The New Forest The Great British Story: Regional Histories

In many ways, the New Forest seems a picture of old England. A vast,

untamed landscape of heathland, bogs and trees, where animals are

free to roam, as they have done for thousands of years. So you might

think this is a place untouched by England's turbulent history. Well,

Crews of the ROC were dropped in to position and powered at the bursts

and the direction and intensity of the fallout. Firing! This iconic

landscape has been shaped, not only by war and the threat of war, but

also by the people who have lived here. And now, the forest's own

time detectives are stripping back the layers of history to reveal

Nearly 1000 years ago, William the Conquerer established the New

Forest, as his royal hunting ground. Under his rule, were harsh laws to

protect the forest for his royal pleasure. It was essentially the

playground of the King, wasn't it? Was that at the expense of local

people? They said that large areas were cleared and a claimed that a

lot of people were disenfranchised by the creation of the forest. Men

were expelled, their houses reduced almost to ruins and churches

destroyed and the land was rendered fit only for wild beasts. We can

see that this is the nearest Chronicle account of the actual

events in the forest. If the claims were correct and settlements had

disappeared, had they left any trace and could Richard find one?

The first name that caught his eye was Cildeest, mentioned in the

Doomsday Book, written shortly after the forest was founded.

is the New Forest section and, the reverse, we have got a settlement

which up until now had not been identified. It said that it had

been sealed from the king. The hunt for Cildeest was on. Richard

discovered Cildeest later became known as Childenhurst. By then, it

was a woodland. So if he could find the woodland, he'd find his

settlement. His next clue? A reference to Childenhurst being

near a place called La Mennesse. La Mennesse. How's your Anglo-Norman?

I did not know what Hello Mennesse was because I had not a scholar in

Anglo-Norman French. Basically, he said that it was a small

fortification, and at work, if you like. The trouble is the New Forest

is covered in earthworks. La Mennesse could be any one of them.

Now, Richard knows the forest well and was pretty sure he knew which

woodland contained the right earthwork. It was not necessarily

large scale. But he needed to know for sure. I had to do research and

identified from other documents. Soon he found his next clue - a

reference to La Mennesse being on a headland and close to an old trade

route, known as the Saltway. There was only one earthwork that matched

that description. Richard had found La Mennesse. So, Childenhurst must

be close by. To find out where, Richard had a historical trick up

his long leather sleeve. We have got an extra clue from the place

name. It is made up of elements. The second element means a wooded

hill. And we can see that where we have been coming along, we have got

a ridge running from Brockenhurst. Now you have pointed it out, you

notice it. It is on a wooded hill. What about the other part?

Anglo-Saxon it means a spring. Down the side of this ridge we have got

spring lines running down to the dallies on either side. We have got

a wooded ridge and springs along and we have got a spring on a

And the final piece of the puzzle? Well, in Anglo Saxon times this

would have been fields. It's pretty hard to spot on the ground. As we

look across on either side we have stood in a rich field. But if you

look carefully, you can start to see the undulations. We are going

down one of the forest. And up on to the rage again. -- Ridge. High

tech confirmation that these were ancient fields came from the sky.

Using lasers, it's possible to map the ground beneath the vegetation.

This image of the forest showed, once you removed the trees, this

was underneath. There are clear lines of ridge and furrow

cultivation. Richard now knew he'd found the right place. So this is

it, Childenhurst, be lost settlement. Why do you get a buzz

out of piecing together local history? It is also part of

national history. William the Conqueror's footprint in the local

area. It is very much linked with the landscape around us today.

History is close to the surface. It might not be obvious but it has had

an effect on wildlife and the landscape. I think it adds more

debt to my appreciation of the forest. As he has worked so hard,

we should make it a bit easier for Over the centuries, the New Forest

changed in emphasis from a royal hunting ground to a timber producer.

Forest wood was used in many ships during the Napoleonic wars. But

clashes between the Crown and the locals weren't over yet... And once

again, the issue was land. This wonderful map is the map of 1789.

