New Milton is a market town in southwest Hampshire, England. To the north is in the New Forest and to the south the coast at Barton-on-Sea. The town is equidistant between Lymington and Christchurch, away.
History
New Milton dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, and encompasses Old Milton, Barton on Sea, Ashley, Bashley, and Wootton. It is recorded as having a population of 25,717 in the 2011 census.
Milton
The manor of ("Mildeltune") is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 and literally means "Middle farm." It was part of the lands belonging to Hugh de Port, and the estate was held from him by William Chernet. The Chernet family maintained possession of Milton into the 13th century, although lesser families were managing the estate on their behalf. The most important of these were the Chaucombe (or Chalcombe) family, who were probably the first people to build a church in Milton in the mid 13th century. In 1303, Thomas de Chaucombe was given permission to hold a weekly market on Tuesdays at Milton, as well as an annual fair on the feast day of Mary Magdalene, but this attempt to create a market town seems to have failed.
From 1365 to 1565, the manor was in the possession of the Tyrrell family. The manor passed through various hands in subsequent centuries. The last significant owners were the Bursey family in the 19th century, and in the 1890s the remaining lands of the estate were subdivided and sold. In close proximity to Milton was the manor of Fernhill. In the Domesday book, it was held by Nigel from Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. In the 15th century, John Fromond, the owner of this scattered estate, willed the lands to Winchester College, in whose hands the estate remained down to the 19th century. Another estate called "Gore" appeared by the 15th century, and still survives (partially) as a farm to the west of the town.
The traditional village centre of Milton was just south of the church. Up to the 1960s, moated earthworks were still visible next to the road known as Moat Lane. Excavations of these earthworks in 1956 revealed a series of peasant enclosures and hut remains dating from the 9th to the 12th century, but no evidence of a manorial farmstead was found. The parish church of Milton is dedicated to Mary Magdalene and consists of a chancel with vestry, a nave and a western tower. The medieval church was pulled down and replaced around 1830, although the tower is of an earlier 17th century date. In 1835, a Church of England National School was founded on an island of land near the village green, where children were taught until just after World War I. In 1881, the population of the entire Milton parish was only 1489 people, and Milton was still a small village. The location of the village on the main Christchurch to Lymington road (now the A337) meant that there were two coaching inns - The Wheatsheaf and The George - the former of which is still operating.
New Milton
In March 1888 New Milton railway station was opened, which is still in operation today. A new town developed, which expanded rapidly with the coming of the railway and the name New Milton was used for the first time and can originally be traced back to the Post Office that stood opposite the railway station. In 1895, the owner of the Post Office, Emma Newhook, commissioned a sign, which read - "New Milton Sub Post Office" to differentiate it from the post office in Old Milton. This was officially accepted in 1896, and so the name New Milton caught on. Much of the local farmland has been developed, first in the 1960s for commuter housing and again in the 1970s for small industrial/trade units. There is a mix of housing from cottages on the outskirts to more modern, urban housing in the central area. Milton village subsequently became known as Old Milton and lies between New Milton and Barton on Sea.