Emery Down is a small village in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. Its nearest other village is Lyndhurst, which lies approximately 1.4 miles (2.3 km) south-east from the village.
| Emery Down | |
|---|---|
 Emery Down | |
  Emery Down Location within Hampshire | |
| OS grid reference | SU284087 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LYNDHURST |
| Postcode district | SO43 |
| Dialling code | 023 |
| Police | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Fire | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
Overview
editEmery Down is a small village clustered around a hilltop overlooking Swan Green and Lyndhurst.[1] The village has one inn called The New Forest Inn.[2] The red telephone box in the village no longer has a phone, but is used as an Information Centre for local and New Forest information, history, advice, as well as a book exchange and as a place to purchase fruit and vegetables. The telephone box has its own website.[3]
History
editEmery Down is recorded as Emerichdon in 1376, and Emeryesdowne in 1490.[4] The "Emmory" family is recorded here in 1389.[4] The surname is of French origin.[4]
The homes of charcoal burners and agricultural labourers were in Silver Street in Emery Down.[5] Here was born, in 1840, the New Forest "snake catcher" Brusher Mills, who lived here until at least 1861.[6]
A major benefactor of Emery Down was Admiral Frederick Moore Boultbee, who lived here between 1856 and his death in 1876.[7] Boultbee paid for the village church, Christ Church, which was designed by William Butterfield, and built in 1864.[7] Boultbee lived with his niece Charlotte in a thatched cottage known as The Cottage, which before the 19th century had been an inn, The Running Horse.[7] After Charlotte's death in 1896, The Cottage became the vicarage, and is now a private home.[7]
Boultbee was also the benefactor for the village school, opened in 1865 and extended in 1885.[7] The school operated until 1950.[7] Boultbee also paid for the five alms houses, known as Boultbee Cottages,[8] opposite the school.[7] Designed by William Butterfield, they were built in 1871 and occupied by elderly people of the parish.[8]
The New Forest Inn, formerly the New Inn, dates back to at least the first half of the 19th century.[7] The captain of the Titanic, Edward Smith, spent his final night on British shores at the pub before he set sail on the ship the next day.[9]
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stayed in Emery Down for a year from Easter 1889, while researching his novel The White Company and was frequently seen walking around the village.[9]
Northerwood House is a Grade II listed Regency mansion, attributed to John Nash.[10] The house was turned into flats in the 1970s.[11]
Emery Down’s village hall was constructed in the 1920s by Burnett & Sons.[11]
Notes
edit- ^ "About Emery Down and Silver Street". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ The New Forest Inn
- ^ "Emery Down Telephone Kiosk". Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ a b c Old Hampshire Gazetteer - Emery Down
- ^ Emery Down – a view from old maps, New Forest Explorers Guide
- ^ Harry ‘Brusher’ Mills 1840 – 1905: New Forest snake catcher Archived 2011-10-08 at the Wayback Machine, Hampshire Biographies
- ^ a b c d e f g h Emery Down, New Forest Explorers Guide
- ^ a b "Hampshire Treasures, Volume 5 (New Forest), Lyndhurst, page 213". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ a b The New Forest Inn, Emery down, Daily Echo
- ^ "Northerwood House". Historic England.
- ^ a b O’Brien, Charles; Bailey, Bruce; Pevsner, Nikolaus; Lloyd, David W. (2018). The Buildings of England Hampshire: South. Yale University Press. pp. 257–258. ISBN 9780300225037.
External links
edit
- Emery Down Telephone Kiosk Archived 12 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- Emery Down, New Forest Explorers Guide