Chapter 9

varying from 1 to 250 pounds, as at the Bilson Colliery, besides 315 grants of stone-quarries at a total rent of 87 pounds 9s. 7d. This includes the following coal-works lately galed, viz., the collieries of Nash's Folly, New Mill Engine, Unity Colliery, Nag's Head, Smart's Delph, Gosly Knoll, producing a rental of 16 pounds, and the iron-mines at Old Park, Scarpit, Easter, Slope Pit, Yew-tree, Bromley Hill, Drybrook, Prince of Wales, Belt, and Wigpool, bringing 81 pounds 10s. to the Crown, to all which receipts a royalty of so much per ton on the mineral sold was added.

Mr. Machen's Notes inform us that in the autumn of 1846 "there was the most abundant crop of Spanish chesnuts we have ever had, and they ripen well, but the people injure the trees to get them. No acorns at all--there are some on the Turkey oaks. The fruit of most kinds has failed this year, as well as the potatoes; but of some kinds, such as chesnuts, grapes, blackberries, the crop is abundant. The spruce firs are looking very bad; many of them are nearly dead."

Except as respects the granting of additional coal and iron gales, the succeeding year of 1847 may be passed over. It appears by the annual Report which came out on the 29th of June, that the new iron-mines galed were those of Wigpool, Dean's Meand, Fairplay, Lydbrook, Symmond's Rock, Earl Fitzharding's Frog Pit, Penswell's, Eastbatch, and Tufton, paying a rental to the Crown of 104 pounds, and Morgan's Folly Colliery, rented at 4 pounds.

Proceeding to the year 1848, the Report of the Commissioners of Woods, which appeared in September, informs us that upwards of 18,000 acres in the district of the Forest were covered with wood and timber. Unfortunately blight again prevailed, of which in the month of June Mr. Machen's MS. records:--"The oak-trees have been attacked for several years past by a small caterpillar which eats all the leaves, and this year the destruction has been greater than ever; the whole Forest has been almost leafless; the high ground and the low, the large timber and the young plantations, have all suffered alike. The first time I noticed this blight was in 1830, when the High Meadow woods and many parts of the Forest suffered, but it was principally confined to the large timber. It has continued more or less every year since, but this has been the worst year of any; yet it is remarkable that the High Meadow Woods are free from it and in fine foliage, but no part of the Forest has escaped. The grub, a little black caterpillar, comes to life just as the oak is coming into leaf, and feeds upon the leaves. It attacks no other tree; the beech, chesnut, &c., stand in full verdure surrounded by the brown and leafless oaks. They envelop the tree in a web they spin about the end of May; they enclose themselves in a leaf curled up, and remain in a chrysalis state until the middle of June or July, when they change into a pale greenish small moth that flies about the trees in myriads, and lay their eggs in the bark of the trees for future mischief, and then die. There seems to be no means of checking their ravages. The rooks come in great numbers, and they and other birds destroy great quantities. The trees put forth a second foliage at the midsummer shoot, but not full, and the shoot of the year and the growth of the trees must be injured."

Under the date of the 30th of April, 1849, Messrs. John Clutton and Richard Hall report to the Government, on the Forest of Dean, that "there are about five hundred acres of the open Forest now covered with old timber, which is for the most part very fine and of very large size, and is nearly all of good quality. Our opinion is that a large portion of this timber is fit for naval purposes, and we suppose it to be worth 49,000 pounds. Its precise age we are not enabled to discover, but our impression is that this timber is about 160 years of age. It has clearly been planted since 1667, as it is recorded that only 200 trees remained on the Forest in that time. There is some old timber fit for the navy in the enclosed plantations, of the probable value of 34,500 pounds. There are also about 500 acres of land planted in the Forest with single trees, which are in process of becoming fit for naval purposes; and there is a further portion occupied with trees of spontaneous growth. These, with the plantations thrown open, we estimate at 3,000 acres; the value of these we estimate at 106,000 pounds. The Crown has now occupied with young and old timber about 14,000 acres of the Forest."

The same reporters speak of "the existing plantations being in a very good state, having been judiciously and well planted, fully stocked, well managed, and sufficiently protected. They are properly drained and amply thinned; so that there is upon the ground, in a state to proceed to maturity, as good a crop as can be found to exist in any part of England, taking extent and quality of soil into consideration. The plantations reflect great credit upon all parties concerned in their management, the system of which we should strongly advise to be continued. To remove the young trees with the view of converting the land into arable cultivation would involve a loss of 280,500 pounds, besides that of the increasing net annual profit, which official returns prove to be as follows:--

pounds. _s._ _d._ From 1828 to 1531 17 4 1832, or average of 5 years ,, 1833 to 2475 16 2 1838 ,, ,, 1839 to 3566 17 1 1843 ,, ,, 1843 to 5482 11 3 1848 ,,