The first really detailed look at the forest. It was commissioned by

the Crown because they wanted to find out how they stood forward and

how they could produce it but what they found a was that dwellings had

popped up and bits of the forest had been illegally enclosed. They

marked these areas in pink. Look at these levels of encroachment here.

This is East Boldre, close to the industry of shipbuilding. But we

are not interested in East Boldre. I am interested in this place in

particular just up here, Silver Street. Silver Street in Emery Down

has barely changed over time. It's on the border of Crown-owned land

and the neighbouring parish of Minstead, which is what attracted

poor labourers who were looking to build new homes. Among them was

John Veal, an ancestor of Tessa Davis, who's been piecing together

his story. We had a population explosion at the end of the 18th

century. And we did not have enough houses. Employers could not often

provide housing. People had to look for alternatives. Why here? Because

it is a very typical area to be encouraged because we are on the

boundary between major landowners. -- encroached. It was an area where

they could probably get away with it. John Veal's father William had

lived in nearby Minstead where he was a charcoal burner, like

generations of Veals before him. But he became ill and could no

longer work, so turned to his parish for help. Tessa learnt what

happened to the penniless William at the Hampshire Records Office in

Winchester. These are the books. August, 1779. He had eight

shillings for his illness. Next, he had been paid for laying out

William, and he had died and his neighbours had been paid a two tend

to his body. And the expense of the funeral as well. What happened?

the widow have bread and cheese. Four shillings and 7p. They gave

him a good send-off with bread and cheese. When he let his children

with that particular job, he moved from Binstead to Silver Street?

yes. He must have not had much to the family name but he did quite

well because in 40 years' time, he ended up with quite a property

portfolio. We could call it that. John Veal, the son of a pauper, had

done well... As his 1835 will shows. Signed with a cross... He left four

cottages. He has left to his son John, the House that he lived in a

hand to his son Thomas, a cottage and William gets a village cottage.

Three houses. And a cottage here. Four proffered his -- properties.

And all of those were in Silver Street. Which is which? We have had

a lot of rebuilding but as far as I can tell it is this one, this next

one, the one here and that cream- coloured cottage. That has

obviously been added later. But we can see it is a descendant. Because

he has left his name. He did very well but we must not forget that it

was land that was encroached. Did he realise he was up to mischief?

He obviously acquired it from somebody that did the original

encroaching. He probably thought that he was the original owner.

guilty as charged. It was not be! It wasn't just the poor who pinched

land in those days. This is the Grand Northerwood House nearby.

When Robert Ballard took it over, he decided he would extend the

boundaries of his estate, on the sly. Whatever he did, he had

friends in high places, because and 1789, he had a royal visit from

none other than George III. He came on to this balcony and admired the

stunning view. Presumably, the keener had absolutely no idea that

his host had net a bit of land from right under his nose! In the 20th

century, the forest was to prove an irresistible attraction for yet

more invaders. This time, not people looking for new homes, but

for a wide open spaces to try out the wonderful new flying machines.

This 1939 at Tiger Moth is an incredible aircraft. It has its

very own place in British aviation history. Did Geno at the New Forest

played a key part in the early years of flight. Down there, in the

East Boldre was one of the first ever flying schools in the country.

It is hard to imagine this little village was so significant. Today,

there is little to show there ever was an airfield. Back in 1910, at

this site on Beaulieu Heath was chosen by American J Armstrong

Drexel and born of businessmen that we McArdle to set up the New Forest

Flying School and a flood of would- be pilots joined-up. However, they

had to get the planes here in the first place up, which is why one

villager and his horse stepped in. My grandfather Fred Johnson was a

Carter and his job was to told the aircraft from Brock Station to East

Boldre airfield flying school. These to come in on the train?

They would and pack them. The wings were all folded and propellers were

all told in. It was like towing a big pram. It is like flying a pram!

