The Forest of Dean: An Historical and Descriptive Account Part 6

The propriety, however, of acting upon these old enactments was now doubted, as they had been so long overlooked or irregularly executed; and hence the declaratory Act of the 48th of George III., c. 72, was pa.s.sed in 1808, confirming the original power to enclose 11,000 acres, as well as legalizing the enclosures of Buckholt, Stapledge, Birchwood, and Acorn Patch, formed a few years previously, containing altogether 676 acres, and making it felony to persist in breaking down any of the fences belonging to the same. The above-named enclosures were the only ones then existing. The Buckholt princ.i.p.ally contained beech; Stapledge was thinly stocked with oak, except on the north side, and there called Little Stapledge, on which there was plenty; and Birchwood had some cl.u.s.ters of natural young oaks scattered about it. The Acorn Patch was well filled with thriving young oaks about 25 years old. The same Act likewise directed that the contemplated plantations should be marked out under the supervision of not less than six Commissioners, who were named as follows:--

Lord Glenbervie, Surveyor General of Woods, &c.

R. Fanshaw, Esq., of Plymouth Dockyard.

Right Hon. C. Bathurst, Lydney } Park, The Rev. Thomas Birt, Newland, } Magistrates The Rev. Richard Wetherell, } Westbury,

Sir William Guise, Highnam, } Joseph Pyrke, Esq., Little Dean, } Verderers Edmund Probyn, Esq., Newland, } Roynon Jones, Esq., Hay Hill, }

Edward Kent, Esq., Itinerant Deputy Surveyor.

Edward Machen, Esq., Deputy Surveyor.

The connexion with the Forest of two of these gentlemen, viz. Lord Glenbervie as Surveyor-General, and Mr. Machen as Deputy-Surveyor, dates from this period; and to their joint exertions, aided by the official labours of Mr. Milne, his Lordship's excellent secretary, and at length one of the three Commissioners of Woods, &c., the existing enclosures owe their formation as well as their present promising condition; but especially to Mr. Machen is the credit due, as being the result of his able and conscientious management of the Forest for well nigh half a century.

With a prospective reference to the plantations shortly to be made, the most laudable pains were taken by Lord Glenbervie to ascertain the best mode of planting and raising the young trees. He truly remarks that "the s.p.a.ce of nearly 100 years must elapse before the success or failure of any plan adopted in the cultivation and management of oak timber for the navy can be clearly ascertained, during the whole of which time a persevering attention and uniformity of system in the execution of the plan adopted would be equally requisite, in fact through a succession perhaps of three or four generations." His Lordship made extensive inquiries whether acorns or plants should be first used, or rather some of each; what was the best age and size for transplanting; if plants or trees of any other kind should be set with them, or in places where oaks would not thrive; at what distance apart should they be planted; ought the soil to be cleared or dug, or how prepared; are the old trees to be removed, and the stumps of oak or beech suffered to remain?

On the 23rd of July, 1808, the general principle agreed upon in these respects was, "to plant an intermixture of acorns and oak-trees, with a very small proportion of Spanish chesnuts; so that, if either the acorns or young oaks should succeed, a sufficient crop might be expected, and to plant no trees of any other sorts, except in spots where it should be thought that oaks would not grow, and which it might be necessary to include, in order to avoid the expense of fencing, or for shelter in high and exposed situations." The first enclosures were planted agreeably to this method, only afterwards it was found necessary to set young oaks instead of acorns, few of these only coming up.

Lord Glenbervie also interested himself in some experiments for testing the transplanting of young trees of various ages, selecting Acorn Patch in the centre of the Forest for the purpose. The annexed table, carried on to 1846, gives the result:--

A. transplanted at 16 years of age } B. transplanted at 23 years of age } girth at 6 ft. from the ground.

C. not transplanted at all }

A. B. C.

Sep. 14, 1809 7.625 Inches. 7 Inches. 11.75 Inches.