Early in this year a select Committee of the House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the expenditure and management of the Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues of the Crown, Viscount Duncan being in the chair. Mr. Machen was examined by the committee with regard to the Forest of Dean, and amongst other particulars stated that "the fact of the expenditure on account of this Forest having increased within the last six years was explained by the circumstance that 3,000 pounds a year had been laid out on the new plantations, and that the balance in favour of the Crown had been still further reduced by the recent fall in the price of bark and also of timber, owing probably to peculiar difficulties attending its removal." He observed that large immediate profits could not be obtained from the oak plantations, which would, however, increase in value at the rate of about 15,000 pounds a year; and moreover that a considerable revenue from the sale of timber-props for the mine-works, &c., might be expected. Mr. Machen also reported an improvement in the order and conduct of the inhabitants of the Forest generally, the fruit, it may reasonably be assumed, of the many years of pious labour which the clergy and Christian teachers of the neighbourhood had bestowed on the people. The Act of 1841, under which the mines of the Forest were awarded, had, he said, been found most useful. Before the arrangements under this Act were effected, much quarrelling and litigation were continually taking place. The royalty paid by the various mines to the Crown amounted to 4,000 pounds a year, and was steadily increasing; eight years ago it was only 700 pounds.

The evidence of Mr. Langham, the Assistant Deputy Surveyor, relates to the mode in which pit-timber and cordwood for the charcoal burner were supplied, as well as the method pursued in planting, being that of about 1,300 young oaks to the acre, and the same of larch, four feet apart. Mr. Nicholson, a tenant of the Park End Colliery, forcibly urged the construction of branch lines of railway, connecting the different works in the Forest with the leading lines, to the certain benefit of the coal-master, the consumer, and the Crown, the existing tramways being inadequate to their purpose.

Mr. Isaiah Teague took the same view, and further supported the recommendation that greater facilities should be given, not only to the mineowners to build cottages for their men, but also that the operatives themselves should be enabled to buy small plots of land for the purpose, they being now frequently obliged to live far distant from their places of work, there being few, if any, houses situated near them. These witnesses, as well as several others, agreed in stating that it was inexpedient to have deer in the Forest, as unsettling the habits of the people, and encouraging poaching. They yet admitted, however, that the deer were highly ornamental.

It was also stated in evidence that the Forest was now fully planted; and whereas some of the witnesses recommended that the larger portion of the wood should be cut, and the remainder converted into arable or pasture land, it was shown by others that to do so would be like cutting a crop of wheat whilst green, and be defeating the original intention of the Government, which was to raise timber for the use of the navy, which the private woods of the kingdom could not supply. Much, too, of the soil was said to be unsuited for farming purposes, being so precipitous in some parts, and stony in others, as to be unfit for ploughing. Much of the timber was reported to be of the finest character, and the young trees, for the most part, doing very well. No improvements in the management of the estate were suggested, and at the close of the inquiry the committee reported that the plantations were growing luxuriantly, having been well thinned, and did credit to all concerned in their management.

The succeeding year of 1850 is chiefly noticeable for a general meeting on behalf of the fund for defraying the expenses of the contemplated Industrial Exhibition of all Nations, to take place the next year. It was held upon Wednesday the 12th of June, on the green in front of the Speech-house, under the presidency of Mr. Machen, supported by the magistrates and master-miners of the district. The day was fine, and at least 5,000 people attended--three bands of music accompanying them from the different sides of the Forest. A large waggon constituted the platform on which the speakers stood. The sight was a striking one, amidst the fine foliage of the surrounding Forest, and all passed off in a manner worthy of the occasion.

The Commissioners of Woods' Report, dated the 27th of June this year, informs us that gales of coal had been granted, under the names of the Beaufort Engine, Oaken Hill, New Bridge, East Slade (lapsed), and the Injunction Iron Mine--paying a total rental of 54 pounds. In November following this Forest contributed its quota of navy-timber, amounting to 388 loads 22 feet, towards the total of 1,000 loads levied upon the Royal Forests; which quantity was delivered at the Pembroke Dockyard at the cost of 992 pounds 8s. for carriage. It may also be mentioned that at the Gloucester Summer Assizes of this year the action of Lord Seymour, as Chief Commissioner of Woods, _versus_ Morrell, for arrears of dead rent which accumulated to the amount of 1,291 pounds 1s. 2d., was tried before Lord Chief Justice Campbell and a special jury, when a verdict was found for the Crown, subject to the opinion of the Court of Queen's Bench upon a special case, which proved, however, confirmatory of the original decision.

