Reflections: Law and order in the New Forest
Law and Order in the New Forest.
From Norman Times to the Present Day.
One fascinating aspect of the history of the New Forest is crime and how law and order was maintained. Today, (Friday) the New Forest Heritage Centre is opening an exhibition looking at this subject from Norman times through to the present day. The exhibition has a number of themes which will give an overview of types of crime and cases that have taken place over the years. It is not possible to review all aspects of the exhibition in this article but some are mentioned below.
Regicide
One of the more well known deaths that occurred in the New Forest was that of King William Rufus who was killed on 2nd August 1100. The ‘Reflections’ article published in this paper in September 2021 covered the history in some detail.
It is believed a nobleman named Walter Tirel shot at a stag, but the arrow glanced off an oak tree and struck the king in the chest, killing him. Tirel then fled the scene and the king’s body was abandoned. It was later recovered by a local charcoal burner and brought to Winchester for burial.
William’s brother Henry, who was part of the hunting party immediately rushed to secure the royal treasury at Winchester. He was crowned king within days. The suspicious circumstances fuelled speculation that it was an assassination. William was known for being an unpopular, ruthless ruler who had frequent conflicts with the church and his nobles. Although Tirel always proclaimed his innocence, his immediate flight to France has been viewed by many as an admission of guilt.
In the exhibition various accounts of the incident will be presented to the visitor who will be given an opportunity to vote on whether they think it was an accident or regicide.
Encroachments
Heritage Centre volunteer Sylvia Crocker studied the crime of encroachment on New Forest land for an MA in local history studies.
The New Forest was Crown land, apart from a few private estates. Anyone enclosing land in the Forest or erecting a building there was trespassing and liable to prosecution.
As time passed, the Forest officers paid to oversee the use of the Crown land became less vigilant. People took advantage of this situation. Some felled trees, cleared a piece of land and erected a hut or small cob cottage to live in. Others, including landowners and even keepers, felled trees and sold the timber and bundles of wood for their own profit.
In the 18th century, this practice caused concern to officials responsible for maintaining the trees in the Forest. Thousands of trees were needed for building ships for the Royal Navy and this became an important issue when England was at war with France. Surveys of trees were undertaken, and it was found whole areas of the Forest had been cleared and that many people had enclosed Crown Land and erected huts or cottages to live in.
A Royal Commission was established which led to a survey of the New Forest in 1786. A report was published in 1789 detailing the extent of encroachments, or theft of Crown Land that had taken place in the New Forest.
The exhibition details the results of the survey and how the matter of encroachment was dealt with. Sylvia’s research covers an aspect of New Forest crime that would otherwise be little known about.
Captain Swing
In 1830 agricultural riots started in Kent in retaliation for the introduction of new technology such as threshing machines which would reduce the number of labourer’s jobs available as a time of great economic hardship. The rioters smashed farm machinery, set fire to hayricks, damaged the homes of wealthy landowners and wrote threatening letters to farmers stating that unless wages were increased and the use of labour saving machinery stopped they would become the next victims. Often the letters were signed as ‘Captain Swing’.
The riots spread and by November 1830 they were active in several parts of Hampshire. New Forest incidents were recorded in Fawley and Exbury, but the largest disputes took place in and around Fordingbridge on the 23rd of November 1830, when affrays took place at East Mill, Stuckton Mill and West Park. Around 150 people took part in the riots with much damage caused to property along with the use of violence and threats. The ring leader was identified as James Thomas Cooper. Forty-five New Forest men were brought before a special Assize at Winchester. Cooper was sentenced to death and executed on the 15th of January 1831. Others were transported to Australia or sent to prison with hard labour. At that period there was no formal police force in the county apart from Parish Constables. In times of emergency citizens were sworn in as special constables to uphold the law.
Historian Shelley Kimber has researched the Captain Swing riots in Fordingbridge and her material forms a fascinating part of the exhibition.
The Formation of Hampshire Constabulary
The first formal police force in Hampshire was Winchester City Police which came into being in 1832 with an inspector and seven constables.
In 1836 a Royal Commission looked into rural policing. It published a damning indictment on the state of law enforcement in the countryside and recommended many reforms. This gave the impetus for some towns to create their own police force. In 1836 The Lymington Borough Police came into being, consisting of a town sergeant and two constables. The first police station was located at the Toll House in Buckland, now in the grounds of the Monkey Brewhouse on the Southampton Road.