Sometimes those flying plans came as serious cropper. Remember, this

was the very start of aviation. Two local pilots, one a second world

war veteran, are full of admiration for those who took the air when the

school first Open. Teaching was basic. There is the aeroplane, get

in and fly it. It did not always manage it. We know when wrong, it

went spectacularly wrong. It did. We have got planes, with noses in

the ground. He probably landed on something, the wheeled out in and

it up turned. It seems incredible that they did not know what caused

us in in those days. You would put the stick forward so that the nose

would go down. The natural reaction was to pull the stick back, which

makes it even worse. That is a corker. Apparently, the owner of

the house was in the bath at the time. That got him out quickly and

I expect! Who would get into a plane like that in their right mind

and leave at the ground? Why not, you see a bird do it, why can you

not do the same? We are not made to do it! That is where the aeroplane

comes in! Forgot to say, Doug made his own World War One and biplane.

That is it there. At 89 Euro Doug spent four years building his plane,

a true labour of love. It is a tribute to those early pilots.

men in those days, they were wonderful, absolutely wonderful. To

think that they were doing things that no one had ever done before. I

am only just following in their footsteps, lightly. The people of

East Boldre are rightly proud of their part in aviation history, but

there is one mystery that needs to be solved. This it may look like a

piece of open heathland, but carved into it is the word bow macro, and

it could clearly be seen from the air. For some reason, it was

covered up and has remained hidden for years. The name was put here to

guide pilots to the airfield, but over time the words faded from view,

until now. Today is an important day, because the villagers had

decided that once again the world should see the name of Beaulieu.

They're going to restore the letters and the work starts now!

There is still a faint outline of the original letters left and the

villagers are digging out the grass that has grown over them to reveal

the Chalker that was prettier 100 years ago to mark them out. We can

now see where it turns. We have found a corner which is exciting.

We will be back later to find out how they get on. But now from

humble beginnings of aviation, I am moving on 30 years. Britain's new

tanks at make their debut in mass formation. During the Second World

War, the Forest became a huge military base and training ground.

Thousands of troops and vehicles moved in and air feels grown-up

virtually overnight. Where's the airfield at East Boldre was the

first in the forest, by the Second World War, there were no less than

12. The forest was ideal terrain, open, flat and close to the Channel,

so easy access to the continent. But there was one more thing in the

forest had to do for the war effort. In February 1940, of the Verderers

of the forest in their -- give their formal consent to the

construction of a bombing range here at Ashley Walk. Its purpose

was to test all manner of experimental error delivered

weapons and Ashley Walk was chosen because it was close the two

Boscombe Down were the bombs were based. It was also because of this,

its sheer size and isolation. In all, some 5,000 acres of land were

fenced off with a 6 ft-high chain- link fence stretching and nine

miles. Shattering the peace of this idyllic landscape, a series of

explosives and prototype a ball as it were unleashed. Like this, a

variation of the famous Dambusters bouncing bomb. This was designed to

be used against enemy shipping, but in the end, never entered service.

Bombs were getting bigger and more deadly. We thought this 12,000 and

bomb was big a month ago, but it is only half the size of Ten Ton Tess,

the new bomb. But Ten Ton Tess Auret Grand Slam bomb was designed

to create an earthquake affected deep in the ground shattering the

target. Guess where it was first tested to? On Ashley range. The

crater was 70 ft deep and 100 ft across, the biggest bomb ever

dropped on Britain. A very special crater. Yes, this was the 10 ton

earthquake bomb. The you can remember it? Or I certainly can.

One happened? It blew all the windows and doors in our house.

They blew open. You were living, about a one mile away? The about

that. It shows how powerful it was. The following day, the bomb was

dropped for real in Germany over the huge Bielefeld viaduct, which

up until then, the Allies had been unable to destroy it. Even at this

height, the air craft shudders under the shock. They will be no

more trains than there. The biggest bomb in the world and the aircraft

that carried it were both 100% British. Over five years, literally

hundreds of bombs and rockets were dropped on the Ashley range. But

nowadays, you would be hard pushed to know the craters they left were

craters. Many are peaceable pounds reclaimed by the forest. There is

one striking reminder of what went on here. There is a massive Arrow,

back on duty to the hard work of this man and his lifelong friend

Peter Brown. It was all overgrown. We cleaned it all off. A wide as it

so important for you to clean this up? We thought it should be kept

for posterity. We have been going up and down this road for years and

we did not know it was here. So, we have a massive Arrow, what is it

pointing at? Towards the practice target down in the valley. That was

illuminated at night and so was the arrow. Most of the bombs dropped on

the target were practice bombs and designed not to explode, but to

test things like delivery mechanisms for on aircraft. In many

mist and were forgotten about. Today, they are re-emerging, turned

up by teams checking the area is saved before Forest work is done.