Oct. 5, 1814 14.75 ,, 11 ,, 15.625 ,, Oct. 20, 1820 23.825 ,, 19 ,, 19.825 ,, ,, 1826 32.125 ,, 27.75 ,, 23 ,, ,, 1830 40.5 ,, 35.75 ,, 26.5 ,, ,, 1836 48.75 ,, 39.5 ,, 30 ,, ,, 1840 53.25 ,, 42.5 ,, 32.5 ,, ,, 1846 60.5 ,, 47.75 ,, 36.5 ,,

More as a satisfaction to the Government before making the new plantations, than as a guide to the commissioners, most of whom knew the Forest intimately, Messrs. Driver were now directed to examine the condition and situation of the woods and woodlands, and to report thereon. They began by numbering the timber trees in succession, and had reached 1,000, when the proceedings were put a stop to, on account of the consumption of time and money which such an elaborate plan was found to involve, and they briefly reported that the Forest seemed to contain 22,882 loads of oak timber, that only one third of the existing enclosures were fully stocked, and that encroachments were rapidly spreading.

On the 15th of September in the ensuing year, 1809, the first meeting of the above-named commissioners was held at Newnham, when 2,000 acres in various parts of the Forest were selected for planting, and such directions given that the 240 acres of White Mead Park were actually planted this season, just in time to afford Mr. Fordyce the satisfaction of living to know that the good work of renewing the Forest with oak, in accordance with his recommendation made twenty years before, was in fact begun, for at this date his useful life was brought to a close.

Referring to the list of licences granted by the Crown this year, 1809, it appears that the first effort was now made to prepare the slag and cinders from the iron furnaces for the use of the Bristol bottle-gla.s.s manufacture, by reducing them to powder in a stamping mill, one of which was erected at Park End by Messrs. Kear, under a licence dated 23rd of September. To this year also is to be referred the introduction of tramways by two companies, designated "The Severn and Wye Railway Company," and "The Bullo Pill Company." The road belonging to the former of them traverses the western valley of the Forest from Lydney to Lydbrook, a distance of fourteen miles, and the latter the eastern, but both communicating with the Severn, although at points six miles apart.

The licence for the line ascending from Bullo Pill describes it as designed to extend up to the Churchway engine, seven miles off. It was constructed under a private Act obtained by Sir James Jelf and his partners.

In the course of the next year, _i.e._ 1810, the Enclosure Commissioners authorized the construction of the following five plantations:--

A. R. P.

Barn Hill, 353 2 3 near Coleford.

containing Serridge 387 3 24 ,, Lydbrook.

,, Beechen 308 2 36 ,, Serridge.

Hurst ,, Haywood ,, 407 1 34 ,, Abbenhall.

Holly Hill 41 0 38 ,, Cinderford.

,, ---- -- -- 1498 3 15

The planting of them was intrusted to Mr. Driver, upon his own plan, which was to dig holes four feet apart every way, or 2,722 in an acre, and to plant an acorn in every hole but the tenth, in it subst.i.tuting an oak-tree of five years old. The holes for the acorns were dug fifteen inches square and nine inches deep; but those for the young trees were made eighteen inches square and twelve inches deep. The acorns cost 8s.

per 1,000, and the trees 70s. per 1,000. One tree out of every 100 was a five years old Spanish chesnut. So that planting the enclosures in this way cost about 3 pounds 15s. per acre, and the seedlings about 4 pounds 5s., which Mr. Driver was to mend over, and to keep the plants good for three years. The fences were to consist of a bank five feet high, with a row of French furze at the top and bottom, or where impracticable a dry wall instead. The most flourishing timber in the Forest at this period appears to have been that growing on Church Hill, averaging 73 trees to the acre, each tree containing 58 feet of timber. The Severn and Wye Tramway, commenced last year, was extended in this, with the addition of a line from Monmouth up to Howler's Slade.

In 1811 only one plantation, viz. "Crab-tree Hill," comprising 372 acres 2 roods 34 poles, was formed, and planted similarly to the last; but the Enclosure Commissioners set out a considerable extent of land to be taken in and planted. On the 28th of November steam engines were licensed to be erected at Birches Well, Ivy Moorhead, "the Independent," Upper Bilson, two at "the Old Engine," and two at "No Fold." In the next year also two steam engines were licensed to be put up at Churchway Colliery, and a third at "Strip-and-at-it" Colliery. The following enclosures were made in 1812, viz.--

A. R. P.

Shute 158 3 35 near Bream.

Castle Bromley 258 3 13 ,, Park End.

Chesnuts 163 2 13 ,, Flaxley.

Sallow 397 2 33 ,, Lydbrook.

Vallets Ruerdean 313 3 19 ,, Ruerdean.

