History of The New Forest

The name 'New Forest' is somewhat misleading, as it is neither new (it was established in 1079CE), nor a forest in the current sense of the word. It is rather it is a patchwork of areas of open heath and gorselands, intermixed with forested 'enclosures'.

It was originally established by William I as a royal deer-hunting reserve. He introduced the Forest Law, a strict and savage legal code which forbade the local peasantry from doing anything that would interfere with his pursuit of deer, forbidding them from enclosing land for agriculture, for example, erecting fences or barriers, or even owning a bow. In