MAY I, through your columns, thank all those in Lymington who are preserving monuments around the town which were erected in recognition of members from my family tree.

The obelisk at Walhampton, the gas lamps now on the quayside. There is also a fountain next to the waterfront plus Woodside Gardens.

My family connection goes right back to the Burrards, as two Burrard sons married two Rooke sisters. My grandmother was Lettice Rooke and her father, Vice Admiral Eustace Rooke. Here in Burley, George Rooke Farnall bought the Manor in 1838. The manor used to include all the land from Burley Street right through to and include Bisterne Close. Indeed, old documents show that Bisterne Close was locally referred to as ‘the Rookes’.

Further back in time all the manor was known as Bisterne Closes. The name Burley and the village centre came much later.

My grandmother bought our family home in the late 1920s, and actually moved in, in 1930. Her father’s second wife is buried in the grounds of Burley Church. We descend from his first wife, who unfortunately died quite young.

Now, perhaps readers will accept why I do write letters to try to protect the New Forest. It is my home.

RICHARD GRANT, Burley.