Forest of Bere: Hampshire's long-lost Royal playground

THE Forest of Bere was one of the great “royal forests” of England – and just as with the New Forest – it was originally a mixture of habitats, such as heaths, open grassland and farmland rather than uninterrupted wildwood.

The word “forest” was simply a legal definition of land “outside” (foris in Latin) that implied areas kept for specific purposes, such as royal hunting, and where Forest Law rather than Common Law applied. The name “Bere” is thought to derive from the Saxon “baer” which meant a swine pasture – although some argue that it related to the number of bears that once roamed the area.

By the eighth century the area was divided into numerous Saxon estates, dotted with farmsteads and, thanks to grazing animals eating any seedlings, a landscape of open pastures with scattered mature trees that were often pollarded or coppiced to create a regular supply of fire wood. Traces of this Saxon occupancy still survive: there are Saxon burial mounds along the southern edge of the Forest, while the names of many local areas are derived from Saxon words. Some local churches include Saxon elements; Corhampton Church, for example, was built in 1020 and is the best example of a late Saxon church in Hampshire.

The arrival of the Normans in 1066 changed all that. The new aristocracy were eager to create areas where they could indulge their love of hunting, with restricted access for the resident Saxons.  Within these new “royal forests” deer had the right to roam (eating the crops of any Saxon that had not been evicted by the Normans) and only the Crown had the right to hunt them – it was a capital offence for anyone else to do so. The locals – commoners – were also banned from cutting timber for firewood, with teams of keepers and under-keepers employed to enforce the rules. Bere was put under Forest Law in the late eleventh century and remained so for almost 800 years. As late as the nineteenth century a man could be hanged if found with a gun in an area controlled by Forest Law.

Hunting only for some

With Winchester still the capital of England, the Normans clearly wanted some suitable “forests” nearby and the New Forest to the West was matched by the large area of Baer to the East. It was so large that for administrative purposes it was divided in half: between the River Test at Romsey and River Itchen was the Royal Forest of Bere Ashley, administered from Ashley Manor near Winchester, while from the River Hamble to West Sussex was the Royal Forest of Bere Portchester administered by the Constable of Porchester Castle. Dividing the two sections were the “Chases” belonging to the Bishop of Winchester. These were run much like the Forests, but local Lords and the Bishop had the right to hunt deer there as well as the Crown. The total area covered by the Forest of Bere was around 100 square miles.

The Forest hosted many of our earlier kings. Richard the Lionheart held a Royal Council at Bishop’s Waltham Palace, visited Portsmouth and stayed at Rowlands Castle for hunting in the Forest. There is evidence that Henry II also hunted in the Forest during his stay at Rowlands Castle, while Charles I was the last known king to have hunted in the forest in 1628.

While the Normans established the Royal Forests for hunting, their successors were rather more interested in shipbuilding and, as regal interest in deer waned, the need for timber increased. Gradually more areas of the Forest were enclosed to prevent deer from nibbling the trees and their seedlings, and the area became increasingly wooded – providing useful revenue for the Crown. Between 1600 and 1608 some 5,365 trees were felled in the Forest with a value of £2,129-4s-6d (equivalent to more than £300,000 today), while 8,814 decayed trees valued at £661-4s-6d (almost another £100,000) were also removed.

Declining fortunes

Enforcement of Forest Law and its associated management structure gradually began to crumble and by the seventeenth century the Forest of Bere had become notorious for lawlessness. In 1662 Samual Pepys, by then secretary to the Navy Board, recorded hiring “…a countryman to guide us to Havant to avoid going through the Forest” so great was the risk of highwaymen within Bere.

By the eighteenth century the trees of the Forest of Bere were also fast disappearing. Parliament set up a commission to advise on the future of the Forest and the Land Revenue Office produced a comprehensive report dated 31st May 1792. By then the Forest was estimated to be reduced to 25 square miles with the report noting “…that the condition and management of the Forest is very neglected and in an unproductive state. The lands belong to the Crown and are continually shrinking, mainly due to incursions”.

The report also suggested that unenclosed land was worth one shilling (5p) per acre, but enclosed land ten to 15 shillings (50–75p) per acre. It was decided that Bere would be dealt with in this way, with the exception of a few areas, already enclosed, that were retained by the Crown.

In 1812 the land was transferred into Common Law, the Forest Laws were scrapped, more of it was enclosed and large areas sold off to cover the costs. This escalated the loss of woodland as those acquiring tracts of land could quickly sell the timber to recoup the purchase price.  Land was also often sold (or given) to those who already had substantial holdings and commoners were able to claim allotments, but many poor people were left with nothing and as they were no longer able to access land for grazing they were left destitute. 

Responsibility for the remaining land passed to the Crown Office of Woods until 1915 and thence to the Forestry Commission, which still owns much of the remaining woodland today.

Bere’s legacy

Whilst the Forest area is lacking in stone quarries it has plenty of clay, which spawned an extensive brick and tile making industry in Swanmore,  Bishop’s Waltham and Bursledon, where the old brickworks is now The Brickworks Museum. Other forest products included timber, coppiced wood, hurdles, fence making and tree barking (for tanning hides). Charcoal was worked as a constituent for gunpowder and was always in demand. More trees continued to be felled: the northern slopes of Portsdown Hill, for example, were cleared when the Palmerston Forts were built in the 1860s. 

Today there are many reminders of the heritage of the Forest, not only in local place names but also in the names of public houses, including Roebuck, Brickmakers, Forest of Bere, Chair Makers, Hunters and Bold Forester.

The Forestry Commission lands at West Walk near Wickham and Creech Wood in Denmead include circular trails open to the public; other accessible parts of the original Forest include Staunton Country Park near Rowlands Castle, Stoke Park at Bishopstoke, Hamble Country Park, Swanwick Nature Reserve and Botley Woods.

Crawford Wright

* A longer version of this article first appeared in The Swanmore Link, June/July 2023