Easy hikes and walks around Fordingbridge

​He was of Scottish descent, related to the Earls of Dunfermline, and his family had connections to the West Indies (his grandfather, Vice-Admiral James Seton, was a governor of St Vincent). ​He was a wealthy man who did not need to work, thanks to inherited money. ​He briefly served as a cavalry officer, attaining the rank of cornet, but his short military career ended years before the duel. He is sometimes styled "Captain Seton" in histories of the event.

The Cause of the Duel: The duel was fought over a point of honor following a public altercation. Seton had been pursuing Isabella Hawkey, the wife of Lieutenant Hawkey, and was subsequently insulted and physically attacked (kicked) by Hawkey at a ball. Seton then issued the formal challenge. ​Background: ​Born around 1816 in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. ​The son of Colonel James Seton and Margaret Findlater.

James Alexander Seton (c. 1816 – 2 June 1845) is primarily known for being the last British person killed in a duel on English soil. ​Here are some key details about him: ​Death in a Duel: Seton was fatally wounded in a duel against Lieutenant Henry Hawkey of the Royal Marines on May 20, 1845, near Gosport, Hampshire. He died from an infected gunshot wound on June 2, 1845.

The "Fordingbridge Bridge," known as the Great Bridge, is a historic seven-arched medieval stone bridge in the town of Fordingbridge, Hampshire, England, over the River Avon. While the current structure dates from various periods, including significant 19th-century widening, the original medieval bridge was built before 1252. It remains a prominent landmark, with views of the bridge best enjoyed from the nearby park or The George pub.  

The hospital site has a long history, originating as the Union Workhouse built on Bartons Road in 1885. • ​In the 1930s, it became a Public Assistance Institution. • ​In 1948, it joined the NHS as Fordingbridge Infirmary for the Chronic Sick. • ​In 1984, services from the former Fordingbridge Cottage Hospital were transferred to the Bartons Road site, and a modern facility, Ford Ward, was opened, with the site becoming known as Fordingbridge Hospital. • ​The main block of the old infirmary is a Grade II-listed Victorian building. Some of the older, historic buildings on the site have been sold for residential development. opment. 

The hospital has its origins in the Union Workhouse built on a site on Bartons Road in 1885

Look on the other side of the road from these road signs. The house opposite was the home of Mr Shepherd and his family, owner of the Stuckton Iron Works. The works here started in 1790 by Thomas Sheppard (junior). In 1788 Tomas rented a 'dwelling with workshop' on a small parcel of land and moved here in 1790 to start producing agricultural machinery. The Sheppards owned and ran an iron works here for three generations. The business developed and grew, supplying castings for agricultural implements and grain milling equipment, making threshing machines, and were pioneers in the early steam engines. In 1830, the foundry was targeted and badly damaged by anti-machinery rioters during widespread machine wrecking 'Swing Riots' by agricultural workers. Visit the Historic Routes Stuckton Iron Works trail web page for more details and an account of the riot. In 1872, George Sheppard sold the business and the Stuckton site to Munden and Armfield of Ringwood, later to become J. J. Armfield & Co. The foundry business in Stuckton formally closed in 1908, but continued in use as Armfield Agricultural Engineering Company into the 1950s and eventually closed c.1992. The now derelict buildings of the old works still stand, with their future unclear. The Sheppard name can still be found on old mill equipment across the country. And, in Fordinbridge, on Church Street beside Timbermill Court, you can still find an item made at the Stuckton Iron Works marked with SHEPPARD AND INGRAM, a decorative 'gas pillar' (lamppost) installed in 1866.

Looking west, there is a long field in front of you, divided by a section of Ditchend Brook stream. This area has a mix of lost history with very little to show or recorded. The first lost history is a very different history to anything so far, as this field was known locally by some as 'Smallpox'. Local history sights this area as the location of an extensive smallpox hospital, 'Blissford Smallpox Hospital' formed of wooden huts, built in 1903 with the support of Fordingbridge and the estate owners. At the time it was built, there was a big outbreak in the local gypsy population. After the outbreak was contained, the whole field was closed off, and it was until the late 1940s that the field, divided by the stream, was cleared and turned back into pasture. Despite its possible past history, this area has over 120 recorded plant species and over 250 fungi in these fields. It is now recognised as a SINC (Site of Important for Nature Conservation).