Beaulieu, Hampshire

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 50.82
longitude= -1.45
official_name= Beaulieu
population = 829 (2001 Census)
shire_district= New Forest
shire_county = Hampshire
region= South East England
constituency_westminster= New Forest East
post_town= Brockenhurst
postcode_district = SO42
postcode_area= SO
dial_code= 01590
os_grid_reference= SU385025
london_distance= 92.6mi
static_

static_image_caption=Beaulieu Palace House

Beaulieu (Audio|En-uk-Beaulieu.ogg|pronunciation; IPA|/ˈbjuːlɨ/) is a small village located on the south eastern edge of the New Forest national park in Hampshire, England and home to both Palace House and the British National Motor Museum.

History

The picturesque hamlet of Bucklers Hard, with its Georgian cottages running down to the Beaulieu river is part of the 9000 acre (36 km²) Beaulieu Estate. It was the birthplace of many British naval vessels, including many of Admiral Nelson's fleet, using the timber of the New Forest. The industry declined in the 19th-century and today the hamlet is given over to tourism, with a small maritime museum, and a modern yachting marina. Bucklers Hard was where Sir Francis Chichester began and finished his single-handed voyage around the world in Gipsy Moth IV.

In the late 1950s Beaulieu was the surprising location for one of Britain's first experiments in pop festival culture, with the annual Beaulieu Jazz Festival, which quickly expanded to become a significant event in the burgeoning jazz and youth pop music scene of the period. Camping overnight, a rural invasion, eccentric dress, wild music and sometimes wilder behaviour — these now familiar features of pop festival happened at Beaulieu each summer, culminating in the so-called 'Battle of Beaulieu' at the 1960 festival, when rival gangs of modern and traditional jazz fans indluged in a spot of what sociologists went on to call 'subcultural contestation'. [McKay 2004, 2005]

Beaulieu village has remained largely unspoilt by progress, and is a favourite tourist stop for visitors to the New Forest, and also for birders seeking local specialities like Dartford Warbler, Honey Buzzard and Hobby.

Transport

The nearest railway station is Beaulieu Road, which is located several miles away on the London-Weymouth main line, and has a notoriously infrequent service (3 trains per day being typical - 1 per hour, Sundays), timed to be of use to locals working elsewhere, but consequently being unhelpful to those wanting to visit the area by train; visitors should use the stations at Brockenhurst or Ashurst instead. Brockenhurst is on the same line as Beaulieu Road Station but the next stop west. Brockenhurst is six miles away from Beaulieu, but The New Forest Tour runs daily summers only hourly to Beaulieu as opposed to Beaulieu Road Station, which is four miles away. which The New Forest Tour also connects

Palace House

Palace House (not to be confused with the Palace of Beaulieu in Essex), which overlooks the village from across Beaulieu River, began in 1204 as the gatehouse to Beaulieu Abbey, and has been the ancestral home of a branch of the Montagu family since 1538, when it was bought from the crown following the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. The house was extended in the 16th century, and again in the 19th century, and is today a fine example of a Gothic country house. Although still home to the current Lord and Lady Montagu, parts of the house and gardens are open daily to the public. It is a member of the Treasure Houses of England consortium.

Museum

The village is also home to the British National Motor Museum. The museum, opened as the Montagu Motor Museum in 1952, becoming a charitable trust in 1972, contains an important collection of historic motor vehicles, including four world land speed record holders: Sir Malcolm Campbell's 1924 Blue-Bird and son Donald Campbell's 1964 Bluebird CN7, plus the 1927 Sunbeam 1000HP (the first motor car to reach 200 miles per hour) and the 1929 Irving-Napier Special 'Golden Arrow', both driven by Major Henry Segrave.

References

Bibliography

* Lord Montagu of Beaulieu (2000) "Wheels Within Wheels: An Unconventional Life." London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
* George McKay (2004) '"Unsafe things like youth and jazz": Beaulieu Jazz Festivals (1956-61) and the origins of pop festival culture in Britain'. In Andy Bennett, ed. "Remembering Woodstock" (Aldershot: Ashgate).
* George McKay (2005) "Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain", chapter one 'New Orleans jazz, protest (Aldermaston) and carnival (Beaulieu [Jazz Festival 1956-61] )'. Durham NC: Duke University Press.

External links

* [http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/motormuseum/introduction.cfm Beaulieu webpage]
* [http://www.strollingguides.co.uk/books/newForest/places/3802-Beaulieu.php Photographs and Information from Strolling Guides]
* [http://www.thenewforest.net New Forest Community Media] - A not-for-profit media site serving the National Park