Forest of Dean

The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is a roughly triangular area bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.

The view north towards Ross-on-Wye from Symonds Yat Rock, a popular tourist destination in the Forest

The area is characterised by over 110 km² of mixed woodland, one of the surviving ancient woodlands in England. A large area was reserved for royal hunting before 1066, and remained as one of the largest Crown forests in England, the largest after the New Forest. Although the name is often used loosely to refer to that part of Gloucestershire between the Severn and Wye, the Forest of Dean proper has covered a much smaller area since mediaeval times. In 1327 it was defined to cover only the royal demesne and parts of parishes within the hundred of St Briavels, and after 1668 the Forest comprised the royal demesne only. This area is now within the civil parishes of West Dean, Lydbrook, Cinderford, Ruspidge, and Drybrook.

Traditionally the main sources of work in the area have been forestry – including charcoal production - iron working and coal mining. Evidence shows that the area was extensively mined for coal from about 8000 BC to 1965 AD.

The area gives its name to the local government district, Forest of Dean, and a Parliamentary constituency. The administrative centre is Coleford which is also one of the main towns in the area, together with Cinderford, Lydney and Newent.

History

The area was inhabited in Mesolithic times, and there are also remains of later megalithic monuments, including the Longstone near Staunton and the Broadstone at Wibdon, Stroat. Barrows have also been identified at Tidenham and Blakeney. Bronze Age field systems have been identified at Welshbury Hill near Littledean, and there are several Iron Age hill forts, including those at Symonds Yat and Lydney. There is also early archaeological evidence of trading by sea, probably through Lydney. Before Roman times, the area may have been occupied by the British Dobunni tribe, although few of their coins have been found in the area and control may have been contested with the neighbouring Silures.

The area was occupied by the Romans around 50 AD. They were attracted by the natural resources of the area, which included iron ore, ochre and charcoal. The area was governed from the Roman town of Ariconium at Weston under Penyard near Ross-on-Wye, and a road was built from there to a river crossing at Newnham on Severn and port at Lydney. The "Dean Road" still visible at Soudley is believed to be a mediaeval rebuilding of the Roman road, and would have been an important route for the transport of iron ore and finished metal products. During Roman times there were important villas at Blakeney, Woolaston and elsewhere, and towards the end of the Roman period, around the year 370, a major temple complex dedicated to the god Nodens was completed at Lydney. The central parts of the woodlands in the Forest are believed to have been protected for hunting since Roman times.

The history of the area is obscure for several centuries after the end of the Roman period, though at different times it may have been part of the Welsh kingdoms of Gwent and of Ergyng, and the Beachley and Lancaut peninsulas east of the Wye remained in Welsh control at least until the 8th century. Around 790 the Saxon king Offa of Mercia built his Dyke high above the Wye, to mark the boundary with the Welsh. The Forest of Dean then came under the control of the diocese of Hereford. Throughout the next few centuries Vikings conducted raids up the Severn, but by the 11th century the kingdom of Wessex had established civil government in the area. The core of the forest was used by the late Saxon kings, and after 1066 the Normans, as their own personal hunting ground. The area was kept stocked with deer and wild boar, but also became important for its timber, charcoal, iron ore and limestone. The name of the area originates at this time, probably derived from the valley near Mitcheldean, with areas known as Dene Magna (large) and Dene Parva (small). The manor of Dean was the Forest's administrative centre in the late 11th century.

The Hundred of St Briavels was established in the 12th Century, at the same time as many of the Norman laws concerning the Forest of Dean were put in place. Verderers were appointed to act for the king and protect his royal rights, and local people were given some common rights. Flaxley Abbey was also built and given certain rights and privileges. In 1296, miners from the Hundred of St Briavels were used by King Edward I at the siege of Berwick-on-Tweed to undermine the town’s defences. As a result, the king granted free mining rights within the forest to them and their descendants; the rights continue to the present day. Miners at that time were mainly involved in iron mining. Although the presence of coal deposits in the district was well known and limited amounts of it had been recovered in Roman times, it was not practicable to use it for iron making with the methods of smelting then in use. However, later the freeminer rights were used mainly for coal mining.

The forest later went on to be used exclusively as a royal hunting ground by the Tudor Kings, and subsequently a source of food for the Royal Court. Its rich deposits of iron ore led to its becoming a major source of iron. Timber from the forest was particularly fine and was regarded as the best source for building ships, and it is possible that this timber was used to build the Mary Rose and Admiral Lord Nelson's ship, the HMS Victory.

During the 18th century, squatters began to establish roughly-built hamlets around the fringes of the Crown forest demesne. By about 1800, these new settlements had become well established at places such as Berry Hill and Parkend. Industry in the area was transformed in the early 19th century, particularly with the growth of coal mining for the iron and steel industry. In the later 19th century and the early 20th the Forest was a complex industrial region, including deep coal mines and iron mines, iron and tinplate works, foundries, quarries and stone-dressing works, wood distillation works producing chemicals, a network of railways, and numerous minor tramroads. Cinderford was laid out as a planned town in the mid 19th century, but the characteristic form of settlement remained the sprawling hamlets of haphazardly placed cottages. Characteristics shared with other British coalfields, such as a devotion to sport, the central role of miners' clubs, and the formation of brass bands, also helped to create a distinct community identity.

The last commercial iron mine in the District closed in 1946 and this was followed in 1965 by the closure of the last large colliery. There were, and are still, a number of small private mines in operation, and Freeminers, with Hopewell colliery now open to the public. With the decline of the mines, the area itself suffered a decline, but this was ameliorated to some extent when a number of high technology industries established themselves in the area, attracted by grants and a willing workforce.

