During a volunteer excavation at Buckler’s Hard in 2016 we worked with volunteers to train them in taking photos for photogrammetry and the creation of 3D models. Here are some of the results
Contributor: NFNPA Archaeology
Captain Norman Henry Prior
1882 – 1967
Born in Adelaide, Australia in 1882.
He arrived in New Zealand 1893.
Studied medicine at Otago Univerity and Edinburgh University and practised in the United Kingdom for four years.
He returned to New Zealand in 1909 and established himself as a General Practitioner in Masterton.
Married Elizabeth Teague in 1913 who died on 22 December 1914 soon after giving birth to their son Arthur.
He served in World War One, regimental number 3/1243. Seeing action at Gallipoli briefly in Dec 1915 and from June 1916 became a Medical Officer for 1st Otago Battalion in France.
Billeted at Seninghem in Sep 1917 and posted to Brockenhurst Hospital Dec 1917, was there for a year.
Received the Military Cross in 1916 for rescuing wounded from the Front.
Returned to New Zealand in 1919, resumed his medical practice and continued his involvement in a number of community organisations.
Remarried in 1920, to Jessie Miller.
Father of Arthur Norman (first marriage), Elaine, Ian and Owen (second marriage).
You can see a selection of photos taken by Captain Prior during his travels and time in Brockenhurst by clicking here.
You can find out more about the activities, sites and stories associated with the hospital by clicking here: No.1 New Zealand General Hospital
Carter Stone
A memorial stone in the New Forest dedicated to Samuel Carter who died in a hunting accident in 1883. The memorial stone is not the most prominent or accessible, but can be found with a short walk from Kings Hat Car park.
The inscription on the memorial reads “This stone is erected to mark the spot where S Carter was killed whilst hunting with the New Forest hounds 16 Jan 1883”. The far side has ‘In the midst of life we are in death’ inscribed on it and also sports some modern graffiti relating to the fox hunting ban.
The monument used to have wrought iron railing around it and it also provided a payment of 5 shillings to the local keeper each year to maintain it. Today you can see polished edges where ponies have used it as a scratching post and there are various added initials.
Castle Hill – Adulterine Castle
Just north of the scheduled Iron Age hill fort of Frankenbury lies another outcrop of higher ground with some earthwork banks. The area is known as Castle Hill, which provides a potential clue into what can be found here. The site is recorded in the Hampshire Historic Environment Record as A ringwork and bailey castle of three wards dating to the Medieval period, possibly built on the site of an Iron Age promontory hillfort.
What survives:
Three earthwork ‘wards’ along a ridge, beside the river Avon. The inner ward resembles a weakly banked partial ringwork with 2 outer baileys. The ringwork is the SW most of the 3 parts and measures 85m (SW-NE) and 57.5m (SE-NW). The middle bailey measures 37.5m (SW-NE) by 60m (SE-NW). The NE most part of the earthwork is less complete but measures at least 55m (SW-NE) and 47.5m (SE-NW). The earthworks survive fairly well except for the NE most bailey which is heavily damaged by quarrying. As you can see from the Lidar image it is an unusual earthwork comprising an oval ringwork with two small square outer baileys to the NE. It has been interpreted as an adulterine castle, perhaps the temporary fortification used by Hugh de Puiset in 1148.
Adultrine Castles were mostly built during the civil war of the Anarchy (1135 and 1153), fought between the factions of Stephen of England and the Empress Matilda. This was a succession crisis: Henry I’s legitimate son William died in 1120, he tried to install his daughter Matilda, but on his death in 1135, his nephew Stephen of Blois seized the throne, which resulted in lots of fighting with barons and in 1139 Matilda invaded with her half-brother Robert of Gloucester. No side was victorious, and in 1148 Matilda left the country and campaigning passed to her son Henry. In 1153 Stephen and Henry negotiated peace at Winchester and Henry became Stephen’s heir. Stephen died shortly after and Henry II was crowned
Both sides built a number of new castles to defend their territories and act as bases for expansion, typically motte (raised earthwork) and bailey (enclosed courtyard) designs. Many of these castles were termed “adulterine”, meaning unauthorised, because no formal permission was given for their construction.