The Rural Constabulary Act, also known as the County Police Act of 1839 enabled local authorities to establish a police force. Hampshire Constabulary came into being at this time and by 1852 it had taken over the Lymington Borough Police and had constables in many New Forest villages. Formal training and a system of beats or patrol areas greatly improved the efficiency of the constabulary. The early chief constables were often military officers and the constables were usually ex-military men or from the working class.
There were police stations across the Forest in towns and villages. Most of those would have been police houses with an office attached for a single constable. At Lymington, Hythe and Totton the station was run by a sergeant with constables to assist. Lyndhurst was the main police station for the New Forest and was where the Superintendant in charge of local policing was based. The station had two cells and accommodation for a sergeant and constables.
Cases of interest
Local historian Del Jones has researched a crime from 1914 that began in Lyndhurst. A young man using the name of H. Lee Bond was renting a property called ‘The Mill House’, in Minstead. He was in the habit of hiring a motor car and driver from the Imperial Garage in Lyndhurst. On 14th February 1914 Bond was collected from his home by a driver named Arthur Saint. The journey started with Bond giving vague directions as to where he would like to be driven to. He eventually produced a pistol and threatened Saint. Bond forced him to drive through Dorset and Wiltshire, where he committed several crimes and threatened a police inspector who tried to stop the car.
Eventually Bond fell asleep and Saint drove him back to ‘The Mill House’ where he alighted as if nothing had occurred. Saint returned to the Imperial Garage and reported what had happened to the police. Several constables under the command of Superintendant Wakefield surrounded ‘The Mill House’ and eventually arrested Bond who was brought to the local police station on Southampton Road. Today the building is used as a school.
The exhibition gives details of the dramatic events that took place in the police station and what later happened to Bond. He was brought before the magistrates who were using the Verderers’ Hall in Lyndhurst as a court room. Bond, whose real name was Lewis Knight Brook Brace was eventually declared insane and detained at His Majesty’s pleasure.
Exhibits
The Hampshire Constabulary History Society have loaned a number of exhibits to the Heritage Centre including Victorian and Edwardian uniforms, helmets, truncheons, handcuffs and items of police equipment. Other exhibits on display have come from the Heritage Centre collection including an undated replica of a ‘Dog Gauge’. This was used in Norman times to assess the size of a dog. If it was too big to pass through the gauge the owner was compelled to remove three front claws from the animal so that that it could not harm the King’s deer.
One of the more unusual exhibits on display has been loaned by the Waterside Heritage Centre. It is a ball and chain capable of being attached to a prisoner’s ankle. Local historian Marc Heighway researched the item which was found in the cellar of a building that used to be the Drummond Hotel in Hythe. From 1857 to 1894 the hotel was used for occasional ‘Petty Sessions’ court hearings. Minor criminal cases were heard there. Marc wondered if the ball and chain was used to restrain those awaiting trial, or was it kept for comedic purposes in bar?
The Law and Order in the New Forest Exhibition opens on Friday 24th of October 2025 and runs until Tuesday 2nd of December 2025.
On Saturday 25th of October, there will be a private viewing for anyone who served as a police officer in the New Forest. No booking is needed. Those who attend will be asked if they would like to take part in a future oral history recording project.
At 6pm on Monday 24th November 2026 retired senior Hampshire Police Detective, Dr. Paul Stickler will be giving a talk on what became known as ‘the port hole murder’
At 7pm on Tuesday 25th November 2025, there will be two talks given at the Heritage Centre. I will be giving a short presentation on the history of Hampshire Constabulary from 1839 when it was founded. Following on from this, Chief Inspector Johnson, the local police commander will give a talk on Hampshire Constabulary in modern times and how the New Forest is policed today.
On Sunday 30th of November 2025 there will be a visit to the custody centre at Lyndhurst Police Station. The first tour will begin at 10am. The second tour will start at midday.
Booking details are available via newforestheritage.org.uk/eventsandexhibitions
This link will be available from Monday 27th of October 2025.
The New Forest Heritage Centre is in the main car park, Lyndhurst, SO43 7NY. The opening hours are 10am to 5pm seven days a week.
• Nick Saunders MA is a local historian and chairman of the Milton Heritage Society. He can be contacted via nick@miltonheritagesociety.co.uk