Hyde and Frogham
Blink and you will miss them! The Hyde Paris which was formerly a ward of Foringbridge and about 2 miles southeast of the town was formed in April 1979 and is made up of the hamlets of Furzehill, Ogdens, North Gorley, Hyde, Frogham, Blissford, Stuckton and a part of the New Forest that has shown evidence of a settlement since the Stone Age. The higher parts have some panoramic views over the Forest and the landscape toward Bournemouth, the Purbeck Hills, Shaftsbury and Salisbury, The church, two chapels a school, three pubs village hall, two shops and a sub post office are the focal points for scattered community,

There had been a Roman settlement here and when gravel was taken from Gorley Common ancient kilns and tools were discovered. A hundred years ago local inhabitants would be unwise to venture out after dark as this was a part of the direct route from Poole to Bramshaw Telegraph and on to London a smugglers route and if discovered they took no prisoners!

 
The Church of the Holy Ascension Hyde
 
The sign on the toilet at Frogham Congregational Church Frogham Congregational Church

Entertainment is now the local pub namely the Foresters Arms at the Frogham crossroads, by the Hyde War Memorial Parish Hall. The new hall was built in 1987 replacing the old hall which was originally the Sergeants Mess at Tidworth and carried here by horse and cart near 70 years before!!

HYDE contains around 400 homes with a population of around a thousand and as mentioned above the amenities for such a small place are grand . Many residents moved here for peace and tranquillity after retiring while the younger ones commute  to either Poole or Salisbury for work, many of them are New Foresters by birth.

A prominent landmark is the schoolhouse at Hyde, it was built in 1885 of Victorian Gothic design and replaced the school that was housed in a mud walled thatched cottage that stood nearby,

The church dedicated to the Holy Ascension was built in the 1850s and the land where both the church and school stand was given by the Eyre Coote family who owned a lot of land at that time and they lived in West Park at Rockbourne.

The name of the school had been cut into the front of the building but in World War II this was removed  in case of a German invasion and like the removal of all direction signs was to confuse the invaders

 

Thatched cottages from a bygone time mingle with more modern homes - bungalows and houses. There was a rather odd system for renting out some of the old farm cottages. It used to be called 'the rent for 3 lives' which meant that 3 generations from the same family could remain in residence if wanted but by the time the final generation took their rightful place, the dwellings had often become so dilapidated that they were quite beyond repair!

Latchmoor Brook runs through the parish, 'latch' meaning a boggy stream (laece) and before Tuck's Hole the name of the brook changes to Hucklesbrook meaning 'the brook of the little bends' This was once a gypsy encampment that was sheltered by four large oak t rees and was know locally as Squatters Square, and even today Gypsy families still 'live' in the area.

Bartlett's Common is named after a Mister Bartlett who owned a fairground here and an annual Country Fair superseded the old original fun fair being held on August Bank Holiday weekend.

New Forest ponies abound here and occasionally a deer will be spotted and the roe deer are known to venture into the gardens during the winter to feed, and many a time a householder has found their treasured roses demolished.

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION