The First Industrialists
During the Roman occupation of Britain, the Forest of Dean was a major industrial region with the mining of iron ore and the subsequent conversion of these ores into iron supplements occurring on a wide scale throughout the area.

The Royal Forest
The arrival of the Normans in the 11th century saw the introduction of Forest Laws, these protected the red, roe and fallow deer, the wild boar (which the Norman kings loved to hunt) and the trees which gave them shelter (known as vert and venison.)

As the iron industry developed in the Forest this was in direct conflict with the Forest as a medieval hunting ground. Thousands of trees were felled to make charcoal to fuel the numerous forges and furnaces in the area. With the advent of the charcoal blast furnace, which first arrived to the area at the end of the 16th century, the consumption of trees as fuel greatly increased, causing great devastation of the woodlands.

Navy Timber
During the 1600s additional conflict arose from the need for vast quantities of timber, principally oak, to furnish ships for the Royal Navy. The Forest was seen as a vast storehouse for naval timber of national importance, and legend has it that the Spanish Armada were ordered to destroy the trees in the Forest of Dean as a way of defeating England.

Forest Coal
Forest coal had been mined since Roman times, but the industry was small before the 18th century. With the advent of steam engines it expanded rapidly. For almost 200 years coal mining was the dominant industry in the Dean employing thousands of people. Some Forest miners preferred to work their own small private collieries as Free Miners. Small mines worked near the surface and are still found today hidden among the trees. The last scale large scale mine closed in December 1965.

Since then industry has been lighter nature and smaller in scale. The scar of the former industries has healed and the Forest as a popular tourist attraction has increased, in 1938 the Dean was made England’s first National Forest Park. The woodlands, now managed by the Forestry Commission, still provide an annual harvest of 60,000 tonnes of timber. In addition to producing timber the woodlands also provide opportunities for wildlife and recreation.