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[Picture: Portraits of two Iron-Miners]
[Picture: Title Page]
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.
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 Abbot's Room at Flaxley Abbey 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 200
Churchyard
The King's Bowbearer, from an ancient Tomb in Newland 201
Churchyard
"Jack of the Yat," supposed to be the oldest oak in the 207
Forest
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 217
the fifteenth century in Newland Church
Leather Sole of a Shoe, found in the old workings 218
Iron Mattock-head, 9 inches long, found in the old 218
workings
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 244
Ruardean Hill
Geological Map of the Forest 245
Vertical Section of the Plump Hill, according to Mr 248
White's diagram
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. Caesar'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, and some other writers, that the Forest
of Dean obtained its name from the Danes sheltering themselves in it,
secured by its shades and thickets from the retaliation of the
neighbouring people, whose country they had devastated?--Or, again, do we
"fancy," with Camden, that "by cutting off a syllable it is derived from
Arden, which word the Gauls and Britons heretofore seemed to have used
for a wood, since two very great forests, the one in Gallia Belgica, the
other amongst us in Warwickshire, are called by one and the same name,
Arden"? This latter suggestion Evelyn, in his 'Sylva,' accepts, in which
he is supported by the fact that the name of "Dean" is first met with in
William the Norman's survey.
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.
[Picture: The Buck Stone]
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, tesserae, 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, which that sovereign constructed
about the year 760, to prevent the Welsh from invading his kingdom of
Mercia; but they are not sufficiently uniform or continuous to warrant
such a conclusion. They seem rather to be connected with the incident
which the Chronicles of Florentius Vigorniensis relate as taking place
A.D. 912:--"The Pagan pirates, who nearly nineteen years before had
retired from Britain, approaching by the province of Gaul, called
Lydivinum, return with two leaders, Ohterus and Hroaldus, to England,
and, sailing round West Saxonia and Cornubia, at length reach the mouth
of the river Sabrina (Severn), and, without delay, invade the northern
lands of the British, and, exploring all the parts adjoining the bank of
the river, pillage most of them. Cymelgeac, a British bishop who
occupied the plains of Yrcenefeld (Archenfield), was likewise taken; and
they, not a little rejoicing, carry him off to their ships, whom, not
long after, King Edward ransomed for forty pounds of silver. Soon after,
the whole force, leaving their ships, return to the aforesaid plains, and
make their way for the sake of plunder; but suddenly as many of the
inhabitants as possible of the adjoining towns of Hereford and Glevum
(Gloucester) assemble, and give them battle. Hroaldus, the leader of the
enemy, and his brother Ohterus, the other leader, with a large part of
the army, are slain. The rest are put to flight, and driven by the
Christians into a certain fence (septum), where they are at length
besieged, until they give hostages, so that as fast as possible they
depart King Edward's realm." Mr. Fryer, of Coleford, ingeniously
supposes that Symmond's Rock was the scene of the above contest, which
may possibly be correct.
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.
[Picture: South side of the Nave in St. Briavel's Church]
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.
[Picture: Entrance to St. Briavel's Castle from the North]
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 parish. The most
ancient of the justice seats for these parts sat the same year at
Gloucester Castle. By its proceedings, some of the records of which
happily still exist, we learn that upwards of seventy-two "_Forgeae
errantes_," or moveable forges, were found here; that the sum which the
Crown charged for licensing them was at the rate of seven shillings a
year, viz. three shillings and six pence for six months, or one shilling
and nine pence a quarter; that a miner received one penny, or the worth
of it in ore, for each load brought to any of the King's ironworks; but
if conveyed out of the Forest the penny was paid to the Crown; and that
in those cases where a forge was farmed, forty-six shillings was charged.
{12} No less than fifty-nine mines were let at this time to Henry de
Chaworth, who had besides forges at work in the Forest.
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.
[Picture: Map of limits of the Forest]
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 Alexander de Byknore;
Henry de Chaworth had fifty-nine mines, and some forges; the timber wood
of Kilcote was held by Bogo de Knoville; William Bliss held 180 acres of
assart, and seventeen acres of meadow land; certain miners, named William
de Abbensale, Walter and Elys Page, had been found digging mine at
Ardlonde belonging to the Abbot of Flaxley, who at once removed them, and
filled up the place. The question was now also raised as to the Crown
possessing the right of conferring the tithes of the "assarted" (rooted
up) Forest lands, not being within the bounds of any of the adjacent
churches; when it was decided in the affirmative, the King exercising the
claim in favour of the church of Newland, in consideration, probably, of
the lordship of the manor being held by him, and the whole being formerly
comprised in the Forest. A considerable proportion of such of the
existing encroachments as are reputed the oldest pay tithes to Newland, a
circumstance confirmatory of their alleged antiquity. {16}
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 Goodrich. William de Staunton
held the bailiwick there, and Reginald Abbenhall the woods. Walter Ivor
held that at Blakeney, after Roger Flotman. The Abbot of Gloucester had
ninety acres of land in Walmore, at eight pence an acre rent, for
cultivation, but not for commonage. John Joice and his heirs had a grant
of 116 acres in several parcels in the Forest, at the yearly rent of
nineteen shillings and four pence.
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.
