THE ORIGINAL OCCUPIERS OF THE FOREST.
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.
The heading of this chapter refers to one of the most interesting
circumstances connected with the Forest of Dean, namely, the origin,
character, customs, and early condition of its people.
The original occupiers of this part of the kingdom, according to Richard
of Cirencester, a writer of the 14th century, were the Silures, an
offshoot of the immense Celtic family by which the middle and western
parts of Europe were overspread. The numerous remains left in the
district by the Romans indicate that there had been considerable
intercourse between them and the inhabitants; but the chief influences of
which any traces are left appear to have descended from the Welsh, with
whom the foresters of the present day still seem closely to assimilate.
Hence their somewhat impulsive temperament, and the occurrence of Celtic
or Silurian names, such as the following, indicative of the character of
the places they designate:--
Dean _i.e._ Woodland.
Lidney ,, Broadwater.
Awre ,, yellowish.
Bicknor ,, above the river.
Lydbrook ,, a river's shore.
Penyard ,, the hill-top, &c.
There are also many families bearing the Welsh names of Williams, Morgan,
Pritchard, Watkins, Roberts, Gwilliam, Hughes, Jenkins, Griffiths,
Lewellyn, &c. The list of the forty-eight free miners constituting the
jury who signed the Book of Mine Laws some 400 years ago, containing so
few of those which are now most common in the neighbourhood, indicates a
considerable change as having taken place in the population; they may be
thus classed:
_Not now to be found on the roll of free miners_--Garone, Clarke, Wytt,
Nortone, Mitchell, Lumbart, Ocle, Barton, Heynes, Arminger, Rogers,
Hathen, Miller, Croudfell, Dull, Loofe, Forthey, Walker, Tinker, Witch,
Delewger, Doles, Hinde, Tellow, Backstar, Lawrence, Dolet, Caloe, Holt;
in place of which names the following now occur--Baldwin, Cook, Dobbs,
Hale, Jenkins, Kear, Morgan, Philipps, Harper, Davis, Meek, Brain, Jones,
Jordan, Robins, Rudge, James, Milnes, Marfell, Chivers, &c. The names of
Hathway, Skin, Baker, Holder, and Warr still appear in the Forest,
although they no longer occur on the rolls of free miners.
_Yet to be found on the rolls_--Preeste, Smith, Addis, Burt, Hopkine,
Tyler, Roberts, Parsons.
Similar traces of Saxon or Norman influence appear in the words Staunton,
Newnham, Newland, Ayleford, Coleford, &c.; those of a Norman stamp being
apparent in St. Briavel's, Ruerdean (_i.e._ riviere Dean), Lea, Coverham
(Covert), &c., or in the family names of Baldwin, Waldwin, Chivers, &c.
To which may be added the circumstance that in most of the ancient
churches adjoining the Forest there are portions of Early Norman, viz.,
Newnham, Staunton, English Bicknor, Ruerdean, Woolaston, St. Briavel's,
&c.
Assuming that "the customs and franchises" of the miners of the Forest
were first granted to the inhabitants by William I., they certainly show,
for that early period, a highly creditable appreciation of justice,
order, and right feeling. Their skill in the use of the bow, and in
excavating the soil, is proved by the attendance demanded of them at
various sieges during the first half of the 14th century; but their
outrageous interruption of vessels navigating the Severn in the reign of
Henry VI., and in one instance even so late as in that of George III.,
illustrates the common truth that "every field has its tares." Probably
the troubles of the Great Rebellion would have little affected them, had
they been left to themselves, their warmth of feeling being chiefly
manifested when they apprehended danger to their "customs and
franchises:"--hence Dr. Parsons's character of them:--"The inhabitants
are some of them a sort of robustic wild people, that must be civilized
by good discipline and government." Such was no doubt their state and
condition 150 years ago. In 1808 they were described as "not very
orderly;" in 1810 as being in a condition "nearly as wretched as anything
now existing in Ireland," and as "exceedingly excitable," prone to make
unlimited demands in opening and carrying on their works, destroying the
timber for such purposes, so as ultimately to leave hardly a tithe for
the supply of the Royal dockyards, perpetually at strife amongst
themselves, so jealous of any "foreigners" coming into the Forest as to
deter most persons, and highly suspicious of any efforts to improve the
property of the Crown, even when intended for their personal good,
repeatedly destroying the new plantations, and terrifying the adjoining
districts by forming riotous mobs. Yet the Chartists from Newport and
places adjacent, in 1840, met with no sympathy from the Foresters, who
drove their delegates away.
