Many of us these days are used to seeing rabbits, in our countryside, alongside roads, and even owning them as pets. However, during the Pleistocene Age rabbits became extinct here surviving the Ice Age only in warmer climes. They were reintroduced into Britain following the Norman conquest, with the Norman’s valuing them for the table and for clothing. Since this time, rabbits have continued to be farmed in man-made warrens for their meat and fur.
Evidence of these rabbit warrens can often be found from cartographic sources, especially field names, with rabbit related elements such as ‘coney’, ‘warren’, ‘clapper’, ‘burrow’ or ‘bury’ are all often signs of one-timed managed activity. A place name with the word ‘Pillow’ can also sometimes determine the place of a rabbit warren.
A warren was an area of land set aside used for the breeding and management of rabbits or hares in order to provide a constant supply of fresh meat and skins. These warrens usually contained a number of purpose-built breeding places known as pillow mounds or rabbit buries, which centralised the colony and made catching the animals easier, whether using nets, ferrets or dogs. Such a pillow mound, 80m east of Windmill Barrow Farm, was scheduled just outside Lytchett Matravers in 1997.
A typical warren may contain between one and forty pillow mounds or rabbit buries and were often enclosed by a bank, hedge or wall intended to contain and protect the stock. Larger warrens often included living quarters for the warrener who oversaw the site and is the reason some old properties have ‘Warren’ in their name. Along with these physical remains of warrens on the landscape, documents also record their existence and locations.
Initially, warrens were mostly associated with the higher levels of society however, by the 16th and 17th centuries they were a common feature on most manors and estates throughout the country.
The document below in our archive dates from 1566 and not only concerns the granting of ownership of freehold property it also concerns the ‘rabbit warren called Stafford’.
Records regarding the running of Rabbit Warrens can also be found amongst the Bankes family papers of Kingston Lacy. The earliest document from Queen Elizabeth leases the rabbit warren within the domain of Kingston Lacy (at Badbury and Shapwick) to Anna Hall, for the term of 21 years. Annual rent of £11.20 was requested for this lease in May 1598.
Further letters concerning the running of the Badbury warren and its stock can be found in correspondence dating between 1695-1740.
Rabbit Warrens were still part of the estate in 1886. In a notebook entitled “Studland Small Tenements”, which gives detail of the size of the lands of each tenant, it includes a schedule of lands to be taken from Messrs. Luckham and Garland Farm for rabbit warren.
Problems of poaching were always an issue with any livestock and rabbits were no different. The following letter concerns a Mr Goddard who
‘keeps a few Rabbit beagles & is constantly hunting in Handley Woods with those dogs and his guns’
Consequently, he scared the deer, ‘in defiance of the Keeper‘.
The shooting of rabbits didn’t decline however, as can be seen from the picture below, from the early 20th Century:
Rabbit warren’s continued in use until fairly recently, finally declining in the 19th and 20th century due to changes in agricultural practice, and the onset of myxomatosis. However, as the following sale particulars for the ‘The Rabbit Warren’ in Frampton show, they were still in existence in 1939.
Do you live somewhere with a connection to a rabbit warren? Let us know in the comments below!
Fab – love the write up.
We have been told that this area of Kingston Russell, that during the first and Second World War, that thousands of rabbits were caught around here and placed on the train at Dorchester to be sent to London. There are still plenty of rabbits here!
Can you tell me anything about what I suppose to be a rabbit Warren behind the houses and sea ,Melcombe (Weymouth) marked on very early maps something like “coneygar “. I guess the area to be quite sandy so beloved of rabbits, but would it have been managed or owned by anyone in particular?
Hello,
We live in a house that is / has been called as Coniger or Conygar Knap. We live below Rawlesbury Hill Fort, Warren Farm and Bulbarrow Hill.
We have wondered before about connection with rabbits and would be really interested in any further information that you could provide
Hi Beverley, thank-you for your message. If you would like to send us an email – archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk – one of the team can advise further about how start your research.