These are what the team have been finding and this is just three

days' worth of looking. I have been told these are safe to handle. It

gives you some idea of how much of this stuff is out there. Some of

the bombs they find are definitely not safe to handle. Stand by a!

Firing! But the threat of war it still hung over the forest. If an

attack is imminent, you will hear a sound like this. For four decades

of the Cold War brought with it at time of paranoia and fear. When the

Soviet Union and America seemed poised for nuclear attack. In the

New Forest, the build bunkers to prepare for the worst, like this

one on the south coast at Lepe. If the nuclear bomb did every drop,

this is why the observers would come, 15 ft below the forest.

While! Look at this. Neville Cullingford was a volunteer at the

Royal Observer Corps, in charge of several underground monitoring

posts. This would have been home to three observers or for anything up

to a fortnight in an emergency. There is this monitoring room and a

small toy that next door. This is some of the kit that she would use.

This is a bomb power indicator. You would be able to prick up the

pressure wave and any fall-out or new attack. Using its best, which

was our means of communication, you would report this through to the

Controller at Winchester. We were the only means of warning the

public. As in World War II, we won the PUP - aka the public of

aircraft, in the Cold War we were warning the public of the approach

of fall-out. Now Neville, the weird thing is even though you were

posted here, you had to come up to the surface and it is because of

this. Yes. This is the indicator, which has cameras, with

photographic plates, which would record details of the explosion and

they would have to be changed and a new set pretend and exposed once

taken downstairs to be analysed. How long? 45 seconds is what we aim

took four. We did not always manage that, but we aimed for that.

1992, the threat was over and the bunkers decommission. Many were

buried like this one near Lyndhurst. So, is anything left of this Cold

War relic? Normally there are Brambles going, as so we are hoping

this is where it is. We will Hopley find the broken top shaft and dig

it out and get down there and find the room below. Let us get the

digger going. It is pretty exciting. We're waiting for a crunch or

something. I saw one break come out and I'd do not know if it is part

of it. We are starting to reveal what he is recognisable human

activity, concrete and bricks. It is starting to look promising that

this is where we were hoping for it to be. James is on hand to tell us

where to dig. So far we have mainly found soil. Hold on! What is this?

We have found our entrance. We have a target. Now and we will see how

far we can get down and see if the bunker beneath is intact. We will

see what materials are left. leave market to continue the

excavation on his own and promised to return in a couple of days. When

we last were here we thought we have found the top of the shaft,

but it seems we found a whole lot more. This is the bunker itself.

Both deer. It seems the bunker was destroyed when it was filled in.

Gutted. A lot of this stuff knocking about. This was the

polystyrene that lined the walls. We found this. There is a pipe

similar to this on the main shaft at Lepe. One more bit of treasure I

found his this little boat holder, still in its wooden mounting. Last

time we were here, tantalising glimpses of a bit of brick work and

now we have a muddy pit. You have got to be disappointed. A bit. We

knew the shaft had been filled in but we were not too sure about the

rest of the building. It is nice to know it was here on top of this

hill. What were you do now? Make all we can do is that it back in.

Over at the Forest's first-ever Flying School, things are looking

much better. We have come back to East Boldre to see how the

villagers have got on reclaiming a piece of their own history and

there is no doubt about it. The Old Flying School is firmly back on the

map. They really have done something quite special. Just look

at this! What do you think your grandfather would make of this?

would be chuffed. He was part of it in the first place. I think he

would be wholly delighted. Hard to think that this little place here

saw the don of aviation in 1910. That is amazing. Somehow, we are

reconnecting with that period of time. I was part of the AA, slam

part of the 18th. A if I never did anything else, I think this was one

of the most worthwhile projects. What is clear about the people we