Happily for all parties these evils have almost entirely disappeared,
through the good success which Providence has vouchsafed to the late
judicious laws for regulating the mines, settling the relief of the poor,
and establishing churches and schools in every part of the Forest. The
former state of things was in fact the effect of the exclusive and
protective rights, with corresponding usages, of which the well-meaning
but short-sighted inhabitants thought so much; and hence their Magna
Charta, as they were wont to call their book of "Dennis," was rather a
mischief than a benefit. Their general feelings are characteristically
described in the following lines from the pen of worthy Kitty Drew, the
self-taught Forest poetess, in her poem on the Forest of Dean, dated
1835:--
"In days of old 'twas here and there a cot,
Of architecture they'd little knowledge got;
None but a few free miners then lived here,
Who thought no harm to catch a good fat deer,
Or steal an oak--it was their chief delight.
Old foresters, I'm told, did think 'twas right
To steal an oak, and bear it clean away;
But caught, the jail a twelvemonth and a day
It was their doom, or else must pay a fine,
The which to do they did not much incline.
* * * * *
"But noble miners there have been, I ken,
By their old works, stout, able-bodied men;
They'd not the knowledge then that now they've got,
To work by steam--hand-labour was their lot.
But I am told that many ages back
A foreign army did our land invade,
And blood and carnage then was all the trade;
They pitched their tents, and then without delay
They waited anxious for the bloody fray;
But our bold miners underneath did get,
And many a ton of powder there did set;
So up they blew the unsuspecting foe,
Their shattered limbs came rattling down below.
Our land thus cleared, our liberty thus saved,
Our noble miners dug the caitiffs' grave.
The King with honour did them so regard,
Made them free miners as a just reward;
The Forest Charter to them granted was,
And firm and sure were made the Forest laws.
In former times they gloried in the name,
But now the foreigners have got the game.
* * * * *
"The Forest now is numerous got of late,
Since moneyed men come here to speculate
Where once a little turfen hut did stand,
You'll see a noble house and piece of land.
Deeper the pits than any here before,
The lowest vein of coal for to explore.
They were but shallow pits in days of old,
They'd not the knowledge then, as I am told;
But though there was not then great learning's store,
It was much better for the labouring poor;
Men loved their masters--masters loved their men,
But those good times we ne'er shall see again."
A mining population is generally found to have peculiar customs and
privileges of its own, and such is more especially the case with the free
miners of the Forest of Dean, who have had hitherto their own Court of
Justice, with the exclusive occupation of the district, and the sole
control of its mineral wealth. Their claims are thus specified by the
Dean Forest Commissioners:--"Every free miner duly qualified by birth
from a free father in the hundred of St. Briavel's and abiding therein,
having worked in the mines a year and a day, claims the right to demand
of the King's gaveller a 'gale,' that is a spot of ground chosen by
himself for sinking a mine, and this, provided it does not interfere with
the works of any other mine, the gaveller considers himself obliged to
give, receiving a fee of five shillings, and inserting the name of the
free miner in the gale-book. The gaveller goes to the spot selected with
the free miner making the application, and gives him possession with the
following ceremonies:--The gaveller cuts a stick, and, asking the party
how many verns or partners he has, cuts a notch for every partner, and
one for the King. A turf is then cut, and the stick forked down by two
other sticks, the turf put over it, and the party galing the work is then
considered to be put in full possession. The free miner, having thus
obtained possession, is compelled to proceed with the work by working one
day in the following year and day, and a day in each subsequent year and
day (forfeiting the gale if he fails so to work), and to pay an annual
sum of two guineas to the gaveller for each vein of coal he intends to
work, till he gets at the coal, after which he agrees with him for the
amount of the composition to be paid to the King in lieu of his fifth,
which, in case of their not agreeing, must be taken in kind by the King's
putting in a fifth man. The right to the gale is considered by the free
miner to carry with it that of timber for the use of the works; this
seems to extend no farther than to the offal and soft wood; and the mode
of obtaining it is for the miner to apply to the keeper of the walk in
which his mine is situated for an order, which he takes to the clerk of
the Swainmote Court, who, on receiving a fee of one shilling, as a matter
of course gives him another order directed to the keeper of the walk in
which there is timber fit for the purpose," in the following form:--
_Copy of a Warrant or Order for the Delivery of Timber to a Coal
Miner in Dean Forest_.
