New Forest

a public pleasure ground on the English channel, twenty minutes southwest of Southampton. It has an area of about 144 square miles. It was laid out in 1079 by William the Conqueror as a game preserve. He destroyed a number of hamlets and drove out many poor inhabitants. Peasants caught hunting in the forest were fortunate if they got off with mere scourging or loss of their ears. Two of the Conqueror's sons, William Rufus and Richard, were killed accidentally while hunting in the forest. The people regarded their death as a providential punishment for his cruelty. The old oak and beech forest has largely disappeared. Deer have not been kept since 1851. See Forestry