The Forest of Dean, by H. G. Nicholls
This ebook was transcribed by Les Bowler.
the
FOREST OF DEAN;
an historical and descriptive account,
derived from personal observation, and other sources, public,
private, legendary, and local.
By H. G. NICHOLLS, M.A.,
PERPETUAL CURATE OF HOLY TRINITY, DEAN FOREST.
John Murray, Albemarle Street.
1858.
PREFACE.
Disappointment expressed by others and felt by myself that a History of the Forest of Dean should never have appeared in print, and an impression that a considerable amount of interesting information relative to it might be brought together, combined I may add with the fact that there seemed no probability of such a work being otherwise undertaken until old usages and traditions had passed away, have induced me to attempt its compilation. I here venture to publish the fruit of my labours, in the hope that the reader may derive some portion of that pleasure which the prosecution of the work has afforded me, and trusting that the same indulgent consideration which led the officers of the Government, the gentlemen of the neighbourhood, and many of the intelligent Foresters to aid in the execution, will by them and the public be extended to the work itself.
I have endeavoured to make it as complete as possible by supplying every known circumstance, mostly in the words of the original narrator, and yet trying so to harmonize the whole as to engage the attention of the general reader, but more particularly of the residents in the district, by acquainting them with the past and present state of one of the most interesting and remarkable localities in the kingdom.
H. G. N.
July, 1858.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.—a.d. 1307–1612.
1
Origin of the name “Dean”?—The Buck Stone and other Druidical remains—“The Scowles,” &c., and other ancient iron-mines, worked in the time of the Romans—Symmond’s Yat, and other military earthworks—Domesday Book, and investment of this Forest in the Crown—William I., and probable date of Free Miners’ Franchise—Castle of St. Briavel’s first built; Giraldus—Flaxley Abbey founded—King John at Flaxley and St. Briavel’s—The constables of St. Briavel’s, and wardens of the Forest—Date of the ruins of St. Briavel’s Castle—Iron-forges licensed by Henry III.—Perambulation of 1282, and first “justice seat”—Seventy-two itinerant forges in the Forest—Date of miners’ laws and privileges—Perambulation of 1302—Edward I., grants in the Forest—Newland Church founded—Free miners summoned to the sieges of Berwick, &c.—Edward II., grants in the Forest—Edward III., ditto—Richard II., ditto—Henry IV., ditto—Henry V., ditto—Henry VI., ditto—Severn barges stopped by Foresters—Edward IV., and retreat hither of the Earl Rivers and Sir J. Woodville—Edward VI. farmed the Forest to Sir A. Kingston—Design of the Spaniards to destroy the Forest—Papers from Sir J. Cæsar’s collection, viz. Sir J. Winter’s negotiations relative to the ironworks, &c.—Blast furnaces erected
CHAPTER II.—a.d. 1612–1663.
24
Grants in the Forest to Earl of Pembroke—Mining restricted to the foresters—Iron cinders of old workings re-smelted in the new furnaces—Last justice seat held in 1635, extending the limits of the Forest to those of Edward I.—Grant to E. Terringham—Forest surveyed in 1635—Sale of the woods to Sir J. Winter—Disturbances of the Civil War at Coleford, Highmeadow, Ruardean—Adventures of Sir J. Winter at Westbury, Little Dean, Newnham, Lydney—Events on the north side of the Forest—Incidents of the Protectorate, riots and devastations of the Forest—Sir J. Winter’s patent restored—Effects of a great storm—Survey of the Forest in 1662—Mr. J. Pepys and Sir J. Winter on the Forest—The latter resumes his fellings—Inhabitants suggest replanting and enclosing the Forest—Act of 20 Charles II., c. 3—Sir J. Winter’s licence confirmed
CHAPTER III.—a.d. 1663–1692.
45
First “Order” of forty-eight free miners in Court—8,487 acres enclosed and planted—Speech-house begun—Second order of the Miners’ Court—The King’s iron-works suppressed—The six “walks” and lodges planned out—All mine-works forbidden in the enclosures—Third order of the Miners’ Court—Enclosures extended—Fourth order of the Miners’ Court—Speech-house finished—The Forest perambulated—Fifth order of the Miners’ Court—Proposal to resume the King’s iron-works rejected—Sixth and seventh orders of the Miners’ Court—Riots connected with the Revolution—Eighth order of the Miners’ Court—Dr. Parsons’s account of the Forest
CHAPTER IV.—a.d. 1692–1758.
58
Condition of the Forest described, and management examined—Depredations—Ninth and tenth orders of the Miners’ Court—Timber injured by the colliers—The Forest in its best state, 1712—Eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth orders of the Miners’ Court—Fourteenth order of the Miners’ Court—Swainmote Court discontinued—Extension of coal-works and injury of trees—Forest neglected—Fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth orders of the Miners’ Court—Grant of 9,200 feet of timber to the Gloucester Infirmary
CHAPTER V.—a.d. 1758–1800.
Mr. John Pitt suggested 2,000 acres to be planted—The Forest surveyed—Great devastations and encroachments—The roads—Act of 1786, appointing a Commission of Inquiry—New plantations recommended—Messrs. Drivers employed to report on the Forest—Corn riots—Mitcheldean market
CHAPTER VI.—a.d. 1800–1831.
