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 forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.
This article is about the historic Forest. For the local authority, which covers a wider area, see Forest of Dean District. For the constituency, see Forest of Dean (UK Parliament constituency).
The area is characterised by more than 110 square kilometres (42 sq mi) of mixed woodland, one of the surviving ancient woodlands in England. A large area was reserved for royal hunting before 1066, and remained as the second largest crown forest in England, after the New Forest. Although the name is used loosely to refer to the part of Gloucestershire between the Severn and Wye, the Forest of Dean proper has covered a much smaller area since the Middle Ages. In 1327, it was defined to cover only the royal demesne and parts of parishes within the hundred of St Briavels,[1] and after 1668 comprised the royal demesne only. The Forest proper is within the civil parishes of West Dean, Lydbrook, Cinderford, Ruspidge, and Drybrook, together with a strip of land in the parish of English Bicknor.[2]
Traditionally the main sources of work have been forestry – including charcoal production – iron working and coal mining. Archaeological studies have dated the earliest use of coal to Roman times for domestic heating and industrial processes such as the preparation of iron ore.[3]
The area gives its name to the local government district, Forest of Dean, and a parliamentary constituency, both of which cover wider areas than the historic Forest. The administrative centre of the local authority is Coleford, one of the main towns in the historic Forest area, together with Cinderford and Lydney.[4]
Toponym[edit]
The origin of the name is unknown. The prevalence of Welsh place names in the area suggests a possible corruption of din (meaning "hillfort"). However, similar or identical elements from Old English exist throughout England.[5] In Welsh, Forest of Dean is Fforest y Ddena.
Gerald of Wales, writing in the 12th century, refers to the area as Danubia which may translate as "land of Danes" following the Viking settlements in that era. It is possible that an original name Dene developed from this.[6]
History[edit]
Prehistory[edit]
The area was inhabited in Mesolithic times,[7] and there are also remains of later megalithic monuments, including the Longstone[8] near Staunton and the Broadstone[9] at Wibdon, Stroat. Barrows have been identified at Tidenham and Blakeney. Bronze Age field systems have been identified at Welshbury Hill near Littledean, and there are Iron Age hill forts at Symonds Yat and Welshbury. There is archaeological evidence of early 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.[10]
Roman Britain[edit]
The area was occupied by the Romans in around AD 50. They were attracted by its natural resources which included iron ore, ochre and charcoal. The coal mining industry was probably established on a small scale in Roman times.[11] 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 medieval rebuilding of the Roman road, and would have been an important route to transport iron ore and finished metal products. During Roman times there were Roman villas at Blakeney, Woolaston and elsewhere, and towards the end of the Roman period, around AD 370, a major Roman 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.[12]
Transport[edit]
Roads[edit]
The A40 runs along the northern and northeastern edges of the Forest of Dean. The road provides the Forest with a direct connection to Ross-on-Wye and the M50 in Herefordshire. Westbound, the road runs towards Monmouth and South Wales. To the East, the road links the Forest directly to Gloucester, the M5, Cheltenham and Oxford. North of the Forest, the road is managed by National Highways.[46]
To the southeast of the Forest, the A48 links the region to Chepstow, the M4 and Newport, or Gloucester. This route passes around the Lydney area and follows the course of the River Severn.
Other key routes include:
In popular culture[edit]
In 1967, John Berger's sociological work A Fortunate Man was set in the Forest of Dean. A film of the same name was filmed in the Forest of Dean in 1972.[56][57]
Heavy metal band Black Sabbath rented Clearwell Castle in 1973 to write and record their fifth album, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. The band rehearsed in the castle dungeon for inspiration.[58] In 1978, the members of Led Zeppelin reconvened at the castle after a period apart, and began writing and rehearsing what became their In Through the Out Door album.[59]
J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, sets several crucial chapters of her final Harry Potter book in this forest.[60]
In July 2014, scenes from Star Wars: The Force Awakens were filmed in Puzzlewood.[61]
The 2023 Channel Four series The Change was set in the forest. [62]