Ashdown Forest from the last Ice Age to the Present Day with Rich Allum (South Chase Ranger) for The Conservators of Ashdown Forest. (This talk was originally advertised as being given by Steve Alton, Conservation Officer)
A large audience settled in to hear a most interesting illustrated talk by Rich on the history of Ashdown Forest and how it ties in with the ‘natural’ history of the Forest. Also to challenge a number of misconceptions about The Forest and ‘forests’ in general. Of course, when asked what the word ‘forest’ meant to everyone the popular response was ‘trees’ whereas in the past the dictionary definitions make it clear that it was an area typically owned by the sovereign and set aside for hunting and it just happens that many of these areas are now covered with trees today. The example of The New Forest being the largest area of open space in England made the point succinctly! Nowadays, however, the word ‘forest’ has become synonymous with ‘woodland’.
Ashdown Forest is at the top of the Ashdown Forest Beds sandstone ridge being well drained and resistant to erosion providing the rolling countryside we appreciate. The heathland depends on the acidic sandstone for its very existence and is why the tree growth has to be controlled as otherwise the heathland would very quickly turn into woodland with the loss of all the rare endemic species. The existence of impermeable clay in conjunction with the sandstone and the iron carrying layers that we heard about back in November has led to very acidic boggy areas which have their own extremely rare plants. A large proportion of our native bio diversity of invertebrates are housed by the heathland including about half of all British spiders and more than half of British dragonflies and the same applies to British bugs, beetles, wasps and ants. The sandstone, heated by the sun without tree cover, provides a warm space which encourages the adder and smooth snakes.
Specialist heathland birds several of which are not only rare but also endangered such as the Dartford Warbler, hate the cold and feed on spiders, so this provides a perfect environment. The Nightjar can be heard in May/June calling for a mate. The most endangered of the birds we were shown was the Hen Harrier that breeds on grouse moors but is illegally persecuted by gamekeepers forcing them towards extinction. In the winter they migrate down from the north to roost in the dense heather and at one time the Forest had 5 individuals of only 14 breeding pairs in Britain. These are large birds of prey with wingspans of 4 to 5 feet.
Many other birds that depend upon the habitat were illustrated and Rich impressed on us the importance of protecting the heathland of the Forest. The UK has more than 20% of the world’s heathland habitat and only about 1/6 of the forest that existed in 1800 remains..
It seems that there is another common misconception that Rich wanted to dispel – that heathlands are man made. We were shown a series of slides from the Mesolithic period forward illustrating how it has always been the herbivores that have controlled the growth of the plants.
In the 12th Century Ashdown Forest was enclosed by an estimated 37 km ‘pale’ with gates and hatches – which gave their name to many local places today such as Colemans Hatch, Chuck Hatch, Chelwood Gate etc. In fact some 40 to 45 gates and hatches have been discovered. These entrances funnelled people together in order to pass across the ‘forest’, which explains the existence and location of many inns and pubs with names such as ‘The Hatch’.
The pale consisted of a 4 ft raised bank with a 4 ft fence on top with 4ft deep ditch below to prevent deer escaping but would allow them to jump in should they be inclined! The term ‘Beyond the Pale’ refers to the difference in laws between the Kings land inside the Pale and outside.
The first record of a Ranger on the Forest was 1273 at which time they were called ‘Foresters’ and they were in the King’s employ so it was a prestigious job and there are many Foresters Cottages on the Forest which would have been their homes.
Following the Norman Conquest, Ashdown Forest was set up as a Norman hunting forest and Rich showed a tapestry illustrating forest hunting with the use of a ‘standing’ from which the King could see the deer that were then driven past for hunters. It is believed that Kingstanding is the standing used by the King Henry VIII.
The existence of sunken tracks, largely north-south, from the Downs to the High Weald sandstone is explained by the movement of pigs in the autumn to fatten them on acorns and the beech mast. A lot of these tracks have turned into Bridle paths and rights of way often converging on the gates and hatches.
The story of the Commoners and their importance to the condition of the Forest cannot be exaggerated. Some 1500 homes had Commoners rights until 1693 with the Enclosure legislation. They did not own the land but it could be used as a bargaining chip or a dowry. The Enclosure Legislation meant that people could own parts of the Forest and therefore could also sell them and large pieces of the Forest were sold off. The remaining part which is known as the ‘Waste of the Manor of Duddleswell’ is the part we know as Ashdown Forest today and is the part that the Conservators look after.
At this time rabbit had become very popular and for the commercial production of meat and fur large mounds known as pillow mounds were built as rabbit warrens and once again have given their name to many places such as Hindleap Warren and Broadstone Warren.
In 1882, the story goes that the Lady of the Manor was sick of the commoners or common folk grazing their animals, cutting the trees, taking the peat and cutting the bracken and she decided it was time to get rid of them even though generations of these people had been using this land for thousands of years. Of course the peasants reacted very strongly as the Forest provided them with their living, grazing their animals, using the wood and peat and all the medicines and dyes they could make and they would have no way to survive without the forest. They got together and marched to London but the justice system was not what it is today and with the Nobility against Peasantry the court found in favour of the Lord and Lady of the Manor.
However, a local solicitor from Hastings, William Augustus Raper, considered that a great injustice had been done and spent 3 years gathering sworn testimony of all the people who had lived on the forest and had rights over generations. He was told that he must prove they had had these rights for 30 years or more which was then taken to the Appeal Court and then to the House of Lords which in 1885 found for the Common Man against the Nobility, leading to the first Act of Parliament to set up Ashdown Forest with the Conservators to manage the Forest and protect the rights of the Commoners.
Whereas most ‘locals’ would be living off the land prior to the war, WWII changed it all with people moving into towns and no longer producing their own food and thus many ‘forests’ in England were to suffer from the lack of people and their animals and several forests were heavily planted with pine.
95% of trees on Ashdown Forest have grown since the war with the majority being only 40 years old so the Conservators are trying to put the Forest back to how it was before the war.
They have their own Galloway Cattle, Hebridean Sheep and Exmoor Ponies which are the rare breeds most closely related to the earliest of animals that lived off the forest and are able to do well under the toughest conditions.
An inspiring place as related to the work of AA Milne, EH Shepherd, Conan Doyle and many private painters, photographers and writers. A landscape that is both very valuable and almost unique too.
Rich Allum finished up by quoting a poem written by his one-time neighbour Randle Manwaring.
Across his many hectares
he drives with eagle eye,
custodian of a land
Saxons and Normans knew
where hunting lodges once
graced the royal park
now damselflies and dragonflies
beautify the air.
In heather and the heathlands
coppiced woodland ways
roads and running brooks
desolate in winter,
the fallow deer still roam
roe-buck proud with antlers,
the doe just so with fawns,
coneys creeping by.
The Rangers watchful eye
sees unpleasant litter
but gratefully surveys
a lonely airman’s grave.
There were several relevant comments and questions from the audience and discussions continued for some time.
