South Baddesley
South Baddesley is a small village in the civil parish of Boldre in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. It lies 2.3 miles (3.7 km) north-east from Lymington, its nearest town.
| South Baddesley | |
|---|---|
 St. Mary's Church, South Baddesley | |
  South Baddesley Location within Hampshire | |
| OS grid reference | SZ3510696570 |
| District |
|
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LYMINGTON |
| Postcode district | SO41 |
| Dialling code | 01590 |
| Police | Hampshire |
| Fire | Hampshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
The Groaning Tree of Baddesley
In his Remarks on Forest Scenery, published in 1791, local author William Gilpin relates the history of "the groaning-tree of Badesly". He explains how around the year 1750 a local villager in South Baddesley frequently heard a sound like a "person in extreme agony" behind his house.[1] He eventually discovered that the noise emanated from an elm tree. Within a few weeks the fame of the tree was such that people came from far and wide to listen to the tree, including Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta. Many explanations were offered, both natural and supernatural for the phenomenon, but no adequate explanation could be found.[1] The groaning continued, intermittently, for "eighteen or twenty months", until the owner decided to bore a hole in the trunk in an attempt to discover the cause. The tree never groaned again, and eventually the tree was deliberately uprooted, but nothing unusual was found.[1]
See also
References
- William Gilpin, (1791), Remarks on forest scenery, and other woodland views (relative chiefly to picturesque beauty), illustrated by the scenes of New Forest in Hampshire, pages 162–164
External links
- The story of St. Mary's Church South Baddesley, Boldre and South Baddesley Benefice
- South Baddesley Church of England Primary School