87
Lord Nelson’s remarks on the Forest—Free miners endeavour to restore their Court of Mine Law—White Mead Park planted—Act of 1808, authorising the replanting of the Forest, six commissioners appointed for that purpose—Six enclosures formed in 1810—Mice—Inquiry as to the best mode of felling timber—Last of the enclosures formed 1816—First Forest church consecrated—High Meadow Woods purchased—General condition of the Forest—Unsuccessful efforts to restore the encroachments to the Crown—Plantations mended over—Ellwood and the Great Doward Estates purchased—The blight—Single trees planted out by the roads—Blight on the oaks
CHAPTER VII.—a.d. 1831–1841.
110
Riots—Sessions of the Dean Forest Commissioners relative to St. Briavel’s Court—Free miners’ claims—Foreigners’ petition—State of the woods—Perambulation—Rights of Commonage—Relief of the poor—Free miners’ petition—Parochial divisions—Fourth and Fifth Reports of the Dean Forest Commissioners—Acts of 1838 and 1842—Award of the coal and iron mines—Enclosures thrown open, and new ones formed—Provision for the poor—Mr. Machen’s memoranda
CHAPTER VIII—a.d. 1841–1858.
130
Messrs. Clutton’s, &c., Report on the Forest Timber—Viscount Duncan’s Committee—Supply of 1,000 loads of timber to the Pembroke Dockyard, resumed—Mr. Drummond’s Committee—Report of Mr. Brown—Messrs. Matthews’s Report
CHAPTER IX.
THE ORIGINAL OCCUPIERS OF THE FOREST.
143
The inhabitants of the Forest—Its Aborigines—Celtic indications in the names of persons and places—The forty-eight free miners’ names appended to their book of “Dennis,” contrasted with the present roll of free miners—Traces of Saxon and Norman influence—Early civilization indicated in the methodical character of their mine laws, and in miners being summoned to several sieges, qualified by their acts of plunder—Successive notices of the inhabitants during the last 150 years, with their present improved condition—Kitty Drew, the Forest poetess—Mining usages described—Order for pit timber—Miners’ Court and Jury—Richard Morse’s poem—Intelligence of the present race—Their superstitions, self-importance, defects of character—Occupations—Domestic animals—Beverage—Dress—Dwellings—Diversions—Dialect—Christian names—Former distribution of population—Present numbers
CHAPTER X.
154
Churches and schools—Religious provisions before the Reformation—Rev. P. M. Procter, Vicar of Newland, lectures in Thomas Morgan’s cottage—The erection of a place for worship proposed—Rev. H. Berkin opens a Sunday-school—Mr. Procter uses his chapel school-room—Mr. Berkin lectures in the Foresters’ cottages—Builds Holy Trinity Church (1817)—His assiduous labours and death in 1847—Christ Church, Berry Hill—Mr. Procter’s death—His successors—Rev. H. Poole builds St. Paul’s, Park End, and schoolrooms—Rev. J. J. Ebsworth—St. John’s, Cinderford, consecrated 1844—Lydbrook Church consecrated 1851—Government aid to the churches and schools
CHAPTER XI.
176
The history of the Abbey of Flaxley, or St. Mary de Dene—Its foundation by Roger Earl of Hereford in 1140—Confirmed and enriched by Henry II. and III., and Richard II.—Suppressed in 1541—Existing remains—St. Anthony’s Well—The Abbey, &c., granted to Sir W. Kingston—His descendants—Mrs. C. Riches (Boevey), supposed to be Sir R. de Coverley’s “perverse widow;” her benevolent life, and death in 1726—Nature and cessation of the Flaxley iron-works—Erection of the present church in 1856
CHAPTER XII.
192
The Forest roads and railways—Vestiges of some very ancient roads, apparently Roman—The old “crooked, winding, and cross ways,” when no wheeled vehicles were allowed in the Forest—The original road across the Forest, from Gloucester to Monmouth—Roads, first improvement in 1761—Road Act of 1795 carried into effect—Mitcheldean a post town—Roads further improved in 1828 and 1841—their present state and extent—The tramroads and railways of the Forest
CHAPTER XIII.
199
The deer of the Forest, and its timber, plants, birds, ferns, and early allusions to the Forest deer—The Court of Swainmote, by which they were preserved—Act of 1668 regarding them—Reports of the Chief Forester in Fee and Bowbearer, and Verderers, in 1788, respecting the deer—Mr. Machen’s memoranda on the same subject—Their removal in 1849—The birds of the Forest—Unforestlike aspect of the Forest, now, compared with its former condition—Successive reductions of its timber—Its oldest existing trees described—Present appearance of the young woods—Table of the Timber Stock, from time to time, during the last 200 years—An account of the rarer plants and ferns
CHAPTER XIV.
