The fascinating history of a hamlet in the New Forest has been revealed in a BBC TV programme.

Buckler’s Hard has been featured on BBC 2's Villages by the Sea.

The show sees archaeologist Ben Robinson uncover the history and heritage of coastal villages across the UK.

Airing on Tuesday the programme showcased the small hamlet located seven miles from Southampton.

It sits on the banks of the Beaulieu River, lined by two rows of Georgian cottages.

Commenting on Buckler’s Hard, Robinson said: “Buckler’s Hard has the feeling of a model village but is out of scale with this wide yet central avenue. Something happened to create this curious village.”

The archaeologist turned television presenter then went on to explore the area’s history, beginning at Beaulieu Palace, where he met Mary Montagu-Scott, descendant of John Montagu – the man responsible for building Buckler’s Hard.

READ MORE: Grammy Award winners Train play Southampton Summer Sessions

John Montagu (Image: BBC) Speaking on the BBC show, Mary said: “He’s responsible for building Buckler’s Hard as we know it today.

“He was a great visionary and a government official and was very involved in the navy as Master of Ordnance.

“He decided he wanted to create his fortune in importing sugar and came up with a developer’s plan for creating this new town.”

The pair then studied a map of what was then called Montague Town, dating back to 1722.

Unfortunately for John Montagu, his sugar import venture collapses shortly after, though Buckler’s Hard did go on to become a pivotal ship building town in the 1740’s as Britain was raging war with France.

Professor John Adams said: “Buckler’s Hard had everything going for it in terms of transport links, a naturally deep river and space for building several shipping" target="_blank">ships at a time.

“74-gun ships were turned out at quite a rate and over the next 100 years or so, 55 ships were built for the navy.”

The show revealed the last naval ship built in Buckler’s Hard was launched in 1814, before later playing a role in developing landing craft during the Second World War.

Concluding the programme, Robinson said: “This historic place is still revealing secrets about our past.”