Lyndhurst councillor Brice Stratford pens book on New Forest folklore

LITTLE-KNOWN folk tales from the New Forest about epic battles, big cats and screaming skulls have been uncovered by a Lyndhurst author.

Brice Stratford, a parish councillor in the village, has penned New Forest Myths and Folklore in a bid to gather the area’s unique oral history in writing for the first time.

From the darkly humorous to the strikingly familiar, the book examines the origins and inspiration for the tales Brice heard growing up.

His book explores the origins of a “screaming skull” ghost claimed to have been seen in the Forest for decades.

Reports from the 1800s document an explosion at the Schultze gunpowder factory near Irons Well, Fritham, in which a man was killed.

The account said that in the aftermath, the man’s head was found perfectly intact but it was “quite some distance” from the rest of his body.

Perhaps the most fascinating – and fantastical – story in the book is the Battle of Netley Marsh.

In around 500AD, two Anglo-Saxon kings named Cerdil and Cynric came to the New Forest and found that its king Natanleod (later called Netley) was abusing and exploiting the area.

The pair prayed and made sacrifices to the Forest, asking it to rise up and fight Natanleod and his army – and it duly obliged.

According to the myth, Natanleod was defeated and the bodies of his 5,000-strong army were swallowed up by the trees and rivers, rejuvenating the area after the damage he had caused.

The story goes that Natanleod was dragged down into the waters at Latchmoor Brook by the cursed dead, or liches – after which the area is supposedly named.

Brice said: “The creatures that rose up and fought for the Forest were called Ents and Ettins. These stories far pre-date Tolkien and his ‘march of the Ents’, or even Shakespeare who had a forest army in Macbeth.

“The story of Natanleod being dragged down into the water by his cursed soldiers is also reminiscent of the dead marshes in the Lord of the Rings.”

Brice’s book contains accounts of another “screaming” presence – this time a milestone between Burley and Lymington, plus a groaning tree that cries out for help.

Another myth suggests that William Brewer, the famed Sheriff of Nottingham, was rescued from a river in the New Forest by the king before going on to become Robin Hood’s nemesis.

The book also explores the myth of the Stratford Lyon, a giant red beast with glowing eyes and antlers that stalks the area around the Red Lion pub in Boldre.

“There are stories about this beast being pulled out of the ground in the 1400s, although there was apparently a sighting last year as well,” said Brice.

“The origin of this one was that smugglers out in the Forest would hold up a big blanket, a pair of antlers and two torches in front of it for the glowing eyes, to look like a monster and scare off anyone who got too close while they were doing their dodgy business.

“If anyone later said they saw or heard anything in the woods, they would be discredited.”

A free exhibition of artwork from the book is at the New Forest Heritage Centre in Lyndhurst until Sunday.