Forest of Dean Coalfield

The Mitcheldean Road and Forest of Dean Junction Railway was an independent railway company incorporated in 1871, to provide a northerly outlet for iron ore and coal products from the Cinderford and Whimsey area in the Forest of Dean, to the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway line; mineral traffic to industrial centres in South Wales and the Midlands was foreseen. The company ran out of money during construction, and the Great Western Railway purchased it and completed the line about 1882. By then the intended mineral flows were being adequately handled on other routes, and the GWR did not open the line to traffic, although in 1885 a short length at the southern end was opened to connect mineral workings. The line remained dormant until in 1907 the Great Western Railway introduced a service of railmotor passenger trains, opening several low-cost stopping places on the line as far north as Drybrook Halt. The service was successful at first but declined later, closing in 1930. Ammunition was stored in the disused tunnel on the line during World War II, but later use was confined to a bitumen plant near Whimsey, and the line closed completely in 1967.

The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east. The area is characterised by more than 110 square kilometres (42 sq mi) of mixed woodland, one of the surviving ancient woodlands in England. A large area was reserved for royal hunting before 1066, and remained as the second largest crown forest in England, after the New Forest. Although the name is used loosely to refer to the part of Gloucestershire between the Severn and Wye, the Forest of Dean proper has covered a much smaller area since the Middle Ages. In 1327, it was defined to cover only the royal demesne and parts of parishes within the hundred of St Briavels, and after 1668 comprised the royal demesne only. The Forest proper is within the civil parishes of West Dean, Lydbrook, Cinderford, Ruspidge, and Drybrook, together with a strip of land in the parish of English Bicknor.Traditionally the main sources of work have been forestry – including charcoal production – iron working and coal mining. Archaeological studies have dated the earliest use of coal to Roman times for domestic heating and industrial processes such as the preparation of iron ore.The area gives its name to the local government district, Forest of Dean, and a parliamentary constituency, both of which cover wider areas than the historic Forest. The administrative centre of the local authority is Coleford, one of the main towns in the historic Forest area, together with Cinderford and Lydney.

Cantref Coch (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkantrɛ(v) koːχ] transl. The Red Cantref) was a cantref associated with the kingdoms of Ergyng, Gwent and the later Kingdom of Glamorgan. Its area is defined as the land between the River Severn and the River Wye, with the Severn Sea as its southern border although its northern border is less certain. Cantref Coch is one of the few medieval cantrefi named by Welsh writers that is not within the modern nation of Wales.

Forest of Dean is a local government district in west Gloucestershire, England, named after the Forest of Dean. Its council is based in Coleford. Other towns and villages in the district include Blakeney, Cinderford, Drybrook, English Bicknor, Huntley, Littledean, Longhope, Lydbrook, Lydney, Mitcheldean, Newnham and Newent.

East Dean is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Mitcheldean, in the Forest of Dean district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. East Dean became a township in 1844 and abolished as a civil parish on 1 April 1953.The Forest of Dean was an extra-parochial area in the St Briavels hundred of Gloucestershire. It was without the usual parish structure until the West Dean and East Dean townships were formed in 1844. For poor relief, East Dean was grouped into the Westbury-on-Severn Poor Law Union and was included in the Westbury-on-Severn rural sanitary district. Following the Local Government Act 1894, East Dean became a civil parish in the East Dean and United Parishes Rural District, which was renamed East Dean Rural District in 1935. The population of the parish was as follows: It occupied an area of 12,487 acres (50.53 km2) in 1881 and 12,860 acres (52.0 km2) in 1951.In 1935 a new civil parish of Lydbrook was created from part of its area and transferred to West Dean Rural District. The civil parish was abolished in 1953 and split to create the new parishes of Cinderford, Drybrook and Ruspidge. Part of the former area was transferred to the existing parishes of Awre, Littledean and Mitcheldean. The area of the former parish is now within the Forest of Dean district.