The Iron Mines and Iron Works in the Forest—Mr. Wyrrall’s description of the ancient excavations for iron—Their remote antiquity proved, and character described—Historical allusions to them—The quality, abundance, and situation of the old iron cinders—The early forges described—Portrait of an original free miner of iron ore—His tools—Introduction of the blast furnace into the Forest—Various Crown leases respecting them—A minute inventory of them—Mr. Wyrrall’s glossary of terms found therein—Mr. Mushet’s remarks on the remains of the above works—First attempts to use prepared coal in the furnaces—Iron-works suppressed—Value of iron ore at that time—Dr. Parsons’s account of the manner of making iron—State of the adjoining iron-works during the seventeenth century—Revival of them at its close—Their rise and prosperity since—At Cinderford, Park End, Sowdley, Lydbrook, and Lydney—Character of the iron-mines at the present time
CHAPTER XV.
230
The Forest Coal Works—The earliest allusion to them—The original method of mining for coal—Grants to the Earl of Pembroke in 1610, &c.—First attempt to char coal for the furnace—Prices for which coal was to be sold, as fixed by the “Orders” of the Court of Mine Law—Contents of the existing documents belonging to that Court described—State of the coal-works at the end of the last century—Gradual improvements in the mode of working for coal—Mr. Protheroe’s collieries—The superior character of the most recent coal-works—Amount raised in 1856 from the ten largest collieries
CHAPTER XVI.
243
The Geology of the Forest and its Minerals—Their character in general—Description of the beds of conglomerate, mountain limestone, iron veins, millstone grit, and lower coal measures—“The Coleford High Delf”—Elevation of the Forest range of hills—The middle coal veins—The upper veins—Mr. Mushet’s analysis of the Forest coal—Their fossils—The stone-quarries of the district
Appendix
255
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
page
Portraits of two Iron-miners in their working dress
Frontispiece
Effigy of a Forest Free Miner
Titlepage
The Buck Stone
3
South side of the Nave in St Briavel’s Church
8
Entrance to St Briavel’s Castle from the North
11
The Speech House
51
Court Room in the Speech House
64
Norman Capital in Staunton Church
99
Ancient Font in Staunton Church
100
Interior of the Debtors’ Prison in St Briavel’s Castle
114
Court Room in St Briavel’s Castle
115
Holy Trinity Church and Schools, Harry Hill
162
Christ Church, Berry Hill
166
St Paul’s Church, Park End
169
St John’s Church and Schools, Cinderford
171
Lydbrook Church and Schools
173
Stone Coffin-lids at Flaxley Abbey
180
The Refectory of Flaxley Abbey
181
Open Timber Roof of the
181
St Anthony’s Well
182
The original Chapel at Flaxley, as it appeared in 1712
189
Flaxley Church, and Abbey in the distance
190
The Tomb of John de Yrall, Forester in Fee, in Newland Churchyard
200
The King’s Bowbearer, from an ancient Tomb in Newland Churchyard
201
“Jack of the Yat,” supposed to be the oldest oak in the Forest
207
The “Newland Oak”
208
An Oak, near York Lodge
209
The Devil’s Chapel, in the Scowles, near Bream
213
“King Arthur’s Hall,” on the “Great Doward”
215
Effigy of a Forest Free Miner, reduced from a brass of the fifteenth century in Newland Church
217
Leather Sole of a Shoe, found in the old workings
218
Iron Mattock-head, 9 inches long, found in the old workings
218
Oak Shovel, 30 inches long, found in the old workings
218
Light Moor Colliery
241
General View of the Centre of the Forest, from the top of Ruardean Hill
244
Geological Map of the Forest
245
Vertical Section of the Plump Hill, according to Mr White’s diagram
248
Forest of Dean to face page
15
General Map of the Forest of Dean
at the end
CHAPTER I.
a.d. 1307–1612.
Origin of the name “Dean”?—The “Buck Stone,” and other Druidical remains—“The Scowles,” &c., and other ancient iron-mines, worked in the time of the Romans—Symmond’s Yat, and other military earthworks—Domesday Book, and investment of this Forest in the Crown—William I., and probable date of Free Miners’ Franchise—Castle of St. Briavel’s first built; Giraldus—Flaxley Abbey founded—King John at Flaxley and St. Briavel’s—The constables of St. Briavel’s and wardens of the Forest—Date of the ruins of St. Briavel’s Castle—Iron forges licensed by Henry III.—Perambulation of 1282, and first “Justice seat”—Seventy-two “itinerant forges” in the Forest—Date of Miners’ laws and privileges—Perambulation of 1302—Edward I., grants in the Forest—Newland Church founded—Free miners summoned to the sieges of Berwick, &c.—Edward II., grants in the Forest—Edward III., ditto—Richard II., ditto—Henry IV., ditto—Henry V., ditto—Henry VI., ditto—Severn barges stopped by Foresters—Edward IV., and retreat hither of the Earl Rivers and Sir J. Woodville—Edward VI. farmed the Forest to Sir A. Kingston—Design of the Spaniards to destroy the Forest—Papers from Sir J. Cæsar’s collection, viz. Sir J. Winter’s negotiations relative to the iron-works, &c.—Blast furnaces erected.
