Brockenhurst - History

History

The earliest signs of habitation in Brockenhurst date back 4,000 years to the Bronze Age: the area is dotted with burial mounds - called tumuli. Beyond that, few signs remain of other habitation during the next 3,000 years, when the Saxon period was brought to an end by the events of 1066.

William the Conqueror created his Nova Forest in 1079, a vast hunting area lying south and west of his capital at Winchester; it stretched south to the coast at Barton on Sea and west to what is now Bournemouth. Four years later, the Domesday Book recorded that there were four small Saxon manors in the Brockenhurst area, Mapleham, Hinchelsea, Brochelie and Broceste. Mapleham no longer exists, but the name Hinchelsea continues to the west of Brockenhurst. The third manor, Brochelie, gives the modern name, Brookley, and was the most important, having a regular weekly market and an annual fair, lasting several days. At that time forest rights did not exist. However, Brochelie had the right to graze sheep on the open forest, but only between Wilverley and what is now Rhinefield Road.

The manor house of Brochelie lay between the modern Brookley Road and The Rise and between the Watersplash Hotel and St Saviour's Church. The fourth Saxon manor of the area was Broceste - pronounced Brockerste - which gives the village its name.

St Nicholas' Church, at that time, was no more than an outlying chapel linked to Twynham - later Christchurch Priory. William Rufus visited Brockenhurst, worshipping in St Nicholas' church, as at least two writs were issued by him from here.

In 1348, all mention of Brochelie ceases. During this time the Black Death killed a third of the population of England, which would be a good explanation.

By the 18th century, nearby Lymington was a thriving town, due to the manufacture of salt from sea water. By the end of the 18th century, the Lymington road had become a turnpike and a regular route for the mail coaches from Lyndhurst and the north. During this time, Brockenhurst grew in size, with dwellings and inns strung along the main road.

In 1745, Henry Thurston, a local man who left to make his fortune in London, died, leaving a bequest to set up a school in the village. This was located at the corner of what is now Mill Lane.

In 1770, Edward Morant, using some of the vast wealth that flowed from the family estates in Jamaica, purchased Brokenhurst House - an Elizabethan farmhouse - for £6,400. He rebuilt it as a large Georgian mansion, laid out the avenues in the grounds and acquired adjacent land, eventually peaking at some 3,000 acres (12 km²).

In the 19th century the railway station was introduced to Brockenhurst, increasing a large number of holiday visitors and the local population.

In the First World War, Brockenhurst was a convalescence centre for wounded troops, particularly from India and New Zealand. The name Meerut Road recalls the Indian troops who fought in the war. Hospitals were established in Balmer Lawn and Forest Park.

In the Second World War, what is now The Balmer Lawn Hotel was the location of many of Generals Montgomery and Eisenhower's meetings, away from their headquarters in Southsea, as they planned the D-Day Landings.

Many an ancient oak tree in Brockenhurst would have hidden an American jeep or Sherman tank in 1944, as they gathered to do battle in Normandy.

The western part of the village greatly expanded in the 1970s and, in the early 1990s, Berkeley Homes built Ober Park - now known as The Coppice. More construction of the village still continues today by Penny Farthing & Son.