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Bolton's Bench |
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Lyndhurst known as
the 'Capital of the New Forest' by many derives its name from 'the
lime wood'. There are some lovely treasures here ranging form the
beauty of the forest to Alice in Wonderland, and include the
Verderer's Court, the fresco by Lord Leighton and some lovely
glass in the parish church, the tiny church at Emery Down and its
almshouses. Lyndhurst is
where seven roads meet in a bit of a bottle neck as even with its
one way circuit the village is prone to traffic jams in the height
of the holiday season but life pulses through here, The Verderer's
Court administers the running of the forest and this meets five
times a year since the 14th century and consists of 40 chosen
Verderers. And it is them who hand out rewards, and often
punishment to those people not sticking to the rules of the
forest. The Verderers Hall was built next to Kings House in the
time of Charles II and inside there is a large device that looks
like a stirrup which was used to measure dogs which were allowed
the freedom to roam the forest. If the dog was too large to crawl
through then it was maimed so that it would no be able to hunt the
kings deer, a few people were exempt this law though, people like
the Abbot of Beaulieu and Abbess of Romsey and also the men of
Lymington where were permitted to have up to 32 dogs exempt. |
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| The famed Knightwood Oak lies to
the west of the village and has a trunk that measures 21 feet and
is said to have been the tree that Charles II hid in while evading
capture. |
On the road out to Lymington you pass
Foxlease which is the Headquarters of The Girl Guide Association, the
park measures about 70 acres and was given to the guides by an American
lady in 1922, And the sum of £6,000 was donated to be used for the
maintenance of the park and also another £4,000 was received.
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Looking down the
High Street towards Southampton
As mentioned above the town
can become a bottleneck in the summer with the thousands of
tourits that visit
the area. The main street is very narrow and is full of people,
The Kings House and The Crown Hotel which is like a huge mansion
have been been restored as have many of the older houses.
Sir George Rose was a well liked man in the village and lived at
Cuffnells Park. His son William Stewart Rose was a friend of Pitt
and both Pitt and George III stayed at Cuffnells.
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Bolton's Bench
This is a small hillock and is a
favourite place for the tourists and below is the village
cricket pitch and the cemetery. There are some lovely walks
around his area and on the Bournemouth Road is
Emery Down
with
picturesque Swan Green. |
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The Gothic styled All Angels parish
church which stands at the top of the High Street on a small knoll
towers over the village like a sentinel was built in the 19th
century which replaces a small chapel of the same time line.
The spire stands 160ft above the
town and inside over the altarcan be found a lovely painting of
the Ten Virgins, this was painted by Lord Leighton while staying
here with Hamilton Aide the poet.
In the windows there is some
beautiful glass by William Morris which has small panels depicting
women and show Hannah and Rachel, Elizabeth and Monica, and the
Madonna and her mother. Angels of the Nativity are seen on another
group and the Angel that stood guard over the tomb of Christ.
A panel that depicts a woman bowed
over a broken column obviously in grief was saved from the older
church, it was done by Flaxman and is a tribute to Sir Charles
Philip Jennings from his sister. A woman in white marble reclines
n a couch with a butterfly on her hands is to commemorate Anne
Frances Cockerill
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The tomb to Jane Cockerill |
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In the churchyard lies Mrs Reginald
Hargreaves who most people know as Alice Liddel and who is more famous
as Lewis Caroll's Alice, from Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the
Looking Glass. Alice who died in 1934 aged 82, was was the second of
three daughters of Henry Liddell who was the Dean of Christ Church
Oxford.
HISTORY
OF ST MICHAEL & ALL ANGELS CHURCH
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panel by Flaxman
that was saved from the older church |
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Looking up the High
Street with the Stag Hotel
on the right |
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The High
Street at the junction with the one
way system |
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The Crown Hotel |
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The church from the rear |
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The plaque marking
the grave of Mrs Reginal
Hargreaves. Lewis Caroll's
"Alice in Wonderland" |
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