Hale is a village to the northeast of Fordingbridge in an area of woodland, to the east of the River Avon.

[4] At the centre of the village is Hatchet Green, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Conservation Area.

[4] It contains various tree species including oak, ash, birch, holly, lawson cypress, chestnut and hawthorn.

[7] Thus Robert Penruddock, who died childless in 1583, evidently had a lease of the manor and was the first of the family to settle at Hale.

[7] Archer demolished the Penruddock's Elizabethan Manor House and built the Palladian style Georgian Mansion which is here today.

[8] He also altered and enlarged the church, landscaped the grounds and planted the oldest part of the Lime Avenue.

[4] Until 1920, Hale was one large estate, and the village was effectively closed to outsiders, with no inn and no shops.