Hill Additional 14 3 29 ,, Coleford.

to Buckholt ---- -- -- 1307 3 22

These enclosures were not planted, however, like the former ones; since, from the exuberance of weeds, and the ravages of mice, &c., that method had failed, three-fourths of the acorns never appearing, and many of those that did come up were too weak to make their way through the other more luxuriant growth that overwhelmed and choked them. But these enclosures, according to a second agreement made with Mr. Driver, as likewise all the future ones, were planted with seedling oaks instead of acorns, care being taken to clear the holes once or twice, and only the tenth trees were introduced as before. The Buckholt was planted with three years old oaks, from the woodmen's nurseries.

The first general report of the Commissioners of Woods, &c., appointed under the Acts of 34th George III., c. 75, and 50th George III., c. 65, was made on the 4th of June, 1812, and was signed "Glenbervie, W. D.

Adams, Henry Dawkins."

It says little respecting this Forest, merely alluding to it in common with the other royal forests, as fitted to take its place in supplying timber to the navy, which required 88,659 loads annually, a quant.i.ty so large as to be equivalent to 1,000 acres of oak a century old. In their present state the Royal Forests could not supply a tenth part of this amount, and would always be deficient unless 1,000 acres were planted every year for the next 100 years, by which time the above quant.i.ty might be annually felled. Ere this year ended, the Enclosure Commissioners concluded their labours of setting out the rest of the 11,000 acres in Dean Forest.

The plantations made the ensuing year of 1813 were--

A. R. P.

Oaken Hill 477 2 11 near Park End.

Park Hill 141 0 26 ,, Park End.

Blakeney 816 1 0 ,, Blakeney.

Hill ---- -- -- 1434 3 37

Permission was also given to the Severn and Wye Tramroad Company to construct a branch to the colliery at the Ivy Moore Head, as well as to Messrs. Protheroe to erect a steam engine at "Catch Can." The area of the encroachments in the Forest in 1813, and which had at that time been taken in more than twenty years, amounted to 1,610 acres 2 roods 18 poles, divided into 2,239 patches, on which were 785 houses, occupied by 1,111 persons.

In 1814 the three following extensive enclosures were made:--

A. R. P.

Stapledge 943 2 17 near Cinderford.

Nag's Head 809 2 4 ,, Coleford.

Hill Russell's 990 0 16 ,, Park End.

The last of them, being the largest in the Forest, was not regularly planted, but left for the most part to natural growth.

It was during this year especially, but to a certain degree also in the preceding and succeeding ones, that this Forest and the New Forest were visited with an enormous number of mice. They appeared in all parts, but particularly in Haywood enclosure, destroying a very large proportion of the young trees, so much so that only four or five plants to an acre were found uninjured by them. The roots of five years old oaks and chesnuts were generally eaten through just below the surface of the ground, or wherever their runs proceeded. Sometimes they were found to have barked the young hollies round the bottom, or were seen feeding on the bark of the upper branches. These mice were of two kinds, the common long-tailed field mouse, and the short-tailed. There were about fifty of these latter sort to one of the former. The long-tailed mice had all white b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and the tail was about the same length as the body. {95} These were chiefly caught on the wet greens in the Forest, and the short-tailed were caught both on the wet and dry grounds.

A variety of means were resorted to for their destruction, such as cats, poisons, and traps, but with little success. A Mr. Broad, who had been employed by the Admiralty, and had been successful, in killing the rats and mice in the fleet, was sent down, and tried several plans, all of which failed. At last, a miner living on Edge Hills, named Simmons, came forward, and said that he had often, when sinking wells or pits, found mice fallen in, and dead, in consequence of their endeavours to extricate themselves, and he had little doubt that the same plan would succeed in the Forest. It was tried, and holes were dug over the enclosures about two feet deep, and the same size across, and rather hollowed out at the bottom, and at the distance of about twenty yards apart, into which the mice fell, and were unable to get out again. Simmons and others were employed, and paid by the numbers of tails which they brought in, which amounted in the whole to more than 100,000. In addition to this it may be mentioned that polecats, kites, hawks, and owls visited the holes regularly, and preyed upon the mice caught in them; and a small owl, called by Pennant, Strix pa.s.serina, never known in the Forest before or since, appeared at that time, and was particularly active in their destruction. The mice in the holes also ate each other.