The district known as “the Forest of Dean” is situated within that part of Gloucestershire which is bounded by the rivers Severn and Wye. Its name is of doubtful origin. Was it so called from its proximity to the town of Mitcheldean, or Dean Magna, mentioned in Domesday Book, and which, agreeably to its name, is situated in a wooded valley, the word “Dean,” or “Dene,” being Saxon, and signifying a dale or den?—or do we accept the statement of Giraldus,
Probably the earliest trace of this locality being inhabited exists in the Druidical rocks which are found on the high lands on the Gloucestershire side of the Wye. The chief of them is “the Buck Stone,” so called perhaps from the deer which sheltered beneath it, or else from its fancied resemblance to that animal when viewed from certain distant spots. It is a huge mass of rock poised on the very crest of Staunton Hill, which being of a pyramidal form, and almost 1000 feet high, renders the stone on its summit visible in one direction as far as Ross, nine miles off. A careful examination of the structure of the rock, and particularly of the character of its base, will show that its position is natural. But that the Druids had appropriated it to sacrificial purposes, is evident from a rudely hollowed stone which lies adjacent. In shape “the Buck Stone” is almost flat on the top, and four-sided, the north-east side measuring sixteen feet five inches, the north seventeen feet, the south-west nine feet, and the south side twelve feet. The face of the rock on which it rests slopes considerably, and the bearing point is only two feet across. This part may be an unbroken neck of rock, but apparently the entire block has crushed down upon its base, as though, from having once formed the extremity of the portion of cliff near, it had fallen away, and had accidentally balanced itself in its present position. [2] The texture of “the Buck Stone” is similar to that of the slab of rock on which it rests, commonly known as the old red sandstone conglomerate of quartz pebbles (a stratum of which extends through the whole district), exceedingly hard in most of its veins, but very perishable in others; and hence perhaps the form and origin of this singular object.
In addition to the above, there is a large mass of grit-stone, from nine to ten feet high, standing in a field on the north side of the road leading from Bream to St. Briavel’s, named “the Long Stone.” Another, called by the same name, and of similar character, occurs on the north-east side of the Staunton and Coleford road; but nothing remarkable is known of either of them, only their weather-worn appearance shows that they have been exposed to the action of the elements during many centuries.
Next in order of time to the above remains are the ancient Iron-mines, locally termed “Scowles,” [4] which were undoubtedly worked when this island was occupied by the Romans. This appears certain from the coins, &c., which have been found deeply buried in the heaps of iron cinders derived from the workings of these mines. A highly interesting MS. Dissertation, written about the year 1780 by Mr. Wyrrall, on the ancient iron-works of the Forest, a subject on which he was well informed, being a resident in the neighbourhood, is conclusive on this head. He states:—“Coins, fibula, and other things known to be in use with that people (the Romans), have been frequently found in the beds of cinders at certain places: this has occurred particularly at the village of Whitchurch, between Ross and Monmouth, where large stacks of cinders have been found, and some of them so deep in the earth, eight or ten feet under the surface, as to demonstrate without other proof that they must have lain there for a great number of ages. The present writer has had opportunities of seeing many of these coins and fibula, &c., which have been picked up by the workmen in getting the cinders at this place, in his time; but especially one coin of Trajan, which he remembers to be surprisingly perfect and fresh, considering the length of time it must have been in the ground. Another instance occurs to his recollection of a little image of brass, about four inches long, which was then found in the cinders at the same place, being a very elegant female figure, in a dancing attitude, and evidently an antique by the drapery.”
Numerous additional traces of the same people have been discovered in this neighbourhood, viz., a Roman pavement, tesseræ, bricks, and tiles at Whitchurch, already mentioned; remains of Ariconium, a town, it seems, of blacksmiths, at Bollitree; a camp, bath, and tessellated pavement at Lydney; and coins to a large amount, indicative of considerable local prosperity, on the Coppet Woodhill, at Lydbrook, Perry Grove, and Crabtree Hill—of Philip, Gallienus, Victorinus, Claudius Gothicus, &c.
Crabtree Hill being situated near the centre of the Forest, renders the discovery of Roman antiquities there especially interesting. On 27th August, 1839, a man who was employed to raise some stone in Crabtree Hill, of which several heaps were lying on the surface, in turning over the stone found about twenty-five Roman coins. The next day, in another heap about fifty yards distant, he found a broken jar or urn of baked clay, and 400 or 500 coins lying by it, the coins being for the most part those of Claudius II., Gallienus, and Victorinus. The spot is rather high ground, but not a hill or commanding point, and there do not appear any traces of a camp near it. Some of the stones seemed burnt, as if the building had been destroyed by fire. There was no appearance of mortar, but the stones had evidently been used in building, and part of the foundation of a wall remained visible. A silver coin of Aurelius was likewise picked up.
Similar discoveries have been made in other places. At Seddlescombe, in Sussex, one of the earliest iron-making localities in the kingdom, Mr. Wright, in his interesting work entitled ‘Wanderings of an Antiquary,’ mentions several Roman coins, especially one of the Emperor Diocletian, having been met with in a bed of iron cinders, manifestly of great antiquity, since four large oaks stood upon its surface.
