Originally a woodman's cottage and now home to delicious was winning New Forest Shortbread
Burley Rails Cottage is where New Forest Shortbread has been made since 2011. The cottage was built in 1811 as a woodman’s cottage.
The woodman was responsible for the fencing to keep the Commoners animals out of the tree-growing nurseries called Inclosures or Enclosures. There are many cottages of the same design within the New Forest, most remain Crown properties and are occupied by people who have chosen to live and work in the forest such as Keepers, Agisters, Forestry workers and Crown employees. Sometimes these jobs are a lifestyle choice as these people may also be the Commoners who own the livestock, horses, cattle and pigs; de-pastured on the open forest.
These Crown cottages, being tenanted, have, apart from essential additions, remained the same for hundreds of years. Burley Rails was sold out of the then Forestry Commission and has been privately owned since the 1970’s.
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