Verderer (New Forest)

[1] It consists of ten verderers, five of whom are elected by the commoners, and four of whom are appointed respectively by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Forestry Commission, the National Park Authority, and Natural England.

[1] The Court has the same status as a Magistrates Court, and acting under its authority the verderers are responsible for regulating commoning within the Forest, for dealing with unlawful inclosures, and for a wide range of other matters relating to development control and conservation such as proposals for new roads, car parks, camping sites, recreational facilities, playing fields and so on.

[1] The Court of Verderers normally meets in open session once a month (other than August and December), at which ‘presentments’ may be made by any commoner or other person.

In the 13th century the verderers were originally a court that was authorised by The Crown to deal with minor offences taking place within the Sovereign's Forest.

Their powers were enlarged in the 17th and 18th centuries to enable the Court to deal with trespassers, and acts such as breaking inclosure fences which were detrimental to the planting and preservation of oak for shipbuilding.