An interval of a few hundred years brings us to the probable date of the next class of antiquities, viz. the military earthworks yet traceable in the neighbourhood. They are four in number, commencing with the lines of circumvallation which enclose the promontory of Beachley; next, the camp and entrenchments on the high lands of Tidenham Chase; then, a camp near the Bearse Common; and, as a termination to the chain, the triple dyke defending Symmond’s Yat. Some have regarded these remains as forming the southern termination of Offa’s Dyke,
Edward the Confessor is stated in Domesday Book to have exempted the Forest of Dean from taxation, with the object apparently of preserving it from spoliation. The exact terms used are, “has tras c’ cessit rex E. quietas a geldo pro foresta custod,” manifesting an interest in its protection on the part of the Crown, to which no doubt it had now become annexed. Probably in those early days the King possessed the right to all lands not under cultivation or already apportioned, just as the Sovereign of our own day exercises the right in our colonial territories, and makes specific grants to private individuals. Thus, Mr. Rudder, in his ‘History of Gloucestershire,’ remarks that “originally all the lands of the subject are derived from the Crown, and our forests may have been made when the ancient kings had the greater part in their own hands.” Agreeably with which principle, combined with the attractions which the Forest of Dean possessed as a hunting ground, it was sometimes visited for the sports of the chase by William the Conqueror, who in the year 1069 was thus diverting himself when he received information that the Danes had invaded Yorkshire and taken its chief city. Roused to fury by these tidings, he swore “by the splendour of the Almighty” that “not one Northumbrian should escape his revenge;” an oath which he put into prompt and terrible execution. It seems not improbable that upon one of these royal visits the miners of the Forest applied for and obtained their “customes and franchises,” which, even in the less remote days of Edward I., were granted, as the record of them declares, “time out of minde.” The demand which the Conqueror made upon the citizens of Gloucester for thirty-six “Icres” of iron yearly, each of which comprised ten bars, made at their forges, six in number, wherewith to furnish his fleet with nails, was procured doubtless from this Forest, for which impost the above-named grant was possibly designed as a compensation.
The ‘Annals’ of Giraldus, relative to the reign of Henry I., inform us that the Castle of St. Briavel’s, or Brulails was now built by Milo Fitz-Walter, with the design of confirming the royal authority in the neighbourhood, and of checking the inroads of the Welsh; but, extensive as its ruins still are, they seem to contain no trace of so early a period. The only vestige of that age is seen in the Parish Church, which stands opposite the north entrance of the castle. Henry created Fitz-Walter Earl of Hereford, and committed the castle of St. Briavel’s, and the district adjoining, to his care. The ‘Itinerary’ of the same writer speaks of “the noble Forest of Dean, by which Gloucester was amply supplied with iron and venison.” Tithes of the latter were given by this King to the Abbey there.
In the fifth year of the succeeding reign of Stephen, by whom the gifts just mentioned were confirmed, the Forest of Dean, that is, its royal quitrents, were granted to Lucy, Milo Fitz-Walter’s third daughter, upon her marrying Herbert Fitz-Herbert, the King’s chamberlain, and progenitor to the present Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery. So profuse a gift on such an occasion may seem almost incredible; but its tenure, we must remember, was precarious, the Forest itself being continually exposed to danger by its proximity to the Welsh border. Mahel was this lady’s youngest brother, of whom Camden records that “the judgment of God overtook him for his rapacious ways, inhumane cruelties, and boundless avarice, always usurping other men’s rights. For, being courteously treated at the Castle of St. Briavel’s by Walter de Clifford, the castle taking fire, he lost his life by the fall of a stone on his head from the highest tower.” It should be observed, however, that, according to Sir R. C. Hoare, Camden is mistaken in placing the scene of Mahel’s catastrophe in the Forest of Dean; Brendlais, or Bynllys, as mentioned by Giraldus, being a small village on the road between Hereford and Hay, where a stately tower marks the site of the ancient castle of the Cliffords, in which most likely this tyrant lost his life.
In this year also, a.d. 1140, the Abbey of Flaxley was founded by Roger, the Earl of Hereford’s eldest son, by whom it was partially endowed, and who named it “the Abbey of St. Mary de Dene,” the site being formerly included in the precincts of the Forest. The institution of the Abbey was confirmed by Henry II., who further enriched it by granting permission to the monks to feed their cattle, hogs, &c., in the Forest, repair their buildings with its timber, and have an iron-forge there. In course of years the Fitz-Herbert interest in the Forest and Castle of St. Briavel’s, passing through the families of Henry de Bohun and Bernard de Newmarch, was released by the former to King John, who granted them at the close of his reign to John de Monmouth. The ‘Itinerary’ of this monarch shows that he often visited the neighbourhood, no doubt for the diversions of the chase, viz.:—
a.d. 1207,
at Gloucester
Nov. 14, Wednesday.
St. Briavel’s
„ 15, Thursday.
„“
„ 16, Friday morning.
Flaxley
„ „ „ evening.
St. Briavel’s
„ 17, Saturday.
Hereford
„ 18, Sunday.
1212,
at Flaxley
„ 8, Thursday.
„
„ 9, Friday.
St. Briavel’s
„ 10, Saturday.
„
„ 11, Sunday.
„
„ 12, Monday.
Flaxley
„ „ Monday evening.
1213,
at St. Briavel’s
„ 28, Thursday.
„
„ 29, Friday.
Monmouth
„ „ Friday evening.
„
„ 30, Saturday.
St. Briavel’s
„ „ „
Flaxley
„ „ „
Gloucester
„ 30, Saturday.