Traditionally the King retained the right to approve new castle construction, but in the chaos of the war this was no longer the case. Contemporary chroniclers saw this as a matter of concern; Robert of Torigny suggested that as many as 1,115 such castles had been built during the conflict, though elsewhere he also suggests an alternative figure of 126.
Matilda’s son Henry II assumed the throne at the end of the war and immediately announced his intention to eliminate the adulterine castles that had sprung up during the war, but it is unclear how successful this effort was; recent studies of selected regions have suggested that fewer castles were probably destroyed than once thought and that many may simply have been abandoned at the end of the conflict. Certainly many of the new castles were transitory in nature: historian Oliver Creighton observes that 56 percent of those castles known to have been built during Stephen’s reign have “entirely vanished”.
The site is recorded and illustrated in J P Williams-Freeman (1915), Field Archaeology as Illustrated by Hampshire.
Charter of the Forest – Stop Frame Animation Celebrates 800 years
In 1217 the Charter of the Forest was issued on behalf of the nine year old king Henry III.
This Charter was the starting point for some fundamental rights that still underpin the modern New Forest, so in 2017 we are celebrating its 800th anniversary.
If you live in the New Forest or further afield, you have the Charter of the Forest to thank for rights that nowadays we all take for granted.
This stop frame animation was created with the help of families visiting the 2017 New Forest Show and celebrates the 800th anniversary of the Charter of the Forest.
Cherubs in Lyndhurst Cemetery
A 3d photogrammetry model of a Cherub from Lyndhurst Cemetery.
The dedication on the base is in lead lettering and reads:
“To the dear memory of Charles Frederick son of Fred and Louisa Ellery. Who died March 15th 1903 Aged 13 months He shall gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom”
This model was done using mobile phone photographs using Agisoft
Christmas at Balmer Lawn 1917
Two sets of photos from two different archives depict Christmas 1917 at the No1 New Zealand General Hospital satellite site of Balmer Lawn at Brockenhurst.
They show a good deal of effort undertaken to cheer up the social areas and the wards of Balmer Lawn with New Forest foliage.
The first two photos are taken by Staff Nurse Elfrida Anne Parkinson and show the main hall and stairs with group of convalescent New Zealand soldiers and nurses. These are from the National Army Museum of New Zealand Archive
The following three photos are taken by Norman Henry Prior a doctor who was posted to Brockenhurst in December 1917 for a year. They show wards 1 and 2 decorated with foliage.
You can find out more about the activities, sites and stories associated with the hospital by clicking here: No.1 New Zealand General Hospital
Churchill Tanks of 33rd Army Tank Brigade manoeuvre en masse
A series of photos showing Churchill Tanks of 33rd Army Tank Brigade manoeuvring en masse near Brockenhurst in the New Forest, 13 August 1942.
The photos show Churchill Mk I Tanks with hull-mounted 3-inch guns. The units involved were 43 RTR, 144 RAC & 148 RAC all part of the 33rd Army Tank Brigade attached to the 3rd Infantry Division. It was noted that even though they were very heavy they could move at speed across any terrain including any New Forest obstacles.
We now know more information about this event following research in the War Diaries held in the National Archives; mentions of the days parading can be found in 3 different diary entries with differing levels of information.
War Diary Entry for the 43rd Battalion Royal Tank Regiment
13th August 1942 – 33 Tank Brigade paraded at full strength in battalion ‘Laegers’ for the benefit of 9th Infantry Brigade
War Diary Entry for the HQ 33rd Army Tank Brigade
13th August 1942 – Brigade parades at Long Slade Bottom in triangular Laeger formations – very effective indeed and excellent demonstration is reviewed by divisional spectators. The XX(word unreadable – see photo) is very well to rough heathland. Brigadier addresses spectators on loud speaker equipment.
