Boultbee Cottage at Emery Down - geograph

Emery Down is a small village in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

National Park in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England. Its nearest town is Lyndhurst, which lies approximately south-east from the village.

Overview

Emery Down is a small village clustered around a hilltop overlooking Swan Green and Lyndhurst. The village has one

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

called The New Forest Inn. The

red telephone box The red telephone box, a telephone kiosk for a public telephone designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar. Despite a reduction in their numbers in recent years, ...

in the village no longer has a phone, but is used as an Information Centre for local and

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.

History

Emery Down is recorded as Emerichdon in 1376, and Emeryesdowne in 1490.Old Hampshire Gazetteer - Emery Down
/ref> The "Emmory" family is recorded here in 1389. The surname is of French origin. The homes of charcoal burners and agricultural labourers were in Silver Street in Emery Down.
New Forest Explorers Guide Here was born, in 1840, the New Forest "snake catcher"

Brusher Mills Harry 'Brusher' Mills (19 March 1840 – 1 July 1905) was a hermit, resident in the New Forest in Hampshire, England, who made his living as a snake-catcher. He became a local celebrity and an attraction for visitors to the New Forest. Life ...

, who lived here until at least 1861. A major benefactor of Emery Down was Admiral

Frederick Moore Boultbee Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederi ...

, who lived here between 1856 and his death in 1876.Emery Down
New Forest Explorers Guide Boultbee paid for the village church, Christ Church, which was designed by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

, and built in 1864. 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. After Charlotte's death in 1896, The Cottage became the vicarage, and is now a private home. Boultbee was also the benefactor for the village school, opened in 1865 and extended in 1885. The school operated until 1950. Boultbee also paid for the five

alms house An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

s, known as Boultbee Cottages, opposite the school. Designed by William Butterfield, they were built in 1871 and occupied by elderly people of the parish. The New Forest Inn, formerly the New Inn, dates back to at least the first half of the 19th century. The captain of the

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

Edward Smith Ed, Eddie, Edgar, Edward, Edwin, and similar, surnamed Smith, may refer to: Military * Edward H. Smith (sailor) (1889–1961), United States Coast Guard admiral, oceanographer and Arctic explorer *Edward Smith (VC) (1898–1940), English recipient ...

, spent his final night on British shores at the pub before he set sail on the ship the next day.The New Forest Inn, Emery down
Daily Echo

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

stayed in Emery Down for a year from Easter 1889, while researching his novel ''

The White Company ''The White Company'' is a historical adventure by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, set during the Hundred Years' War. The story is set in England, France and Spain, in the years 1366 and 1367, against the background of the campaign of Edward ...

'' and was frequently seen walking around the village. Northerwood House is a Grade II listed Regency mansion, attributed to John Nash. The house was turned into flats in the 1970s. Emery Down’s village hall was constructed in the 1920s by Burnett & Sons.

Notes

External links

Emery Down Telephone Kiosk
New Forest Explorers Guide {{authority control Villages in Hampshire New Forest