1214,
at Braden’s Coke
Dec. 11, Thursday.
Ashton
„ „ „
Flaxley
„ „ „
From this date Bigland, in his ‘County History,’ arranges nearly an unbroken succession of the constables of St. Briavel’s Castle, and wardens of the Forest of Dean, viz.:—
a.d. 1215
17 King John
John de Monmouth.
1260
44 Henry III.
Robert Waleran.
1263
47 „
John Giffard (Baron).
„
„
Thomas de Clace.
1282
12 Edward I.
William de Beauchamp Earl of Warwick.
1289
19 „
John de Bottourt (deprived).
1291
21 „
Thomas de Everty.
1298
27 „
John de Handeloe.
1300
29 „
Ralph de Abbenhalle.
1307
1 Edward II.
John de Bottourt (restored).
1308
2 „
William de Stanre.
1322
15 „
Hugh Le Despenser (senior).
1327
18 „
John de Nyvers.
„
20 „
John de Hardeshull.
1341
14 Edward III.
Roger Clifford (Baron).
1391
14 Richard II.
Thomas de Woodstock Duke of Gloucester.
1436
14 Henry VI.
John Duke of Bedford.
1459
38 „
John Tiptoft Earl of Worcester.
1466
6 Edward IV.
Richard Neville Earl of Warwick &c.
1612
9 James I.
Henry Earl of Pembroke.
1632
10 Charles I.
Philip „
1660
1 Charles II.
Henry Lord Herbert of Raglan Duke of Beaufort.
1706
5 Queen Anne
Charles Earl of Berkeley.
1700
9 „
James „
1736
8 George II.
Augustus „
1755
27 „
Norborne Berkeley Esq. Lord Bottetourt.
1760
1 George III.
Frederic Augustus Earl of Berkeley.
1814
54 „
Henry Somerset Duke of Beaufort.
1838
Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests.
Judging from the architectural character of the remains of St. Briavel’s Castle, the whole of which seem to belong to the middle of the thirteenth century, and closely to resemble in several features the neighbouring castles of Chepstow and Goodrich, viz. in their entrances, angular-headed arches, and three-cornered buttresses, the present building was probably erected by John de Monmouth, at the cost of the Crown, paid out of the increasing receipts which now accrued to it from the charges levied upon the iron mines and forges at work in the district. The latter, being itinerant forges, were ordered to cease until the King, Henry III., should command otherwise, which appears to have led to the Chief Justice in Eyre directing that none should have an iron-forge in the Forest without a special licence from the Sovereign.
By royal permission the Abbot of Flaxley possessed both an itinerant and a stationary forge; one of the former kind also belonged to the men of Cantelupe. Henry Earl of Warwick had likewise forges in his woods at Lydney, as well as others in the Forest, and these formed no doubt but a small part of the whole number. The dimensions of these forges may be judged of by the two at Flaxley consuming more than two oaks weekly, to the destruction of much timber, in lieu of which the King gave the Abbey 872 acres of woodland, which still forms part of the property at the present day, under the name of “the Abbot’s Woods.”
During the long reign of Henry III. pasturage was granted to the men of Rodley, who also in common with the King’s people might hunt the boar. Commonage was likewise given to the Abbot of Flaxley. The bailiwick of Dean Magna was granted to Walter Wither. The men of Awre were allowed, by custom, pasturage in the Forest; those of Rodley, estover, dead and dry wood, with pannage and food for cattle as well.
The earliest of the various perambulations of the Forest, in the ensuing reign of Edward I., was in the year 1282, and comprised the peninsula formed by the Severn and Wye, proceeding north-east as far as Newent, and north to Ross, as in fact it had always done. It may be also observed that about this period the Abbot of Gloucester purchased thirty-six acres of land in Hope Maloysell, held by Gilbert and Julian Lepiatte, receiving also Thomas Dunn’s gift of all his lands in the same
A careful examination of the oldest copy extant of ‘The Miners’ Laws and Privileges,’ regarded, as Mr. Wyrrall tells us, writing in the year 1780, “as the Magna Charta of our miners and colliers,” incontrovertibly proves that it belongs to this period. It was first printed by William Cooper, at the Pelican in Little Britain, 1687, from a manuscript copy preserved in the office of the Deputy Gaveller, to which a postscript is added, “written out of a parchmt. roll, now in ye hands of Richard Morse of Clowerwall, 7 June, 1673, by Tho: Davies.” Richard Morse was then one of the deputy gavellers. The date of the compilation has heretofore been considered as determined by the wording of the short introduction with which it is prefaced, commencing thus—“Bee itt in minde and Remembrance what ye Customes and Franchises hath been that were granted tyme out of Minde, and after in tyme of the Excellent and redoubted Prince, King Edward, unto the Miners of the Forrest of Deane, and the Castle of St. Briavells,” &c., in which words it will be observed that only the name of King Edward is mentioned, the number not being added, although for some cause or other all modern copies insert “the Third,” and hence the impression that the collection was then formed; whereas the description given in the paragraph immediately following, specifying what were then the limits of the Forest, shows its date to be that of the first of the Edwards, since the bounds are therein recorded as extending “between Chepstowe Bridge and Gloucester Bridge, the halfe deale of Newent, Rosse Ash, Monmouth Bridge, and soe farr into the Seassoames as the blast of a horne or the voice of a man may bee heard.” But these limits ceased to prevail soon after the beginning of the fourteenth century, and consequently an earlier date must be assigned for the above record than has commonly been given to it.
