to the north, and the South Hampshire Lowlands and South Coast Plain to the east.

The New Forest is drained by three rivers to the south: the Lymington River, Beaulieu River, and Avon Water. It is also drained by streams such as Latchmore Brook, Dockens Water, and Linford Brook to the west.

The highest point in the New Forest is Pipers Wait, near Nomansland. Its summit is 129 metres (423 feet) above sea level.

The geology of the New Forest is mainly made up of sedimentary rock, located in the center of a sedimentary basin called the Hampshire Basin.

Wildlife

The New Forest has great ecological value because it contains large areas of lowland habitats that have survived in other places. These habitats include valley bogs, alder carr, wet heaths, dry heaths, and deciduous woodland. The area is home to many rare animals, such as the New Forest cicada (Cicadetta montana), the only cicada native to Great Britain. The last confirmed sighting of this cicada was in 2000. Wet heaths support rare plants like the marsh gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe) and the marsh clubmoss (Lycopodiella inundata). Other important species include the wild gladiolus (Gladiolus illyricus).

Several types of sundew grow in the area, along with rare insects such as the southern damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale), the large marsh grasshopper (Stethophyma grossum), and the mole cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa). In 2009, 500 adult southern damselflies were captured and released at the Venn Ottery nature reserve in Devon, which is managed by the Devon Wildlife Trust. The New Forest is also important for its variety of fungi, though past overharvesting has led to measures now in place to protect them.

Specialist heathland birds, such as the Dartford warbler (Curruca undata), woodlark (Lullula arborea), northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata), European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus), Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo), European stonechat (Saxicola rubecola), common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus), and tree pipit (Anthus sylvestris), are common. Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) and meadow pipit (Anthus trivialis) are often seen as wintering birds but also breed in the Forest.

Woodland birds include the wood warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix), stock dove (Columba oenas), European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus), and Eurasian goshawk (Astur gentilis). The common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is widespread, and the common raven (Corvus corax) is increasing in number. Rarely seen birds include the red kite (Milvus milvus), wintering great grey shrike (Lanius exubitor), hen harrier (Circus cyaneus), and migrating ring ouzel (Turdus torquatus) and northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe).

All three native British snake species live in the New Forest. The adder (Vipera berus) is most common on open heath and grassland. The barred grass snake (Natrix helvetica) prefers wetter areas like valley mires. The rare smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) lives on sandy hillsides with heather and gorse. In the 19th century, a man named Brusher Mills, known as the "New Forest Snake Catcher," captured thousands of snakes, some of which were sent to London Zoo. A pub in Brockenhurst is named The Snakecatcher in his memory. Today, all British snakes are legally protected, and no longer caught in the Forest.

A program to reintroduce the sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) began in 1989, and the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) now breeds in many parts of the Forest. Visitors can see sand lizards, adders, grass snakes, smooth snakes, frogs, and toads at The New Forest Reptile Centre, located near Lyndhurst. The centre was established in 1969 by Derek Thomson MBE, a Forestry England keeper.

Commoners’ cattle, ponies, and donkeys roam the open heath and woodland, helping to maintain the Forest’s open landscape. The New Forest pony is a native breed of the British Isles and is a famous attraction. Other cattle breeds in the area include Galloways, Highlands, Herefords, Dexters, Kerries, and British whites. Pigs used for pannage (a traditional practice) are of various breeds, though the Wessex Saddleback, once native to the Forest, is now extinct in Britain.

Many deer live in the Forest, including fallow deer (Dama dama), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and red deer (Cervus elaphus). Smaller populations of sika deer (Cervus nippon) and muntjac (Muntiacus reevesii) also exist. The red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) was present in the Forest until the 1970s, longer than in most lowland areas of Britain. It has since been replaced by the introduced North American grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). The European polecat (Mustela putorius) has returned to the western edge of the Forest, and the European otter (Lutra lutra) lives near watercourses. The introduced American mink (Neogale vison) is also present. In 2021, a population of pine martens was confirmed in the area.

The New Forest is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), an EU Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a Special Protection Area for birds (SPA), and a Ramsar Site. It also has its own Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP).

Settlements

The New Forest is the namesake of the New Forest district in Hampshire and is the central part of the National Park area. The Forest is home to four larger villages: Sway, Brockenhurst, Lyndhurst, and Ashurst. Additional smaller villages, such as Burley, Beaulieu, Godshill, Fritham, Nomansland, and Minstead, are located within or near the Forest. Beyond the National Park area, in the New Forest District, several larger towns surround the region. To the east are Totton and the Waterside settlements, including Marchwood, Dibden, Hythe, and Fawley. To the south are Christchurch, New Milton, Milford on Sea, and Lymington. To the west are Fordingbridge and Ringwood.