Whilst the throne was occupied by Henry VI. we have chiefly to notice the
complaint, which the traders of Tewkesbury made to the Government, that
"their boats and trowes conveying all manner of merchandise down the
Severn to Bristol, &c.," had been stopped at the coast of the Forest by
great multitudes of the common people dwelling thereabouts, who seized
their vessels, carried away the corn, threatened their lives if they
resisted, and forbad any complaint being made, on their coming that way
again. The petition caused letters of privy seal to be proclaimed in
those parts to the effect that "no man of the said Forest should be so
hardy to inquiet or disturb the people passing the said river with
merchandise, upon pain of treason." But the account proceeds to say that
"the said trespassers came to the said river with greater routs and riots
than ever they did before, there despoiling at divers times eight trowes
of wheat, rye, flour, and divers other goods and chattels, and the men of
the same cast overboard, and divers of them drowned, and the hawsers of
the same trowes cut away, and mainstrung the owners of the said goods,
who should not be so hardy as to cause any manner of victuals to be
carried any more by the same stream, much or little, for lord or for
lady, as they would hew their boats all to pieces if they did so." More
stringent measures were therefore evidently necessary, and in 1429 the
Parliament passed an act, enforcing a restoration of the plunder, and
amends for the injury done, within fifteen days, and the offenders to be
imprisoned, or else the Statute of Winchester would be enforced against
them.
The singular perquisite of a bushel of coal, worth twenty pence, from
each pit, at the end of every six weeks, was now attached to the office
of "capital forester of all the foresters," held at this period by Robert
Greyndour. The King's lands, manors, castles, and other possessions in
this Forest, were also granted to Henry Duke of Warwick, for one hundred
pounds annual rental.
After the accession of Edward IV., and his unpopular marriage with
Elizabeth Woodville, this Forest was the spot to which, upon the defeat
at Edgecote (26th July, 1469), her father the Earl Rivers and her brother
Sir John Woodville fled, where they were recaptured and carried to
Northampton, their place of execution. A sergeantry, called woodward of
the Lee Baile, was then held by John Throckmorton, Esq.
In the reign of Henry VIII. the office of Bleysbale and forestership of
fee was filled by William Alberton. A rental of sixty-five shillings and
sixpence was paid to the Crown for certain lands in the Forest held by
the priory of Monmouth; and others, called Cley-pitts, Litterfield, and
Hill Hardwell, paid two shillings and four pence. Letters patent granted
the custody of the Gablewood to Henry Bream.
Edward VI. farmed the Forest to Sir Anthony Kingston. How far the Forest
population were interested in the stirring events of the Reformation, we
are, unfortunately, left to conjecture; but the suppression of the
adjacent Abbeys of Tintern and Flaxley, with their large possessions,
must have brought the changes of the period visibly home to them.
The reign of Elizabeth brings us to the date of an incident more
generally notorious perhaps than any other in the history of Dean Forest,
viz. its intended destruction by the Spanish Armada. Evelyn in his
'Sylva' thus mentions it:--"I have heard that in the great expedition of
1588 it was expressly enjoined the Spanish Armada that if, when landed,
they should not be able to subdue our nation and make good their
conquest, they should yet be sure not to leave a tree standing in the
Forest of Dean." Were it not that he particularly states that he had
"heard" the report, we should conclude that he obtained his information
from Fuller's 'Worthies,' published two years previously, where it is
mentioned with this only difference, that "a Spanish ambassador was to
get it done by private practices and cunning contrivances." Fuller had
probably read this account in 'Samuel Hartlib, his Legacy of Husbandry,'
published in 1655, where, speaking of the deficiency of woods at that
time, he writes--"the State hath done very well to pull down divers
iron-works in the Forest of Dean, that the timber might be preserved for
shipping, which is accounted the toughest in England, and, when it is
dry, as hard as iron. The common people did use to say that in Queen
Elizabeth's days the Spaniards sent an ambassador purposely to get this
wood destroyed."
As Mr. Evelyn writes that he "heard" what he states of the matter, Mr.
Secretary Pepys was probably his informant, who was told it by his friend
Sir John Winter, who again heard it from his grandfather, Sir William
Winter, vice-admiral of Elizabeth's fleet, but kinsman to Thomas Winter
of Huddington, who at the close of this reign was constantly aiding the
Spanish Romanists in their intrigues here, and eventually took part in
the Gunpowder Plot. Such tradition is highly to the credit of the Forest
timber of those days, if not to the iron as well. Both must have been
renowned for supplying an important portion of the materials used in the
Royal dockyards, which were at this time much enlarged, an increase of
the navy being found necessary; whilst the stock of timber then standing
in different parts of the kingdom was judged so insufficient for the
wants of the Government, that recent acts of the legislature had directed
that "twelve standils or storers likely to become timber should be left
on every acre of wood or underwood that was felled at or under
twenty-four years' growth," and prohibited the "turning woodland into
tillage," and required that, "whenever any wood was cut, it must be
immediately enclosed, and the young spring thereof protected for seven
years." Moreover, no trees upwards of a foot in the square were to be
converted into charcoal for making iron.
The returns from Sir Julius Caesar's collection preserved in the
Lansdowne MSS. recognise the above regulations, as well as the market for
wood created by the Forest iron-works, now greatly enlarged; they possess
considerable interest, and will be found in Appendix No. I.