Forest Gate was originally built as the house for the manager of Brockenhurst's gasworks which opened on the site in 1909.  Coal was brought by horse and cart from the station to the furnaces and gasometers, now all long gone of course, and what was once the industrial corner of Brockenhurst is now a lovely leafy residential road. 

​

The guest bedroom and sitting room still have that Edwardian period feel to them, and during redecoration work when the picture rails had to come off the walls, we were fascinated to find the word “gasworks” written boldly in 100 year-old copperplate on the back of the longest section. It’s all back in place now and nicely incorporated into the décor, which we have tried to keep in the traditional style.