Page 32 • The HERALD • 22nd August 2024 v READ THE HERALD ONLINE: www.herald-publishing.co.uk v M.D.S. DIGITAL INSTALLS/SERVICE • DIGITAL AERIALS/FREEVIEW • SKY DIGITAL/FREESAT DIGITAL • EXTRA TELEVISION POINTS • TELEPHONE LINES/POINTS • TELEVISION SYSTEMS SETUP/TUNED • WALL MOUNTED TV’S QUALIFIED, FAST FRIENDLY SERVICE FREE SURVEYS/QUOTES BEAULIEU: 01590 611011 MOBILE: 07717 194441 All joinery and carpentry requirements undertaken • Bespoke wooden windows, doors and staircases • PVCu windows and doors fitted • Decking, pergolas and out buildings • Custom made wardrobes and cupboards • Fencing and gates Contact us for advice and quotes Tel 023 8066 8021• Mobile 07467 594993 fillisjoinery@outlook.com Professional quality joinery for over 25 years • Re-Skimming • Rendering • Coving • Dry Lining • Tacking • Artex Covered • Floor Screeding www.tbrownplastering.co.uk Call: 07919 183989 Friendly • Reliable • Professional • Free Estimates EXPERT DOMESTICS APPLIANCE SERVICES Sales and Repairs to All Makes and Models 169-171 LONG LANE, HOLBURY • TEL (023) 8089 0054 POSSIBLY THE ONLY INDEPENDENT MAIN DEALER IN THE NEW FOREST For Bosch, Belling, Britannia, Candy, Ebac, Hotpoint, Hoover, Indesit, Ice King, LG, LEC, Liebherr, Miele, Neff, Sebo, Siemens, Stoves, Whirlpool, Zanussi and more... Free Standing & Built In Sales Centre Over 300 appliances in stock www.expertdomestics.co.uk Four Thousand Years in Thirteen Steps by Marc Heighway Marc hosts monthly local history talks, visit: nfhwa.org/events for details. e New Forest is a place where wildlife, history, and mysteries intertwine. Like many reading this article, I walk the Forest daily. It’s where I nd my quiet reverie. My daily walks take many di erent forms. Sometimes to exercise the dogs, other times for peace and quiet to think about nothing much at all, and now and again it’s to track down human stories that have been played out on this landscape through centuries past. is heathland is not merely a tract of land. It’s a living tapestry woven with the threads of a forgotten past, a sanctuary where wild things roam free, and where us humans can nd solace in nature’s embrace. As I tread the tracks le by ponies and humans before me, I like to imagine I can hear the echoes of ancient footsteps, and the murmur of forgotten tales carried on the breeze. is is particularly true when walking o the beaten track on Beaulieu Heath. It’s here you can nd Bronze Age cemeteries that date between 2,000 and 700 BC. Barrows are ancient burial mounds covered with earth. ere are many to be found in the New Forest. I have a favourite Bronze Age barrow: it’s on Beaulieu Heath (East), the rather remote heathland west of Holbury and south of Fawley Inclosure. ere are several barrows in this area, but the one I’m most fascinated by is the one described as a “fancy” barrow. It’s far more elaborate than the typical round barrows seen here. When I visit, I try to imagine what it was like in the Bronze Age when whoever was buried in this large mound of earth was put to rest. Who were they? What was their role in society? What was the ceremony like? But there are other reasons why it fascinates me. been damaged by gun re. is activity in the late 1800’s didn’t go unnoticed. Gerald Lascelles, the Deputy Surveyor of the New Forest at the time, wrote a strongly worded letter to the ri e unit that created the range, including the following quote: “I can only say that permission which was given did not in the slightest degree warrant this wanton and unnecessary act of vandalism... I am exceedingly distressed that so wanton a piece of mischief should have been done on land under my charge.” He was not happy, despite having given the military permission to create the ri e range. But the deep history embedded in this soil doesn’t end here. If you climb to the top of the barrow, as I have done like many generations before me, look out over the heathland landscape. Looking south-westerly, you will see a line of ditches stretching 150 metres. Each ditch is about 7 metres in length, with a gap of a couple of metres between them. e ditches were dug in 1940 as anti-landing trenches, designed to wreck any German aircra that attempted to land on this heathland and invade the Waterside area. e Bronze Age barrows in this area, including my favourite one, were also seen as an obstacle for any invading air force in 1940, and so the anti-landing trenches like this were dug in lines peeling o from the ancient cemetery. is is what I love about this spot in the Forest. Once you reach my favourite Bronze Age barrow, it’s possible to take yourself on a journey through time within just thirteen steps or so. A place where people’s lives, hopes, and fears, experienced across thousands of years, all intersect. Each walk in the New Forest has a tale to tell. I recently recorded a video showing this history in more detail. Visit YouTube, and search for “bronze age to WW2”. It’s taller than other barrows in this area. It also doesn’t have a complete ring ditch around it, and the southfacing side appears to have been hacked at. It’s mashed up and not uniform in shape as other barrows are. Why? e New Forest History and Archaeology Group are able to provide some answers, as do 1800’s Ordnance Survey maps, which show how this barrow has a history transcending the Bronze Age. At some point between 1868 and 1897, the barrow was used as a shooting butt, in other words, the place where targets for a ri e range were placed. is explains why the south-facing side of the barrow has an unusual appearance: it’s Bronze Age barrow on Beaulieu Heath
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTIyNzI=