Brockenhurst, Hampshire
Historical Description
Brockenhurst, a village and a parish in Hants. The village stands, enshrouded in wood, in the New Forest, on the river Boldre, 4 miles N by W of Lymington, with a station on the L. & S.W.R., 92 from London. A railway has been made from Brockenhurst to Christchurch, shortening the distance to Bournemouth by about 19 miles. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office (R.S.O.) The parish lies wholly in the New Forest, and comprises 4044 acres; population of the civil parish, 1298; of the ecclesiastical, 1347. Brockenhurst Park has charming forest scenery, and some very fine old oaks, and is a meet for the New Forest Harriers. Brockenhurst Lodge or Watcombe House was for three years the residence of Howard the philanthropist. Sway Common, in the vicinity, has several tumuli. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Winchester; gross value, £150 with residence. The church crowns a knoll about½ a mile S of the village; is variously Saxon, very Early Norman, Late Norman, and Early English, but has been much remodelled, and contains an ancient square Norman font of Purbeck marble. There is also a Baptist chapel. An enormous yew tree and a grand ivy-clad oak are in the churchyard.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | Hampshire | |
Hundred | New Forest | |
Poor Law union | Lymington |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Brockenhurst from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Brockenhurst)
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Hampshire (County Southampton) is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Brockenhurst are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Hampshire newspapers online:
- Portsmouth Evening News
- Hampshire Telegraph
- Hampshire Advertiser
- Hampshire Chronicle
- Aldershot Military Gazette
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Hampshire, 1530, 1575, & 1622-34 is available to view on the Heraldry page.