Lyndhurst is a village and civil parish situated in the New Forest in Hampshire, England, about nine miles () south-west of Southampton. Known as the "capital of the New Forest", Lyndhurst houses the New Forest District Council and Court of Verderers. It is also a popular tourist attraction, with many independent shops, art galleries, cafés, museums, pubs and hotels. At the 2021 census, Lyndhurst had a population of 3,019.

Lyndhurst was first mentioned in the Domesday Book under the Old English name 'Linhest', meaning 'wooded hill with lime-trees'. The church of St. Michael and All Angels was built in the 1860s, and contains a fresco by Lord Leighton and stained-glass windows by Charles Kempe, William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones and others; Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Alice in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is buried there. Glasshayes House (the former Lyndhurst Park Hotel) is the only surviving example of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's architectural experimentation, and local folklore records Lyndhurst as the site of a dragon slaying, and as being haunted by the ghost of Richard Fitzgeorge de Stacpoole, 1st Duc de Stacpoole.

History

thumb|The Leighton Fresco, St Michael and All Angels church

Lyndhurst is an Old English name, meaning 'wooded hill with lime-trees growing'. The name comprises the words ('lime-tree') and ('wooded hill'). The first mention of Lyndhurst was in the Domesday Book of 1086 under the name 'Linhest'. It was part of the royal lands of the New Forest, with the exception of 1 virgate which was held by Herbert the Forester.

The manor passed to Henry III in 1270, and together with the wardenship of the New Forest, which invariably accompanied the manor, it formed part of the dowry of four consecutive queens: Eleanor of Castile, Margaret of France, Isabella of France, and Philippa of Hainault. In 1299 it covered an area of , the profits from the honey gathered there amounting to 2 shillings per annum. The headquarters of the privately owned British chemicals company Ineos is located in the village.

The civil parish includes the hamlets of Bank and Emery Down. Lyndhurst is surrounded by varied "forest", from the heathland of Parkhill to the bog of Matley, and the open forest with its ancient oak and beech to the enclosures of softwoods.

Demographics

At the 2021 census, Lyndhurst civil parish had a population of 3,019 people in 1,373 households.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Census population of Lyndhurst parish

|-

! scope=col width=18%| Census

! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Population

! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Female

! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Male

! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Households

! scope=col width=10% class="unsortable"| Source

|-

!scope=row| 2001

|| 2,973

|| 1,572

|| 1,401

|| 1,365

||

|-

!scope=row| 2011

|| 3,029

|| 1,568

|| 1,461

|| 1,374

||

|-

!scope=row| 2021

|| 3,019

|| 1,579

|| 1,440

|| 1,373

||

|}

Landmarks

thumb|[[Thatched cottages at Swan Green]]

The church of St. Michael and All Angels is a major landmark, built of many different colours of brick, on one of the highest points in the village. Glasshayes House (also known as the Lyndhurst Park Hotel) is a Georgian "Gothick" villa, and after its 1912 alterations was the only surviving example of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's forays into architecture. In local tradition it was haunted by the ghost of Richard Fitzgeorge de Stacpoole, 1st Duc de Stacpoole. It has recently been demolished and replaced by a housing development designed to reflect the architecture of the hotel and existing high street. The site sits adjacent to Bolton's Bench, a picturesque hill to the east of the village which, according to local folklore, was originally the corpse of a dragon; Other local landmarks include a row of much photographed thatched cottages on the road to the neighbouring hamlet of Emery Down, and the New Forest Centre, which includes the New Forest Museum and New Forest Gallery.

The King's House

thumb|The King's House

The most important building in Lyndhurst is the King's House, which has also in the past been called the Queen's House, for the name changes according to the gender of the monarch. It is the principal building owned by the Crown in the New Forest, and contains the Verderers' Hall, home of the ancient Verderers' Court. The last monarch to stay here was George III who visited the New Forest in June 1789. Frances Burney, who was Second Keeper of the Robes to Queen Charlotte, described the house as "a straggling, inconvenient, old house, but delightfully situated, in a village—looking indeed at present like a populous town, from the amazing concourse of people that have crowded into it." and is the third such building on the site. The church was designed by William White. The interior has yellow, white and red exposed brickwork, and a nave roof decorated with life-size supporting angels. The village also has a Baptist church.

In 2020, Hampshire County Council announced plans to close Lyndhurst library. A small children’s library is now run by Lyndhurst Community Centre.

The Bisterne Dragon

thumb|Bolton's Bench on the edge of the village

Lyndhurst is notable in English folklore for being the supposed location of a dragon-slaying. The local tradition is that a dragon had his den at Burley Beacon in Burley. There are several versions of the tale, one being that the creature "flew" every morning to Bisterne, where it would be supplied with milk. To kill the dragon, a valiant knight (usually named Berkeley) built a hide, and with two dogs lay in wait. The creature came as usual one morning for its milk, and when the hut door was opened the dogs attacked it, and while thus engaged the knight took the dragon by surprise, the dogs dying in the affray. Public inquiries were held in 1975 and 1983. On both occasions the various routes proposed by the county council were opposed by the Verderers as being detrimental to the environment. In 2006 Lyndhurst Parish Council again called for a bypass, and proposed that the road followed the route suggested in 1983 but with a cut-and-cover tunnel.

Although Lyndhurst itself does not have a railway station, it is served by Ashurst New Forest railway station, three miles () away, which was for many years named Lyndhurst Road railway station. It is also only four miles () from Brockenhurst and under 4 miles from Beaulieu Road station – all these stations are on the South West Main Line to London and Weymouth, serving Bournemouth and Southampton. Bus services operated by Bluestar run frequently to Southampton and Lymington. There are also two daily National Express coach departures to London Victoria. The New Forest Tour, an open-top bus tour run in the summer, starts and finishes in Lyndhurst.

Sport

Lyndhurst Football Club were founded in 1885 and are one the oldest in the county. They are based at Wellands Road and have teams playing in both the Hampshire Premier League and Southampton League. Over the years, the club have won numerous trophies – most notably in 2005 when they lifted the Southampton Senior Cup at St. Mary's Stadium.

Established in 1936, Lyndhurst & Ashurst Cricket Club play at Beaulieu Road and run numerous sides. The first team are long serving members of the Hampshire League.

Notable residents

thumb|upright|The grave of [[Alice Liddell in Lyndhurst]]

  • Arthur Phillip
  • Richard Fitzgeorge de Stacpoole, 1st Duc de Stacpoole
  • Charles Castleman
  • Sir James William Ronald Macleay
  • Lina Arbuthnot (née Macleay)
  • Brusher Mills
  • Charles Hamilton Aide
  • John Maxwell
  • Mary Elizabeth Braddon
  • Reginald Hargreaves
  • Alice Liddell, also known as Alice Hargreaves, the inspiration for Alice in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, lived in and around Lyndhurst after her marriage to Reginald Hargreaves, and is buried in the graveyard.

See also

  • Portuguese Fireplace

References

  • Lyndhurst Parish Council
  • New Forest District Council