Andrew & Sarah, The Commoners Larder

Our Hospitality Personality of the Month for May is Andrew & Sarah at The Commoner's Larder. 

Andrew and Sarah are Commoners of the New Forest and have their own local company, The Commoner's Larder, where they deliver local foods to your doorstep, as well as supplying local food to pubs, cafes and restaurants in the New Forest. This local food includes their pork, beef, lamb and chicken eggs.

Read more in this The Forest Foodie Meets The Commoner's Larder interview - Flora Richardson & Andrew and Sarah (April 2021) :

On a gloriously sunny Monday in April, along with the Go New Forest team, we were invited up to meet Sarah & Andrew Parry-Norton at Storm’s Farm near Cadnam. Not just any farm, these guys are traditional New Forest Commoners. Their skills and (incredible) knowledge having been passed down from many, many generations. We couldn’t wait to learn more. We had a full tour of the common land, the bog (integral part to the Forest), the pig stys, the barns housing all of the animals and the farm itself.

Firstly, what is a New Forest Commoner, and how did you become one?

Commoners of The New Forest are those people who occupy land and property which also has rights over the Forest. We have the right, having been granted by the Lords of the Manor, to turn out ‘commonable’ livestock such as ponies, cows, sheep, pigs etc. (Andrew:) I have been involved all of my life, and before that my father, my grand father etc. (Sarah:) I have worked as a teacher for many years until last March when Andrew finally persuaded me to ‘retire’ and work full time with him on the farm. I didn’t know much about communing but I have learned so much. I am very much a country girl at heat though having grown up in the countryside and love my riding, being outdoors, shooting etc.

How many Commoners are there in The New Forest?

There are now over 700 of us! Most commoners will only have a small farm. It’s by no means easy, but really good fun.

What part do you play in looking after the land, and why is that important?

We look after about 1500 acres. It’s hugely important because without us, without our animals grazing there would be extremely long grass, someone would have to manually cut it all. The land is home to some very rare plants and flowers, without the cattle and ponies poaching up the land, they wouldn’t be able to survive such as the Fleabane. The Forest would be totally inaccessible to anyone unless it is looked after. The landscape that is enjoyed by many visitors is the result of generations of stock grazing this special environment. Lowland heath is rarer than the Amazon Rainforest.

We also need to play a part in educating people visiting The New Forest to play their part in helping to protect it. We do often chat to people who are cycling across the common land for example – about the damage this is doing. It compacts the ground so much meaning flowers and plants are therefore unable to grow through. We absolutely want people to visit our beautiful Forest but they must stick to the paths, and the paths only!

How many animals do you have?

We have 40 cows, the same number of sheep, 50-60 pigs. We don’t let all of the pigs out because there isn’t enough food for them. The grazing animals, especially the Ruby Devon’s, do really well out here, they are good foragers. We turn them out during the Summer months and our pigs are releases into the woods during the Autumn (Pannage Season) to hoover up the acorns and beech mast.

You started The Commoners Larder recently; can you tell us more about that?

Yes, we started the Commoners Larder to try and generate a bit more income and to be able to widen our customer base enabling more people to try our produce. We deliver meat, breakfast, BBQ, and roast boxes all around The New Forest. From the Forests’ ancient woodlands of oak and beech, to the mixed grasses, herbs, heathlands and lawns come the most incredible flavours and textures to the meat. We supply various local butchers but our main big one in Wimborne take our whole carcasses and butcher them to order depending on what our customers are after. All of our Ruby Devon’s, Lamb and Pigs go there. We also have about 350 chickens – so lots of eggs. People can have a box delivered weekly by ordering via our website. We sell lamb, beef, chicken, pork, homemade burgers, sausages, gammon, and we have game when it’s in season.

** We were very kindly treated to a homemade Pork Bap for lunch – so I can confirm it was absolutely delicious. **

Thank you so much to Sarah & Andrew. A truly inspiring, insightful and fascinating morning out. A stunning spot in the middle of nowhere, and it was a pleasure to meet two people so knowledgeable.

Here at The Forest Foodie, we are going to work alongside The Commoners Larder, to include their lamb and beef into our hampers and we will be creating new three course dinners (which we will deliver) using their produce too.

Flora | Founder of The Forest Foodie, Lymington | April 2021.

The Forest Foodie deliver Hampers & Picnics of Fresh Locally Sourced Produce from around The New Forest to homes, holiday cottages and boats around The New Forest.

www.theforestfoodie.com