The Dean Heritage Centre is based in five acres of scenic woodland and is home to the 'Museum of the Forest'. It tells the story of the Forest of Dean and its people, spanning 10,000 years of history, from the Ice Age to the present day. The Museum holds a wide-ranging collection of around 20,000 historic objects, covering subjects such as archaeology, industry (coal mining and iron making), transport, childhood history, music and costume. These artefacts are based in five modern galleries housed in a former Mill building, complete with its own running waterwheel.

Gallery 1: Pre-historic and Early History
Gallery 1 investigates the fascinating geology and landscape of the Forest of Dean. Displays reveal the fossilised remains of the plants and animals that once inhabited the area, as well as the pre-historic tools of the Forest's first farmers. Early Roman occupation and the iron industry are also explored.

Gallery 2: Medieval to 18th Century History
Gallery 2 explores the history of the Dean as a Royal Medieval hunting forest. Forest Laws were introduced to protect the deer and the boar hunted by Kings, and the woodland in which they grazed. Special courts and officials known as verderers administered the rules. This gallery also explores the part played by the Forest of Dean in the English Civil war and tells how Admiral Nelson saved the Forest from destruction.

Gallery 3 examines the Forest of Dean's industrial legacy from the Victorian times onwards. It examines the fishing industries generated by the Rivers Severn and Wye to the many cottage crafts such as cobbling, carpentry and blacksmithing. A significant part of the gallery is dedicated to the Dean's coal mining past, from stories of mining disasters and rescues to the everyday tools and objects that were part of the miner's life.

Contemporary History: WW2 to the present day
Gallery 4 is also known as '' Gallery 41,'' and is the community gallery (41 parishes make up the Forest of Dean district). As well as a display about the Forest during the Second World War, the gallery features a changing programme of exhibitions, telling the story of the Forest people, past and present. Please telephone in advance to find out what exhibitions are currently on display in this space.