Forest of Dean
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The (Royal) Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in 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. It is characterised by over 110 km² of mixed forest, one of the most ancient surviving forests in England, with areas of associated woodland stretching across the border into Wales. It gives its name to the local government district Forest of Dean (district).
The main town and administrative centre for the forest is Coleford; whilst Cinderford and Lydney are also busy centres. The relative isolation of the region lends it a unique character with a very broad and colourful local accent spoken by the locals.
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[edit] History
The forest is steeped in history. The Royal Forest of Dean was first established by William the Conqueror nearly a thousand years ago as a royal hunting forest. There are Iron Age forts and the area was settled by the Romans - the attraction was the natural resources of the area, including iron ore, ochre and charcoal produced from the woods. Later, the forest was used exclusively as Royal hunting grounds by the Tudor Kings (see royal forest), but its rich deposits of iron ore led to its becoming a major source of iron at this time. Timber from the forest was particularly fine and was regarded as the best source for building ships, including possibly the Mary Rose and Admiral Lord Nelson's ship, the Victory. Later still, the exploitation of coal deposits led to a strong development of mining in the area, with commercial mining continuing until 1965. Interestingly, Edward I granted the powers that allowed those born in the Forest to mine coal freely. There were, and are still, a number of small private mines in operation, 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 also relies heavily on tourism and agriculture. Also, as a piece of history, those born within the 'Hundred of St. Briavels' have certain rights in the Forest of Dean, ancient rights that were put on the statute books in the Dean Forest (Mines) Act 1838, the only public act to affect private individuals.
[edit] 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, reintroduced during the second world war. Regrettably the red squirrels are long gone, and the grey squirrels are abundant and cause much damage. Wild boar have been re-introduced and are growing in numbers. The Dean is well known for its western birds - 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. Peregrine 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.
[edit] Famous natives
The writer Dennis Potter was born near Coleford, and frequently used the region as a setting in his work, for example in The Singing Detective 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 Radio 2 DJ Jimmy Young is one of Cinderford's most famous sons. Early Britpop band EMF also hailed from the Cinderford area. J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, lived on the southern edge of the Forest at Tutshill from 1974 to 1983.
[edit] Foresters
If born within the Hundred of St Briavels an ancient administrative area covering most of what is now considered the Forest of Dean, you are 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.
[edit] Notable villages and towns
- Alvington
- Berry Hill
- Blakeney
- Bream
- Cinderford
- Clearwell
- Coleford
- Coalway
- Drybrook
- English Bicknor
- Huntley
- Joys Green
- Littledean
- Longhope
- Lydbrook
- Lydney
- Milkwall
- Mitcheldean
- Newent
- Newland
- Parkend
- Ruardean
- Ruspidge
- Soudley
- St Briavels
- Yorkley
[edit] Places of interest
- Cannop Ponds
- Clearwell Caves
- Dean Forest Railway
- Dean Heritage Centre
- Hopewell Colliery
- RSPB Nagshead Nature Reserve
- Parkend and Lydney Railway
- Perrygrove Railway
- Puzzlewood
- The Sculpture Trail
- Speech House
- Soudley Ponds
- Symond's Yat
[edit] In The Media
- Though filmed in the forests outside of London, the 2007 ITV six-part series, Primeval, had many scenes set in the Forest of Dean.
- Scenes from the 2007 film, Outlaw, were filmed in Coleford.
- In 2006, Coleford's St. John's Street was featured in a newspaper/magazine advert for the new Renault Clio.
- Many TV and film projects have been filmed at Clearwell Caves, including the 2005 Christmas special of Doctor Who.
