Traditionally the mark of government property, the 'Broad Arrow' is the most common form of graffiti you find in the forest. A symbol in use from the end of the Middle Ages right up until the 1980's. The 'Broad Arrows' of the New Forest represent 'Admiralty Marks' or 'Kings' Marks', marking trees for future use by in Royal Navy shipyards. Times changed though, as did the needs of the shipbuilder, and by the middle of the 19th century iron had replaced timber and these marked trees never made it to sea.
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