NEW FOREST BED and BREAKFAST

Barton on Sea

Much of Barton on Sea would appear to the visitor to be a pleasant seaside area with wonderful views of the Solent and the Isle of Wight, surrounded by a pleasant residential area. It is in addition an area of particular scientific interest.

The history of Barton can be traced back some 35 million years, to a period when crocodile type creatures roamed the area. This is confirmed by evidence unearthed by the constant erosion of the cliffface and analysed by geological scientists.

Barton (Barton fossils) has given its name to fossil bearing clay and the fossils it contains, wherever they are found throughout the world. This is dates back to the first authoritative book of fossils, ?Fossilia Hantoniensia? published in 1776 by Swedish scientist Gustavus Brander which included work by D C Solander who described the fossil molluscs. This book covers fossils found at Barton and neighbouring Hordle.

Hunting, fishing and from time to time farming were the means of livelihood of our Germanic ancestors. One of their leaders gave his name to Beorma?s Farm at Barton. Barton appears twice in the ?Doomsday {Domesday} Book? as Bermintune and Burmintune and Barton is derived from these old English names, therefore it is a unique place name. There are many towns and villages in Britain called partly or wholly Barton, but this means simply ?a farm linked to a larger farm?.

The area around Barton is remarkable in that evidence has been found of every period of pre history, with solitary exception of the Beaker Folk. Over 200 Stone Age axes have been found, plus a number of Celtic coins from Gaul (50 B.C.)

As Barton?s southern cliff edge was probably for thousands of years part of the northern bank of the Solent River, early inhabitants hunted and fished here.

Rodger de Montgomery, later Earl of Shrewsbury, a great friend of William the Conqueror, (King William 1st of England} from his boyhood days, held both Barton manors in1086.

By 1405 Winchester College owned much of the western areas of Barton; so the college has some 25 documents in its collection relating to Barton. In 1588 local men were ordered to keep watch for the Spanish Armada of some 130 ships on its way to invade England, as it rounded the Isle of Wight. On sighting the Armada they would light beacons on the high ground. This would have signaled a call to arms, taking men away from their families to go to sea to defend their country. Others would have been among the men under Thomas Coales sent to guard the south coast.

Barton on Sea and New Milton started to expand with the arrival of the railway in 1847 and the opening of the Southampton-Dorchester line. The nearest station was at Holmsley, which is some 10km from Barton.