The body of the document, originally, it would seem, unbroken, as now printed is divided into forty-two paragraphs or sections, but expressed in very rude and involved phraseology, confirming its antiquity, as still further appears by the nature of the incidents which it contains. It specifies, first of all, the franchises of the mine, meaning its liberties or privileges, as not to be trespassed against, and consisting apparently in this, that every man who possessed it might, with the approval of the King’s gaveller, dig for iron ore or coal where he pleased, and have right of way for the carrying of it, although in certain cases “forbids” to sell might be declared. A third part of the profits of the undertaking belonged to the King, whose gaveller called at the works every Tuesday “between Mattens and Masse,” and received one penny from each miner, the fellowship supplying the Crown with twelve charges of ore per week at twelve pence, or three charges of coal at one penny. Timber was allowed for the use of the works above and below ground. Only such persons as had been born and were abiding in the Forest were to “visit” the mines, in working which the distance of a stone’s throw was always to be kept, and property in them might be bequeathed. The miners’ clothes and light are mentioned, and the standard measure called “bellis,” to the exclusion of carts and “waynes.” It alludes to “the court of the wood,” at the “speech” before the Verderers, but more particularly to the court for debtors at St. Briavel’s Castle, and to the mine court, as regulated by the constable, clerk, and gaveller, and the miners’ jury of twelve, twenty-four, or forty-eight, where all causes relating to the mines were to be heard. “Three hands,” or three witnesses, were required in evidence, and the oath was taken with a stick of holly held in the hand. The miners of Mitchel Deane, Little Deane, and Ruer Deane are called “beneath the wood.”
It also appears that at Carleon, Newport, Barkley, Monmouth, and Trelleck, the manufacture of iron was carried on by “smiths,” who were connected with smith-holders living in the Forest, and supplying the ore, at each of which places it is remarkable that iron cinders have been found. The document concludes with the names of the forty-eight miners by whom it was witnessed, confirmed, and sealed.
Such then were the mining privileges and regulations existing amongst the operatives of the Forest at this period, a.d. 1300, which by their settled and methodical character bear out the statement made in the preface to “the Customes,” &c., that they had been then granted “time out of mind,” and consequently were more ancient than the sieges of Berwick, to which it appears many of the Forest miners and bowmen were summoned, and perhaps received for services then rendered their peculiar rights.
Another important characteristic of this reign (Edward I.) is the unsettled state of the Forest boundaries, as indicated in the various perambulations which were made about this time. A record of that made in 1302 is preserved in the Tower of London, whilst the register of the perambulation performed by Letters Patent the year following, exists in Walter Froucester’s transcript of it, in the possession of the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester. Both documents agree in setting forth the same limits, no longer extending to Gloucester, Chepstow, and Monmouth, or even including Hewelsfield, Alvington, Ailberton, Lydney, Purton, Box, Rodley, Westbury, Blaisdon, Huntley, Longhope, Newent, Taynton, Tibberton, Highnam, Churcham, and Bulley as formerly; but confining them, as nearly as can now be determined, to the bounds laid down in the accompanying map of the district. It appears that these perambulations were made by a numerous and important staff of officers, comprising four King’s justices especially appointed, the chief justice in Eyre, nine foresters in fee, four verderers, and twenty-four jurors—such was the importance then attached to those acts.
There are some further items of information extant of this date, viz. the ten bailiwicks of “Abbenhalle, Blakeney, Berse, Bicknoure, Great Dean, Little Dean, Stauntene, Le Lee, and Bleyght’s Ballye, and Ruardean,” held respectively by Ralph de Abbenhalle, Walter de Astune, William Wodeard, Cecilia de Michegros, the Constable of St. Briavel’s Castle, Richard de la More, John de la Lee, Alexander Bleyght, and
The records we possess of the ensuing reign of Edward II. afford the interesting intelligence that on various public occasions the military services of the Foresters were required, and even at places as distant as Berwick-upon-Tweed, which, owing to its position as a border town, and the contests then waging between the English and Scotch, was repeatedly lost and won by both sides. From the year 1174 to 1482 it changed owners upwards of sixteen times. The sieges to which our choice Foresters were summoned appear to have been those of 1310, 1311, 1315, 1317, 1319, and 1355. On the first occasion the Constable of St. Briavel’s, and Keeper of the Forest of Dean, was commanded to select one hundred archers and twelve miners. In the following year writs were addressed to the Sheriff of Gloucester, directing that, out of fifty men to be chosen from the county, the larger number should be from the Forest of Dean, and urging expedition in sending them. The next writ, issued four years afterwards, was sent to the Sheriff of Herefordshire, and is entitled “Concerning the Choice of Soldiers in the Forest of Dean,” and orders ninety-six men of those parts to be provided. Two years later the Keeper of St. Briavel’s is directed to bring two hundred men to Northallerton; and again, two years afterwards, he is to take twenty of the strongest miners in his bailiwick to Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and a writ was addressed to all mayors, sheriffs, bailiffs, &c., reciting the aforesaid instructions, and commanding that assistance should be rendered them whenever it was needed during their journey. In connexion with these incidents, it is stated by Guthrie, the historian, that Sir Edward Manny bringing engineers out of the Forest of Dean, and Edward III. investing the place with a prodigious army, the Scots capitulated. They were also ordered by the same King to join his forces at Portsmouth in 1346 and 1359.