"[Forest of Dean.] At the Court of Attachments, holden at the Speech
House, the 25th day of Sep. 1784, came Phil. Hatton, and demanded
Timber for himself and Verns, for the Use of their Coal Works called
Young Colliers, in Ruerdean Walk, within the said Forest.
"JNO. MATTHEWS, Steward.
"To Mr. John Bradley, Keeper of the said Walk.
(by Certificate.)
"Some Timber to be delivered fit for sinking.
Indorsed '4 Oaks.'
"The miner cuts the timber when assigned, and until within about the last
ten years paid a fee of two shillings to the keeper, there being no limit
to the amount of timber if applied for the use of the works. If the
gale-ground was situated within the hundred of St. Briavel's, but
belonged to private parties, the free miner still claimed his right to
open the ground, the proprietor being let in as a partner, making a
sixth, the only exception being churchyards, gardens, orchards, and Crown
plantations."
A jury of twelve, twenty-four, forty-eight, or seventy free miners, under
the auspices of the Constable of St. Briavel's Castle, or his deputy,
enacted such mine laws as the interests of the body seemed to require,
administering them without any appeal, or permission to resort to another
court of law. The witnesses in giving evidence wore their caps to show
that they were free miners, and took the usual oath, touching the Book of
the Four Gospels with a stick of holly, {149a} so as not to soil the
Sacred Volume with their miry hands. These singular usages explain the
observation of the Rev. H. Berkin that "the inhabitants are completely
_sui generis_," and "their exact situation can scarcely be understood
except by those on the spot," as likewise the sentiment which the Rev. H.
C. H. Hawkins expresses--"by altering the character of the Foresters, a
curious relic of antiquity might be destroyed, to my regret I must own,
as I feel desirous to preserve so singular a specimen in all its purity."
In the year 1832 the Rev. C. Crawley stated, "I think the moral character
of the inhabitants has been much improved by the building of churches;
heinous offences are very rare in the Forest:" and in 1849 Mr. Machen
said, "A great change has been wrought in them; there is a very great
difference in their habits now, certainly." {149b}
The Forest miners of the present day are well acquainted with the
geological structure of their neighbourhood, more especially with the
out-crop, succession, and dip of the mineral veins. In short, their
natural endowments are fully equal to the general standard, and only
require cultivation, as frequently appears from the quickness with which
they detect the bearings of any pecuniary transaction, and their
proneness to litigation. Many superstitions, however, still linger
amongst them, such as the use of charms and incantations, a belief in
witchcraft and an evil eye, a resort to "wise men," and even to the
minister of the parish as being a "Master of Arts," or for some of the
offertory money, out of which to have a charm-ring made. They are
likewise inclined to give credence to tales of apparitions, and to regard
sickness and accident as fated and inevitable. From their having been
for so many generations an isolated and peculiar people, most of them are
ignorant of the rest of the world, and have of course a correspondingly
exaggerated idea of their own importance. It is pleasing to observe the
sympathy they manifest towards the sick amongst them, or such as have
been accidentally injured; and although most independent in their
notions, and impatient of control, they seem always thankful for real
kindness. What they chiefly lack is more generosity and candour towards
strangers, and a clearer understanding of their duties as protectors of
the national property, in respect of the crops of timber which grow
around them. {151} In most mining districts the moral habits of the
people are more or less in a low state, and they are certainly not worse
here than elsewhere. One source of evil arises from the large ablutions
which their working underground necessitates. The process of washing on
their return from the pit is not performed as privately as it might be,
and the effect of this upon the moral perceptions of the people, huddled
together in their small cottages, is very injurious. It is a pity some
arrangement is not made for having washhouses at the pits, where a supply
of hot water from the boilers might be easily obtained for the purpose.
