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 1^st 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.

This station has seen a number of name changes; originally called Osmondley Ford then Christchurch Road. This line was nicknamed “Castlemans Corkscrew”. Charles Castleman was a Wimborne solicitor and one of the original promoters of this railway line. The term “corkscrew” was due to its winding route to Bournemouth.

A local map from 1872 can be viewed on www.oldmaps.co.uk

In 1886 a new station was built at Milton (now New Milton) on a newly built London and South Western Railway, taking a more direct route from London to Bournemouth. From this time the Dorchester line through Holmsley and Ringwood became less profitable and in 1964 was closed completely. It is however possible to walk along the old track bed through parts of the New Forest.

A Mrs Dent, widow of a former wealthy Londoner and owner of the Barton Estates died in 1891. As a result, the Barton Estate was sold with both farms being broken up and the removal of the gates that had prevented access to the Barton seafront from New Milton.

In 1897 a nine hole golf course was laid out on the cliff top to the east of Barton Court, which later was redeveloped and became a hotel, but was demolished in 1922.  Harry Vardon the golfer who won the British Open a record six times (1896-1914) and was the first British golfer to win the US Open in 1900 designed a new eighteen-hole course further inland. This golf course for many years restricted the amount of residential development in the area.

In 1932 Mr A Clark, a local developer, laid out a new eighteen hole course but due to constant cliff erosion the Barton Golf Club   purchased 48 acres of land from the Ashley Clinton Estate in the 1960’s moving the course a little further inland with the new club-house built on the site of the Becton Farm.  In recent times  the boundaries have had to be once again re-positioned due to continuing erosion.

For almost 80 years there has been much demand for property in the area. 

In 1903 a Southampton solicitor named Alexander Paris, had  purchased Barton Common from a Mr C D Crossley.  Mr Paris then tried to close the common against the local people, who had exercised their commoners’ rights for centuries. This action brought together the local residents in 1909-1911 to participate in a successful legal action at the High Court in London.

Over the years local residents have fought hard to retain the delightful areas of Barton common and the Long Meadow; now thankfully, wholly out of bounds for developers and in the safe keeping of New Milton Town Council.

With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 Mrs White’s Barton Court Hotel became a rest home for British troops. Soon afterwards local people were amazed to see hundreds of Indian troops who were sent to convalesce in huts built along the sea front.

Indian troops at New Milton Station returning to the war in 1915, after convalescing at Barton

In the centre of Barton sea-front stands an obelisk commemorating their stay, under the care of army doctors Chaytor-White and Mawson. This was erected in 1917 when the war in Europe was still at its height. The only other monument in memory of Indian troops is further along the coast near Brighton

Barton House, built in 1895, originally as a boys school, then later a school for girls and during both world wars was used as a military convalescent home, then it was a nurse’s rest home. It later became a home for refugees from Russia, The Ukraine Lithuania etc. At one time Barton House contained its own “Russian Orthodox” chapel.

The Prince S Aga Khan, the then Commissioner for Refugees visited the house. Unfortunately this building (like the fate of many of the larger houses) was demolished to make way for an apartment block that has retained the name of Barton House. Inside the new building is a plaque commemorating its history.

In the New Milton Parish Church grounds are a number of graves of some of the former residents, with distinctive diagonal cross symbol on the head stones.

Until the installation of cattle grids on all exit roads from the forest in the early 1960’s, it was quite a common site to see New Forest ponies and cattle grazing on the cliff top.

Much of the former Barton Court has now disappeared over the cliff, or had to be demolished for safety reasons. Additional coastline strengthening started in the late 1960’s and is continuing today with some success against sea erosion. Since then considerable sums have been spent on the toe and beach line, this has included piling and Dorset stone brought in to providing  “strong points”. An advertisement in the official guide published in the early 1900’srefers to a 100 metre wide promenade at Barton on Sea. Today it is around 20 metres at its furthest points.

Today’s cliff slip problems are almost entirely due to inland water seepage. Unfortunately the cliff face continues to move at an alarming rate. Much work is being done by the Oceanography unit at the University Of Southampton, New forest District Council and the Government’s Environment Department. But unless a radical and acceptable solution is found, over a metre per year of cliff will be lost.

The two most important issues  of the early 1900’s are still with us in the form of a double-edged sword, that of building development and the slip of the cliff face.