The area is still mainly an industrial area but the decline in factories has now pushed the area to create more jobs from increasing tourism attractions. Significant numbers of residents also now work outside the area, in such places as Gloucester, Bristol and Cardiff.

Foresters

If born within the hundred of St Briavels, an ancient administrative area covering most of what is now considered the Forest of Dean, one is classed as a true Forester. This classification bestows a unique right for males who are over 21 and have worked in a mine for a year and a day—they can register to be a freeminer. Residents of the hundred who are over 18 can also graze sheep in the Forest. These ancient rights that were put on the statute books in the Dean Forest (Mines) Act 1838, the only public act to affect private individuals.

Nature

The forest is composed of both deciduous and evergreen trees. Predominant is oak, both pedunculate and sessile. Beech is also common, and sweet chestnut has grown here for centuries. Conifers include some Weymouth Pine dating from 1781, Norway spruce, douglas fir and larch. The deer are predominantly fallow deer and these have been present in the forest since the 13th century currently numbering around 400. A number of the fallow in the central area of the forest are melanistic. More recently roe deer and muntjac deer have arrived spreading in from the East but they are in much smaller numbers. Regrettably, the red squirrels are long gone, and the grey squirrels are abundant and cause much damage.

The Forest is also home to numerous wild boar; the exact number is currently unknown but possibly a hundred. The boar were illegally re-introduced to the Forest in 2005. A population in the Ross on Wye area on the northern edge of the forest escaped from a wild boar farm around 1999 and are believed to be of pure Eastern European origin, a second introduction was when a domestic herd was dumped near Staunton in 2004 but these were not pure bred wild boar —attempts to locate the source of the illegal dumps have been unsuccessful. The boar can now be found in many parts of the Forest. While in the future some control may be necessary, the return of the boar is welcomed by many as a valuable addition to the national wildlife. Indeed, under its international obligations the UK government is obliged to consider the reintroduction of species made extinct through the activities of man, the wild boar included. Furthermore there is increasing evidence that wild boar enhance biodiversity by breaking up ground vegetation and have an important role in clearing bracken.

The Dean is well known for its western birds, in particular the pied flycatcher, redstart and woodwarbler. Hawfinch are regularly seen. The mixed forest supports what is probably Britain's best concentration of goshawk; a viewing site at New Fancy is manned during February and March when the soaring birds are best seen. The Peregrine Falcon can be easily seen nesting from the viewpoint at Symonds Yat rock. The ponds in the Forest are good for mandarin duck which nest up in the trees. Butterflies of note are small pearl bordered fritillary, wood white, white admiral. Gorsty knoll is famed for its glow-worms and Woorgreens lake for its dragonflies.

Famous natives

Dick Whittington also known as Richard Whittington, who later became Lord Mayor of the City of London, was born in Pauntley, now part of the Forest of Dean district. The writer Dennis Potter was born near Coleford and frequently used the region as a setting in his work, most notably in The Singing Detective, Blue Remembered Hills and Karaoke/Cold Lazarus; the local accent and dialect can be heard at some length in the BBC productions of these shows. The BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 DJ Jimmy Young is one of Cinderford's most famous sons, as are the early Britpop band EMF. J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, lived on the southern edge of the Forest at Tutshill from 1974 to 1983 and used the forest as a setting in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Towns and Villages

• Alvington
• Berry Hill
• Blakeney
• Bream
• Brierley
• Broadwell
• Cinderford
• Clearwell
• Coleford
• Coalway
• Drybrook
• Edge End
• English Bicknor

• Huntley
• Joys Green
• Littledean
• Longhope
• Lydbrook
• Lydney
• Milkwall
• Mitcheldean
• Newent
• Newland
• Parkend
• Ruardean
• Ruardean Hill

• Ruardean Woodside
• Ruspidge
• Sedbury
• Soudley
• Sling
• St Briavels
• Steam Mills
• The Pludds
• Tutshill
• Westbury
• Whitecroft
• Woolaston
• Yorkley

Places of interest

• Beechenhurst Lodge
• Cannop Ponds
• Clearwell Caves
• Dean Forest Railway
• Dean Heritage Centre
• Hopewell Colliery
• RSPB Nagshead Nature Reserve
• Perrygrove Railway
• Puzzlewood
• The Sculpture Trail
• Speech House
• Speech House Arboretum
• Soudley Ponds
• Symond's Yat
• Tutshill

In the Media

• Heavy metal band Black Sabbath rented Clearwell Castle, located in the Forest of Dean, to write and record their fifth album, Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath in 1974. The band rehearsed in the castle dungeon for inspiration.
• In 1998 the area was on national news as it was going through a bad heroin epidemic and several young people fatally overdosed within a short period of time.
• Many TV and film projects have been filmed at Clearwell Caves, including the 2005 Christmas special of Doctor Who.
• In 2006, Coleford's St. John's Street was featured in a newspaper/magazine advert for the new Renault Clio.
• Scenes from the 2007 film Outlaw were filmed in Coleford.
• The first episode of the television series Primeval featured and were filmed in the Forest of Dean.
• The novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows contains a passage that is set in the Forest of Dean.
• BBC Big Read 2003 Britains' favourite book winner "Lord of the Rings" was championed by the survival expert Ray Mears, who presented the book from Puzzlewood

External links

• Forest of Dean District Council website
• Official Forest of Dean visitor information website
• True Forester Real life Forester and proud to be honest
• The Forester Local newspaper
• Forest of Dean at Curlie