Emery Down

Emery Down is a small village in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. Its nearest town 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	Lyndhurst
District	New Forest
Shire county	Hampshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LYNDHURST
Postcode district	SO43
Dialling code	023
Police	Hampshire
Fire	Hampshire
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	New Forest West

Boultbee Cottages, former almshouses

Overview

Emery 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 etc. The telephone box has its own website.[3]

History

Emery 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 ill-fated 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]

Notes

1. About Emery Down and Silver Street
2. The New Forest Inn
3. Emery Down Telephone Kiosk
4. Old Hampshire Gazetteer - Emery Down
5. Emery Down – a view from old maps, New Forest Explorers Guide
6. Harry ‘Brusher’ Mills 1840 – 1905: New Forest snake catcher Archived 2011-10-08 at the Wayback Machine, Hampshire Biographies
7. Emery Down, New Forest Explorers Guide
8. "Hampshire Treasures, Volume 5 (New Forest), Lyndhurst, page 213". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
9. The New Forest Inn, Emery down, Daily Echo
10. "Northerwood House". Historic England.

External links

• Emery Down Telephone Kiosk
• Emery Down, New Forest Explorers Guide