Where old and new collide

Established as a ‘royal forest’ in 1079, the New Forest is steeped in historic traditions. It has many unique attributes – including specific land laws. Sarah Nield, Professor of Property Law at the University of Southampton, regularly gets called upon to advise on these laws.

The 566-square-kilometre New Forest is unique in many ways. It is one of the largest remaining areas of unenclosed pastureland, heathland and forest in southern England –and it has stayed that way thanks to age-old traditions and laws.

The New Forest is the home of the New Forest Commoners, and it is their ancient rights of common pasture that allow animals to wander freely.

Professor Sarah Nield, an expert on New Forest law who lives in Brockenhurst in the heart of the New Forest, has researched and advised on the specific situation in the New Forest for the past 20 years.

“Legally speaking, it’s unique,” she said. “For example, it’s called a ‘forest’ not because there are areas of trees but because originally ‘forest’ was a legal definition to which Forest Law applied. We don’t have much of Forest Law left, but we do have specific legislation that applies to the New Forest.”

Medieval origins

Commoners’ Rights, which apply to the New Forest Commoners, date back to medieval times.

“The animals wandering around the Forest are all owned by people who own properties to which Commoners’ Rights are attached,” explained Sarah. “These are rights that were created in medieval times, which allowed the owners of these properties to let their stock graze on the Forest.”

It is Commoners’ Rights that allow pigs out to graze in autumn – this is the right of pannage, an important part of the Forest’s ecology, as large quantities of acorns can be poisonous to ponies and cattle, but pigs can eat them without any problem.

Commoners’ Rights in the New Forest are recorded in an Atlas of Commoners’ Rights, which is maintained by the Court of Verderers. The Verderers are a group of unpaid individuals – an Official Verderer, five elected Verderers and four appointed Verderers – who regulate and protect the interests of the Commoners.

“It’s quite unique that we have a Court of Verderers,” said Sarah, who has often been called upon to advise the Verderers. “The only other places to have such courts are Epping Forest and the Forest of Dean.”

She added: “The Court of Verderers also has medieval origins. In its modern form, it uses more recent legislation, but its job is in the main the same as it’s always been: to regulate Commoners’ Rights and to protect the landscape upon which those rights depend. Anything that might interfere with Commoners’ Rights, like a new building, fencing or a change in land use, needs to be approved by the Verderers. They are an important control over the conservation of the Forest and, without them, protecting the New Forest and Commoners’ rights would be much more challenging.

“The Verderers get asked all sorts of things – whether they would allow electric bikes to go across permitted cycle ways, for example, or whether a mobile phone mast can be erected somewhere. The origins of the Verderers court might be old, but they have to deal with very important contemporary issues affecting the Forest.”