Finding the Tucker ancestral villages in the New Forest

For my last full day in Southampton, Ange and Paul drove me to Minstead in the New Forest.  In the early and mid 1700s, my Tucker ancestors lived in Minstead.

Many Tucker marriages and baptisms took place here.

Here is the baptismal font in All Saints Church, Minstead which dates from 1292.  The core of the church is very much the same as it always was and the church pews date from the 1700s.  There are sections with fireplaces for the local squires.

However the church building is one of the ugliest I have seen, with part of it painted cream but obviously not finished. The square tower is Georgian.

Doubtless, there are Tuckers buried here, but the gravestones from that time are too weathered to read.

I imagine the local children have fun playing in this tree.

Was this the Tucker farm?

We then journeyed on to Fritham which is a scattered and very small settlement attached to Bramshaw.  One of my William Tuckers had a farm at Fritham which he bequeathed to his wife Mary upon his death in 1712.

So my Tucker ancestors lived in the depths of the New Forest - it is a beautiful place.  However, in winter I imagine they were snowbound for considerable periods.  I wonder how many of them were able to travel by horse and cart?  Not many I suppose.

As we travelled, we came across many horses and cows on the open land and on the roads.  Here are some:

We stopped at a little village called Burley, near Ringwood for an icecream.  The village has been taken over by tourist shops and cafes, rather spoiled really, but still very pleasant.

A pretty house at Burley

Close of day for the tourist shops in Burley