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Balmer Lawn is the name of a large New Forest Lawn located in an amphitheatre of woodland in the
New Forest National Park The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...
in Hampshire, England. It is just north of the village of
Brockenhurst Brockenhurst is the largest village by population within the New Forest in Hampshire, England. The nearest city is Southampton some to the North East, while Bournemouth is also nearby, South West. Surrounding towns and villages include Beaul ...
.The lawn comprises about 500 acre of open low land grazing frequented by Forest stock. The name of the area comes from a distortion of the historical name Palmers Water - reference “Comyn’s New Forest” of 1817. Palmers Water was in fact a small settlement which has long since disappeared but was located to east of the ford on the Brockenhurst to Beaulieu road. The water being the Lymington River which separates Brockenhurst and the small settlement of Balmerlawn on the south side of the grazing lawn. The lawn of course remained and over time Palmers became Balmer, perhaps aided by the local dialect. The river crossing (now Brockenhurst Bridge) on the south west corner of the lawn area is thought to have been recorded as a ford in Roman Times and also mentioned in the Domesday Book. Along with St Nicolas Church a mile further south on the hill overlooking the area.


Landmarks

The most significant man made landmark is the Balmer Lawn Hotel built originally as a private house/ hunting lodge around in the early 19th century (it is not recorded in Comyn’s maps of 1817) and transformed into the current building around in the later part of that century. It was known as ‘The Holt’ around that time. A major fire in the early 1970s changed the aspect of the hotel causing the original roof to be replaced with one in the mansard style. The hotel has recently been subject of modern “re-branding” assuming the name of the lawn itself. Tradition however lives on as in front of the hotel is the informal village cricket pitch, home of Brockenhurst Cricket Club, which has been in use since around 1797. The hotel has hosted many famous guests throughout history including King George V,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
n Royalty, J.J. Sainsbury, Winston Churchill and U.S. General
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
. More recently, the Top Gear team filmed at the hotel, and countless Autumn Watch episodes are filmed around the hotel with the TV personalities staying at the hotel. During the First World War the hotel was commandeered as a
field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile Ar ...
. Some people still remember injured soldiers being wheeled on luggage trolleys from
Brockenhurst railway station Brockenhurst railway station serves the village of Brockenhurst in Hampshire, England. It is located on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth. It is also the junction of the Lymington Branch Line with the main line. It ...
to the hotel. In the Second World War the hotel was transformed into an
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Staff College. Some of the "Orders for the Day" were issued from the hotel for the
D-Day invasion The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to a ...
. During the extensive refurbishment of the hotel, spent
ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
was found under the floorboards. The early years of the hotel's history were spent in private ownership. After the Second World War it was part of Myddleton Hotels and was a sister hotel to the
Royal Bath Hotel The Royal Bath Hotel is a building in Bournemouth, Dorset. It is regarded to be the towns most famous hotel. Since 1974, the hotel has been a Grade II listed building. History George Tapps-Gervis built the hotel in 1838. The hotel opened on ...
in
Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Englis ...
. In 1973 the hotel was acquired by the
Ladbroke Group Ladbrokes Coral is a British gambling company founded in 1886. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK and International. UK operations are c ...
and latterly became an Associate
Hilton Hotel Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton. The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...
. In October 1997 the hotel once again returned to private ownership. The Wilson family are now the owners of the hotel and are continuously refurbishing the property.


External links

{{Commons category, Balmer Lawn
"Balmer Lawn Hotel website"
New Forest Hotels in Hampshire