From these facts we are justified in concluding that the population then inhabiting the Forest were regarded as a brave and skilful race, not merely in their own quarter of the kingdom, but also in the camp of its Kings. They were skilful with the bow from following the chase on the King’s behalf, and were of course able sappers and miners from the nature of their everyday occupations. Indeed, the tradition now in vogue amongst the Foresters, is, that their ancestors were made free miners in return for the aforesaid services; but it has been shown that the franchises of the mine date from an earlier period. [18]
The researches of the Rev. T. D. Fosbroke, as printed in his History of the county, supply most of the following additional particulars of this reign. The Bishop of Llandaff, who already claimed the moiety of a fishery at Bigswear on the Wye, to which the parish of Newland extends, received a grant of the newly cleared Forest lands for founding a chantry at the latter place. Tithes to the amount of ten pounds from the iron-mines in the Forest were given to that dignitary, but the Dean of Hereford and the Canons, with the Rectors of St. Briavel’s and Lydney, aided by their servants and others, violently carried them away, the see of Hereford then comprising all these parts. The vineyard of Norton, together with certain wastes, were let to John de Witham and his heir for 50s. 6d. per annum, provided two hundred acres of the adjoining soil were brought into cultivation and enclosed at a certain rent, by which all injury to the Crown would be avoided, Norton not being a vineyard, but a “lacius” worth sixpence per annum. So also William Jote might hold one hundred acres, twenty lying in Michelerleye, and eighty in Brakenford, and also the Prior of Lanthony two hundred and seventy acres, upon paying twopence per annum. The Abbot of Gloucester had leave to cut wood in Birdewoode and Hope Mayloysell, without demand or view of the Forester. The men of Rodley Mead Forest were allowed to have firewood and mast for their swine. John de Abbenhall held a certain bailiwick of the King by the service of guarding it with bows and arrows. Robert de Barrington held forty acres of waste near Malescoyte-wood. Ralph Hatheway was seized of forty acres in Holstone. Bogo de Knoville was seized of Kilcot-wood, and Henry de Chaworth had a forge in the Forest.
By the sixth year of Edward III. (a.d. 1333) the dispute between the Dean and Chapter of Hereford and the Bishop of Llandaff, relative to the tithes of the iron-mines in the parish of Newland, was settled in the Bishop’s favour, who also obtained the great tithes and the presentation to the living, all of which still continue attached to that see, and in connexion with which it may be observed, that by far the larger part of the fabric of the church at Newland exhibits the style of architecture which prevailed at that period. It is a large building, and the tower is particularly fine.
Parliament now confirmed the perambulations made in 26th and 28th Edward I., which reduced the bounds of the Forest to the limits which, with some slight exceptions, remained in force till within the last twenty-five years. The ensuing items of information, taken from Mr. Fosbroke’s valuable work on the county, apply to this period. Guy de Brien, to whom the Forest was farmed, obtained wages from the Crown for the payment of four foresters, who were allowed the privilege of cutting all underwood within the same from seven years to seven years. J. Flory held the bailiwick of the Lee, and John Preston that of Blakeney. Robert Sappy, warden of the Forest, petitioned Parliament for some allowance to be made him, as, owing to the late alienations of Crown property in favour of the monks of Tintern and the Bishop of Llandaff, he no longer received the usual pay of one hundred shillings per annum. The Abbey of Gloucester had twigs granted to it for the annual repairs of the weirs at Minsterworth and Durry; a similar privilege was enjoyed by the lords of the manor of Rodley, provided the twigs were fetched once a day with two horses, between the 14th of September and the 3rd of May; heavy timber was also allowed for the same purpose. John Juge succeeded to the bailiwick of the Lee, but was unlawfully deprived of it by John Talbot, who held the castle on Penyard as well as
In the reign of Richard II. John Wolton obtained the grant for life of a place called Stowe. It was found that a monk from the convent of Grace Dieu was celebrating mass in the Forest for the souls of the King, his successors, and ancestors, holding two carucates of land, ten acres of meadow, and six acres of wood, a fact which may account for the name of “Church Hill,” at Park End. Thomas Hatheway was a chief forester. A bailiwick in the Forest, with lands in Lee-Walton and Lee in Herefordshire, were held in tail, remainder to Richard Curle, by Thomas de Brugg and Elizabeth his wife. The Castle of St. Briavel’s and the Forest were given in special tail to the Duke of Gloucester, who was afterwards empowered by Parliament to constitute justices and other officers then usually attached to such properties.
In the time of Henry IV. William Warwyn held a certain bailiwick here by the service of being a forester in fee. Another office called “the forester’s wyke” was filled by Henry de Aure. In the succeeding reign this Forest was held in capite as the King’s heir, by John Duke of Bedford, under a grant made by Henry IV.