Forest Of Dean

The Forest of Dean is in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire in England.

It is bounded by Herefordshire to the north, the River Severn to the south, the City of Gloucester to the east and the River Wye to the west and northwest.

The Forest of Dean is 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, the largest being the New Forest.

Traditionally the main sources of work were forestry, including charcoal production, iron working and coal mining. Archaeological studies have dated the earliest use of coal to Roman times. It was used for domestic heating and industrial processes.

The Forest of Dean is home again to wild boar. They were illegally re-introduced to the Forest in 2006. A population in the Ross-on-Wye area on the northern edge of the forest escaped from a wild boar farm around 1999 and are believed to be of pure Eastern European origin. A second introduction of a domestic herd was dumped near Staunton in 2004. These are not pure bred wild boar. The boar can now be found in many parts of the Forest. Boar were once common in the Forest of Dean and were hunted for food. In medieval times, boar from the Royal Forest were supplied for the King’s table. Wild Boar are thought to have become extinct in Britain around 1254.

Created: 27  November  2016  Edited: 29  November  2023