Rockford is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Ellingham, Harbridge and Ibsley, 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 ...

district of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England, on the western edge of the

National Park. Its nearest town is Ringwood, which lies approximately 1.8 miles (2.9 km) south from the hamlet.

Overview

Rockford is a

close to the village of Ellingham. It is separated from Ellingham by a series of lakes known collectively as Blashford Lakes, which have been created as the result of sand and gravel extraction since the 1950s. The hamlet has one pub known as ''The Alice Lisle''. Close to Moyles Court, next to the lane leading to Linwood, stands the Moyles Court Oak, one of the largest trees in the New Forest, and which could be older than the famous Knightwood Oak. The lanes about the hamlet harbour the suckering remnants of Goodyer's Elm, a rare and unusual tree discovered by John Goodyer in 1624, but decimated by Dutch elm disease in the late 20th century.Chatters, C. (2009). ''Flowers of the Forest – People and Plants in the New Forest National Park''. Wildguides.

Moyles Court School

Moyles Court School is an independent day and boarding school for pupils from 3 – 16 years old. Moyles Court was the former manor house of Rockford, and later for Ellingham as well. The 17th century manor house was once the home of Dame Alice Lisle, the last lady to be publicly beheaded in England following a judicial trial. In 1940 the building was requisitioned by the RAF, who stationed the headquarters for the Ibsley Airfield there for six years.

History

Rockford is listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 when it was held by Hugh of St Quentin. Rockford had passed to the Moels family by the 13th century and it stayed in that family until the death of John de Moels in 1337.Ellingham – Victoria County History of Hampshire
/ref> The manor passed to his daughter Isabel, wife of William Botreaux. The manor stayed in the Botreaux family until the late 15th century when it was sold to Robert White. The White family then held it until William White died in 1594, leaving an only daughter, Alice wife of William Beconshaw. After this time Rockford passed like Ellingham to the Lisle family, Moyles Court in Rockford becoming their chief residence. Alice Lisle, widow of John Lisle the

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

, continued to live at Moyles Court after her husband's assassination in 1664, until her own notorious trial and death by beheading in the market-place at

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

in 1685 after the failure of the

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion in June 1685 was an attempt to depose James II of England, James II, who in February had succeeded his brother Charles II of England, Charles II as king of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and ...

. Rockford was eventually restored, like Ellingham, to her son John. In the middle of the 19th century Edward Hayles Taylor sold Rockford to Henry Baring of Somerley, from whom it was purchased by John Coventry of Burgate Manor. Moyles Court, however, was sold to the Earl of Normanton with Ellingham. A chapel at Rockford, subject to the church of Ellingham, was granted by Walter of St Quentin, with the tithe from his house, to the abbey of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte about 1170, and mass was to be said there three times a week by the chaplain of Ellingham or a monk. No trace of it remains, but it probably stood in the "Chapell field" mentioned in an indenture of 1664. A

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

belonged to Rockford Manor in the 13th century, but by 1337 was in bad repair, and in 1349 it was almost in decay. It is mentioned in 1664, but no trace of it exists at the present day. The right of free fishing was attached to the manor in the 18th century. Moyles Court is now Moyles Court School.Ellingham, Harbridge and Ibsley
, www3.hants.gov.uk The 18th-Century building which has become "The Alice Lisle Inn" was formerly the village school for Rockford.

Notes

External links

{{New Forest towns Hamlets in Hampshire New Forest