Page 26 • The HERALD • 26th June 2025 v SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE HERALD v Acorn Building Contracts Ltd u Reliable, local builders offering affordable, quality workmanship u Our employees are fully qualified and fully insured u All aspects of building undertaken including extensions, structural alterations, roofing, ground works, kitchens, bathrooms, carpentry and plastering u Drawings arranged u Insurance work undertaken u Local Authority Approved Contractor For free quotations and friendly advice please call Office: 023 8024 3336 Mobile: 07786 656865 Email: acornbuilding@gmail.com or visit our website: www.acorn-builders.co.uk You will not be disappointed Apex Fencing Ltd • Domestic • Commercial • Industrial Fencing Contractors Based in the New Forest We supply and install all types of fencing, gates, decking, sheds, summerhouses through to compound steel palisade, site hoarding, weldmesh gates. Also all types of security fencing All jobs undertaken, regardless of size Call for free quotation 07765 492100 • 023 8087 9228 • 07920 775308 Richard Office Gary www.apexfencingltd.co.uk or find us on Facebook 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 The Mysterious Groaning Tree of South Baddesley by Marc Heighway Marc hosts monthly local history talks, visit: nfhwa.org/events William Gilpin (1724–1804) was an English artist, cleric, schoolmaster and author, best known today for popularising the aesthetic ideal of the “picturesque” in British landscape art and literature. In 1777, he moved to Boldre in the New Forest to become the village vicar. ere, inspired by nearby ancient woodlands and heathland, he started to write. One of his books was named ‘Remarks on Forest Scenery, and Other Woodland Views’. Within its pages lies one of the stranger New Forest tales ever committed to print - the mystery of the “Groaning Tree”. Gilpin recounted how, around the middle of the 18th century, the peaceful village of South Baddesley, near Lymington, became the scene of a phenomenon that ba ed locals. Around 1750, a cottager and his wife began hearing eerie noises coming from behind their home. e couple described the sounds as “like a person in extreme agony.” ese cries, groans and wails occurred at irregular intervals, sometimes vanishing for days before suddenly returning, o en at night. Neighbours were soon drawn by the sounds, and before long the entire village was abuzz with speculation. e source of the noise was eventually traced to an otherwise healthy-looking elm tree standing at the bottom of the couple’s garden. Curiously, the tree groaned not when leaning in the wind, or when under physical strain, but seemingly of and Princess of Wales, who happened to be staying nearby at Pylewell House. e event attracted such attention that a printed pamphlet was produced at the time, documenting the phenomenon, although no known copies survive. In his 1791 book, Gilpin insisted that there was no trickery involved and that the event had occurred just as described. He noted that the sound seemed to originate from the roots of the tree, not its trunk or branches. Various theories were proposed, including air trapped in the hollow trunk, water movement, or the friction of twisted roots. But none could convincingly explain the tree’s intermittent behaviour or the vocal quality of the sound. e locals, for their part, were ba ed. Some saw it as a natural curiosity; others whispered darker interpretations. While Gilpin o ered no supernatural explanation, his tone remained respectful of the mystery. Decades later, in the late 19th century, the tale resurfaced in local Hampshire newspapers. One account proposed that the entire episode had been an elaborate hoax - perhaps a courtier’s prank during the royal couple’s visit. Others suggested it was inspired by the popularity of stage e ects and hidden mechanisms then being used in London theatres to create sound its own accord - no visible movement accompanied the noise. Some described it as a deep, resonant moaning, rising up from the earth. Others said it sounded strangely human, as if the tree itself were in pain. Word of the “Groaning Tree” spread quickly beyond the village. Visitors travelled from miles around, eager to hear the sound for themselves. Among those who came to witness the mystery were none other than the Prince Groaning Tree illustration Continued on page 27
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