War Diary Entry for the HQ 9th Infantry Brigade
13th August 1942 – Parade of tanks by 33rd Army Tank Brigade held at Long Slade Barrow 11:30hrs
All Photos are credit: Imperial War Museum for Non-Commercial Use (Licence)
This was obviously an important event as there is an additional set of colour photos: Colour Photos of the 43rd Battalion, Royal Tank Regiment, 33rd Brigade on exercise in the New Forest.
Along with a film piece available through British Pathe
Churchills Unlimited 1942
There also a series of photographs showing a standard day of operations for the 33rd Army Tank Brigade carrying out ordnance, tank recovery and repair operations at Burley: Tank recovery and repair operations by 33rd Army Tank Brigade at Burley.
Churchill’s Secret New Forest Army – Hampshire Auxiliary Unit Patrols And Operational Bases
The Britsh Resistance Archive is a very good source for the growing knowledge and understanding of the work and organisation of the Auxiliary Army also known as Churchill’s Secrete Army.
Auxiliary Units were a secret resistance network of highly trained volunteers prepared to be Britain’s last ditch line of defence during World War Two. They operated in a network of cells from hidden underground bases around the UK.
A good overview of the extent of the Auxiliary Unit network can be seen on the following interactive map: Click HERE
Research carried out by the Coleshill Auxiliary Research Team (CART) relevant to the New Forest is linked below, please explore and share any additional information you may have with them or on this portal and we will pass it back to them.
Hampshire had 37 known Auxiliary Unit Patrols
No.1 Group (Ringwood) – Lead by GC Capt. A.J. Champion & Lt L.D.C. Ayles
No.2 Group (New Forest) – Led by Lt G.B. Ash & 2nd Lt G. Forward
Lyndhurst Patrol – Or on New Forest Knowledge site: Here
The other Hampshire groups were:
No 3 Group (North West Hampshire) – Lead by Lt A. White
No 4 Group (Eastleigh & Baddlesey Area) – Lead by Lt G. Stokes & Lt W. Bignall
No 5 Group (Soberton to Bishops Waltham Area) – Lead by Lt A.G. Dallow & 2 Lt V.L. Peterson
No 6 Group – Lead by Capt. A.C. Boyd & Lt A.A. Hilton
No 7 Group (North Hampshire Area) – Lead by Lt E.F. Talbot-Ponsonby
No 8 Group – Lead by Lt D.L. Brownlee & 2nd Lt F.A. Sawtell
No 9 & 10 Groups were on the Isle of Wight.
Information on these groups can be found here
All information contained within and linked to on this page is credit to CART.
CART provide an internal network for serious and dedicated researchers who focus on the British Resistance. Its supporters believe this history should be made public, so its findings are published on the British Resistance Archive (BRA) website.
Community Archaeology Resource Review
Can you help us?
In the UK, many volunteers and community groups undertake their own archaeological research and fieldwork.
As part of the Our Past, Our Future Landscape Partnership Scheme supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the New Forest National Park Authority has commissioned Oxford Archaeology to review the guidance that people refer to when undertaking self-guided archaeological work. These ‘how to’ guides might be about identifying, researching and recording archaeological sites and finds and may be in the form of textbooks, digital or printed media.
At this stage, we are looking to identify guidance materials produced for or used by volunteers and community groups. We are also interested in any reports which evaluate this guidance. Over the coming months, we will also be producing an online survey and running focus groups to find out what guides people currently refer to, where they access them and what they find useful.
The review is not about ranking or critiquing existing guidance but getting an understanding of what exists, what is accessible and what volunteers and community groups engage with. It is hoped that this review will be of interest to the wider archaeological sector and help to inform the creation of new resources in the future.
Please get in touch if you:
•Have produced, used or evaluated any guidance materials you think should be included in this review. This can be done by email or completing this simple form.
•Could circulate the online questionnaire to your contacts in community archaeology.
•Are interested in our focus group methodology and would like to run your own focus groups with volunteers and community groups to find out about the guidance they use and find useful.
•Want to know about the results of the study and our recommendations for creating future community archaeology resources.