About the project

In collaboration with New Forest National Park Authority. 

Principal Investigator: Dr Paul Everill, Reader in Archaeology.

Established by order of William the Conqueror in 1079, the New Forest had already been a favourite royal hunting ground for some time. Documentary evidence for the hunting lodges themselves, however, is relatively sparse, with the first recorded that of King John’s 'principal house in the Forest' at Beaulieu.

In 1204 the land was given to the Cistercian order for the building of an abbey. King John then had a new house built at Romsey; in 1221 this was given to the abbess of Romsey by King Henry III. For much of the remainder of the 13th century, the ‘keepership’ of the Forest was granted to the reigning queen, and apart from brief mention of King Edward I visiting the deer park at Lyndhurst, or repairs being carried out in preparation for another of his visits in 1297, there is very little evidence for the location of royal hunting lodges – if indeed any existed outside of Lyndhurst. It was not until the reign of King Edward III (r.1327-1377) that historical sources described the construction and maintenance of a number of royal hunting lodges.

The location of the hunting lodges is not particularly clear, with the exception of those where surviving earthworks and placenames make an association very likely, as with Studley (Studley Castle) and Queneboure (Queen Bower, near Brockenhurst). The lodges are most commonly observed today as a platform of about 40 m2, enclosed by a shallow but wide bank and outer ditch.

The project, which ran from 2016 to 2019, aimed to combine archaeological investigation (invasive and non-invasive techniques; and environmental sampling) with historical research, in order to better understand the form, lifespan, and relationship to the Forest landscape, of this group of earthworks.

The findings of the project can be read here:

Everill, P. and Ashby, D. 2019. Excavation and survey at Church Place, Denny Wait, in the New Forest in 2016/17. Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society (74): 115-136