The Speech House was the administrative building of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England, lying at the centre of the forest on the road from Coleford to Cinderford.The building was originally constructed as a hunting lodge for Charles II and the Speech House was authorised by the Dean Forest Act 1667 (19 & 20 Cha. 2. c. 8) as part of a reorganisation of the open land in the area, and its construction was finished in 1682. It hosted the "Court of the Speech", a sort of parliament for the Verderers and Free Miners managing the forest, game, and mineral resources of the area. It was severely damaged in the Revolution of 1688, but repaired soon thereafter. Around 1840 it began to be used as an inn, and by the late 19th century it was functioning as a hotel, which (as of 2021) it continues to do.To the southeast of Speech House is a small lake, Speech House Lake. The Speech House Hotel was famous for its Speech House pudding, traditionally served in the verderers' court room that became the hotel's dining room. The recipe is a steamed or boiled sponge pudding that includes raspberry jam and is often served with a jam sauce. In both Good Things in England (1932) and Where Shall We Eat or Put Up? in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland (1936), Florence White called attention both to Speech House Hotel (it was also a Trust House at least up through 1951) and to the Speech House Pudding. In Good Things in England, White wrote that a "Miss Beaumont, of Sidmouth, Devon, says: 'This was given to a brother of mine at a little inn in the Forest of Dean. He thought the pudding good, and asked for the recipe.'" The recipe ingredients followed: 'Butter 2 oz; castor sugar 1 oz; eggs 2; flour 2 oz; raspberry jam 1 large tablespoonful; carbonate of soda 1/2 teaspoonful dissolved in a tablespoon of milk; jam."

The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail is a point of interest in the Forest of Dean in the county of Gloucestershire, England. The Sculpture Trail links several different site-specific sculptures commissioned for the forest. It is open from dawn to dusk every day of the year. Admission is free, although there is a charge for car parking. There are currently 16 sculptures, made from various materials. A further 12 are no longer visible, or have been decommissioned due to safety reasons, and are being allowed to degrade naturally. The complete trail is 7 kilometers (4.3 miles); shorter routes of 3.5 and 4.8 kilometers (2.2 and 3.0 miles) visit a selection of the sculptures.An estimated 300,000 people visit each year.Commissioning commenced in 1986, originally in partnership with Arnolfini, Bristol's flagship contemporary art gallery, and following the establishment of the Trail has resulted in the presentation of more than 20 permanent sculptures, almost all of international significance, alongside temporary residencies and public events. The early sculptures were commissioned to be site-responsive and to interpret the forest, and the Trust adheres to this very particular strategy, which is what makes the Dean very different from other Sculpture Trails in the country. Sculptures include Kevin Atherton's 15-foot by 10-foot stained glassed window Cathedral which hangs high in the canopy over the heads of walkers. Additional commissions include Neville Gabie’s Raw, a giant cube assembled from the entire mass of an oak tree, and acclaimed works by David Nash, Peter Randall-Page, Cornelia Parker and Annie Cattrell at crucial early stages in their careers. The Forest of Dean Sculpture Trust continues to raise funds to commission additional works. The Trust (FODST) manages the Sculpture Trail, located at Beechenhurst, near Coleford in Gloucestershire, in partnership with the Forestry Commission in the Forest of Dean. The Trust is a registered charity and has a long record of commissioning sculpture and related temporary projects that are specific to the forest environment.

Speech House Oaks (grid reference SO622123) is a 16.26-hectare (40.2-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1972.The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

Meezy Hurst (SO638089 to SO647091) is a 4.3-hectare (11-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Gloucestershire, notified in 1986.The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

Foxes Bridge Bog (grid reference SO630125) is a 5.3-hectare (13-acre) nature reserve in Gloucestershire. The site is owned by the Forestry Commission and is managed by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in partnership with the Forestry Commission. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

Woorgreens Lake and Marsh (grid reference SO630127) is a 9-hectare (22-acre) nature reserve in Gloucestershire.The site is owned by the Forestry Commission and is managed by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in partnership with the Forestry Commission. The site is listed in the 'Forest of Dean Local Plan Review' as a Key Wildlife Site (KWS).

Forest of Dean Cycle Centre is a small woodland cycling centre, comprising mountain bike trails, a visitor centre, car parks and uplift service. It is located on the former site of Cannop Colliery in the Cannop Valley, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. The nearest village is Parkend, 3 miles (5 km) away.In 2012, work was completed on a £100,000 redevelopment of the centre, culminating in the opening of a new cycle bridge.