New Forest National Park

In 1999, the Countryside Agency began discussions about creating a National Park in the New Forest. On January 24, 2002, the Agency issued an order to establish the park and sent it to the Secretary of State for approval in February 2002. After seven local authorities and others raised concerns, a public inquiry was held from October 8, 2002, to April 10, 2003. The inquiry approved the plan but made some changes to the park’s boundaries.

On June 28, 2004, Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael announced the government’s plan to create the National Park, with further adjustments to the boundaries. The area was officially named a National Park on March 1, 2005. A national park authority for the New Forest was created on April 1, 2005, and it fully took on its legal responsibilities on April 1, 2006.

Forestry England continues to manage Crown land within the park. The Verderers, as outlined in the New Forest Acts, also keep their duties. The park authority is expected to work with these groups, local governments, English Nature, and other interested parties. The National Park covers 566 square kilometers (219 square miles) and includes many areas already protected as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). It has a population of about 38,000 people, excluding most of the 170,256 residents in the New Forest local government district. The park includes most of Hampshire’s New Forest district, the South Hampshire Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a small part of Test Valley around Canada village, and a section of Wiltshire near Redlynch.

The park does not include two areas originally proposed: most of the River Avon valley to the west of the Forest and Dibden Bay to the east. Two legal challenges were made against the park’s designation. Meyrick Estate Management Ltd challenged the inclusion of Hinton Admiral Park, and RWE NPower Plc challenged the inclusion of Fawley Power Station. The second challenge was resolved without a court case, and the power station was excluded. A court ruled in favor of Meyrick Estate Management Ltd, and the High Court confirmed this decision. However, the Court of Appeal reviewed the case in Autumn 2006. On February 15, 2007, the final ruling supported the challenge, excluding Hinton Admiral Park from the New Forest National Park. In total, about 120 square kilometers (46 square miles) of land initially proposed were not included in the final park area.

Visitor attractions and places

• Bolderwood
• Bucklers Hard
• Beaulieu
• Exbury Gardens
• Hythe Pier
• Lymington
• New Forest Show
• New Forest Tour
• New Forest Wildlife Park

Politics

The New Forest has two Members of Parliament who represent it in the New Forest East and New Forest West areas.

Cultural references

A reference to the creation of the New Forest appears in a rhyming poem in the Peterborough Chronicle's entry for the year 1087, titled "The Rime of King William."

The New Forest is a setting in many books. "The Children of the New Forest" is a children's novel written by Frederick Marryat in 1847. It is set during the English Civil War. Charles Kingsley's poem "A New Forest Ballad" (1847) names several places in the New Forest, such as Ocknell Plain, Bradley [Bratley] Water, Burley Walk, and Lyndhurst churchyard. Edward Rutherfurd's historical fiction novel "The Forest" is set in the New Forest from the year 1099 to the year 2000. The New Forest also appears as a setting in the Warriors novel series, where the "Forest Territories" were inspired by the New Forest.

In Ken Follett's novel "The Pillars of the Earth," the New Forest and southeast England around the 12th century are important settings. The New Forest is also a key location in Elizabeth George's novel "This Body of Death." In Garry Kilworth's fantasy novel "A Midsummer's Nightmare," the fairies from Shakespeare's play, including Oberon and Titania, live in Sherwood Forest, which is shrinking due to urban development. On Midsummer's Eve, the fairies travel to the New Forest in Hampshire, where their magic is restored.

The New Forest is also the background for Gerald Gardner's mid-20th century work with the New Forest coven.

Notable residents

• Eric Ashby (1918–2003), naturalist and wildlife cameraman
• Alice Bentinck (born 1986), co-founder and COO of Entrepreneur First, London
• William Arnold Bromfield (1801–1851), English botanist
• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930), author
• Harry Warner Farnall (1838–1891), New Zealand politician
• Gerald Gardner (1884–1964), founder of Gardnerian Wicca
• Pam Gems (1925–2011), English playwright
• Arthur Sumner Gibson (1844–1927), rugby union international
• Edgar Gibson (1848–1924), 31st Bishop of Gloucester
• Clifford Hall (1902–1982), English cricketer
• Frederick Harold (1888–1964