One half of the Forest population is understood to be employed at the
coal-works, a fourth part at those of iron, whose red dresses make them
easily known, and the remaining portion are employed in the quarries and
woods, &c.
Horses of a bad breed, donkeys, mules, cattle, sheep, pigs, and geese
abound, owing to the free pasture afforded by the open Forest, the three
former having been used for many generations in carrying iron-mine, coal,
charcoal, &c. Farming operations are necessarily very limited. Cider
obtained from the styre apple used to be a common beverage; but that
fruit has long been extinct, and malt-liquor is now mostly preferred.
Gardening is little attended to, the colliers generally feeling
indisposed to further exertion after returning from the pit. In few
instances only are bees kept. Formerly much of the wearing apparel was
made from home-spun wool, woven or knitted in the neighbourhood; but this
is not now the practice.
The turf-covered cabin, resting on four dry walls, without windows, and
pierced only by a low door, with a very rude fireplace and chimney in
"the pine end," and partially paved with rough stones, once the
habitation of the Forest "cabiner," is now almost entirely superseded by
two-floored cottages, often containing not less than four apartments. In
bygone days a few neighbours, taking advantage of a moonlight night,
accomplished the erection of a cabin ere the morning dawned, in which
case it was supposed that the keepers had no power to pull it down. To
show the eagerness with which poor families sought to establish
themselves in the Forest, it may be mentioned that they took possession
of the ancient mine-caves, walling up the back and front, leaving a vent
for the smoke in the former, and in the latter a gap as an entrance.
Their pastimes used to be dancing and foot-ball, to the great delight of
people of all ages: indeed there are several spots yet called from the
above circumstance "the dancing green." Wakes were likewise very
popular, and also the game of fives, so that at Ruerdean one side of the
church tower was whitewashed for the purpose, and resorted to even on
Sundays. Some of the provincialisms of the district occur in the
following words--"yat" (gate), "tump" (hillock), "teart" (sharp),
"spract" (lively), "twich" (touch), "near a anoust" (near the same),
"anunt" (opposite).
Peculiarities also occur in the selection of Christian names, including
these--Benedicta, Abia, Winifred, Kezia, Barzillai, Sibylla, Eve, Saba,
Sabina, Beata, Tryphena, Belinda, Myra, Terzah, Nimrod, River, Milson,
Miles, &c. {152}
On account of the dense woods with which the Forest was anciently
covered, added to the fact that except at Newland, and perhaps at Park
End, no churches were built within it, we may conclude that at an early
period its population was small, the persons engaged in the iron and coal
works then living, as many of the working people do now, in the adjoining
parishes. Our earliest information as to the number of inhabitants
residing within its present limits relates to the time of the
Commonwealth, when "400 cabins of beggarly people living upon the waste,
and destroying the wood and timber, were thrown down." In 1712 Sir R.
Atkins states that "there had been many cottages in it, but that they had
been lately pulled down, leaving only the six keepers' houses." He gives
6,090 as the total population of the outlying parishes, thus
distributed:--
Mitcheldean 600
Little Dean 620
Newnham 400
Blakeney 250
Lydney 700
Newland 800
Clearwell 600
Coleford 600
Bream 300
Le Bailey 200
Staunton 220
Ruerdean 500
Bicknor 300
-----
Total 6,090
At the close of the century, the Forest, as now bounded, comprised 589
houses, which in 1803 had increased to 696, the number of free miners
being then 662. Since that time the inhabitants of the Forest have gone
on increasing as follows:--
In 1821 they were 5,525
In 1831 ,, 7,014
In 1841 ,, 10,674
In 1851 ,, 13,252
of whom about 1,789 have the right of voting for Members of Parliament.
The annual value of property existing in the Forest, not belonging to the
Crown, was estimated in 1849 at 13,603 pounds 14s. 2d., and in 1856 at
18,492 pounds 17s. 7d.