John Stratford (1380 – July 1433), also known as ''John Stratforde'', was a medieval English

verderer Verderers are forestry officials in England who deal with common land in certain former royal hunting areas which are the property of the Crown. The office was developed in the Middle Ages to administer forest law on behalf of the King. Verderers ...

and landowner. John was born into the landed Wessex Stratford Family of Hampshire and Wiltshire, son of Robert Stratford, grandson of Andrew de Stratford. As his father died when he was still in infancy, John was raised as a ward of the King. On reaching 21 John inherited much of his late father's and grandfather's estates in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, including a meadow called 'Haresmede' in South Baddesley in the

New Forest 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 ...

, and land in Alderstone, Farnham, Chute, Whelpley, Cowesfield, and Winterbourne. He regularly sat as a juror in Inquisitions Post Mortem, and acted as Verderer in the forests of Chute and Milchet in Wiltshire until his death in July 1433.

Folklore

According to local folklore, the village pub in

Boldre Boldre is a village and civil parish in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is in the south of the New Forest National Park, above the broadening (estuary) of the Lymington River, two miles (3 km) north of Lymington. In the 2 ...

, the Red Lion, is named after ''the Stratford Lyon''. Supposedly a giant red lion with a wild mane, yellow eyes, large teeth, and huge stag-like antlers, pulled from the ground by John Stratford in his land of Haresmede in the late 14th or early 15th century. There have been recorded sightings of the monster as early as the 18th century, and as recently as the 20th century.''History of the Red Lion Boldre'', Christopher Tower Reference Library, Lyndhurst, 1989

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stratford, John

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

1380 births 1433 deaths New Forest folklore Verderers