On the 30th of July, 1851, the official Report on the Forest was issued. It gives us the dates of three grants of land made this spring for school purposes, situated at Viney and Blakeney Hill, and at Ruerdean Woodside. It also bears fresh testimony to the satisfactory working of the Act of 1 & 2 Vict., c. 43, for regulating the opening and working of mines and quarries, the litigation to which they had formerly given rise under the ill-defined and objectionable customs which had so long prevailed having almost entirely ceased. The actual amount annually paid to the Crown during the last six years was stated to be 4,281 pounds 17s. 4d., besides the profit made by the sale of pit-timber. Royalties and tonnage-dues were its chief sources, although arrears of minimum or dead rent had accumulated to the extent of 12,805 pounds 8s. 2.5d.--payment having been refused in some cases on the plea that at certain times no minerals had been raised. Gales of coal had been granted to Cousin's Engine, Beaufort, and Fox Hole; and during the previous year 335,687 tons of coal and 80,531 tons of iron mine had been raised. This autumn arrangements were made for felling 553 loads of timber in the Forest, and 177 loads in the High Meadow Woods, for the use of the navy, under the Queen's sign-manual of the 7th of May.

In the following year (1852) there were two grants of land for educational and ecclesiastical purposes; one piece was for the site of a school at the Hawthorns, and the other for a parsonage attached to the new church at Lydbrook, which was consecrated on the previous 4th of December by Dr. Ollivant, Lord Bishop of Llandaff, acting for Dr. Monk, who was unable to attend.

During the months of April and June of this year the Right Hon. T. F. Kennedy, who, in October, 1851, had been appointed Chief Commissioner, visited the Forest of Dean, and was much struck with its fine character and great capabilities. Impressed with the conviction that it might be brought to yield a larger return to the Crown, he sought the advice of Mr. Brown, well known in Scotland as a surveyor of woods, who inspected the several plantations, and suggested that every encouragement should be given to the extension of railways through the Forest, and also recommended the erection of circular sawing power, for the purpose of reducing the timber to a portable size and shape for naval purposes, by which its value would be much increased, and the expense of carriage reduced. He likewise advised that the plan hitherto pursued of stripping the bark from the young oaks, standing, should be discontinued, and that the bark should be removed after the trees were felled, as being more convenient, and favourable to the durability of the wood, and likewise as affording the earliest opportunity to the adjoining trees to shoot out into the vacant spaces. He also thought that the bark was better cured on stages raising it above the ground, than merely by setting it upon an end; and he suggested more frequent and moderate thinnings of the plantations, which for the sake of uniformity should be marked by the same person, thinning more on the productive soils than elsewhere. Mr. Brown considered, moreover, that fewer woodmen and keepers might suffice.

Accordingly the bark was this autumn dried on stages, and the number of keepers was reduced to three. The whole of the timber in Russell's Enclosure was felled, and the trees at Howler's Slade, Church Hill, Park End, and on the side of the road to Blakeney were marked for being so, with the exception of any very large or picturesque ones. At this time also the Lydbrook Deep Level Colliery, and the East Dean Deep Colliery, were awarded; and at the close of the year Mr. Machen resigned his office of Deputy-Gaveller, which was next held by Mr. Warington Smith.

In the spring of 1853 all the timber on Church Hill, at Howler's Slade, and between the Blakeney Roads was cut down, forming what is now usually called "the great fall." The mode of management in the Forest was now rapidly changing, and Mr. Machen, the Deputy-Surveyor, decided this year to resign, after a service of well nigh half a century. He was succeeded by Mr. Brown. The flittern bark of this season was dried on stages, having been taken off the young oaks after they had been felled; but the process was not found to answer.

The Hagloe estate, situated between the Forest and the river Severn, was this year purchased by Government on account of its securing the best site for railway communication with the South Wales line, as well as for shipping timber, the river in that part being particularly favourable for the purpose. The formation of three distinct tramways was now also licensed, one from near Milkwall down to the Severn and Wye line, another from Speculation Colliery to the same point, and a third from the Ruerdean Woodside Colliery to East Slade.

In the next year (1854) a select Committee of the House of Commons sat during the month of June, under the presidency of Mr. Henry Drummond, to collect information respecting "the management and condition of the Crown Forests." So far as related to the Forest of Dean, the inquiry seems to have arisen from its being supposed that the timber therein, of which 7,800 loads had been felled during the two previous years, might have been sold at higher prices, and that the mode of stripping and drying the bark was defective. Yet it appeared in evidence that the price of the timber was about the same as such timber usually fetched in the neighbourhood, and that, upon the whole, the method of removing the bark from the trees whilst standing, and then setting it upright to dry, was as good as that of first felling the tree, and then stripping it and drying the bark on stages. Moreover, the portable steam saw, which had been sent to the Forest with the design of cutting the timber, as recommended by Mr. Brown, was found to be too small for the purpose, although it was as large as could be conveniently moved from place to place, and hence it proved of little or no use.

The Lords of the Treasury, desirous to satisfy the public and the legislature as to the state of Dean Forest in common with the other Crown Forests, directed Messrs. J. Matthews, William Murton, and W. Menzies to make a personal examination of them, and to report their opinion thereon. This they accordingly did in considerable detail. With regard to Dean Forest they say--"The enclosures were originally planted with extreme care, their situations judiciously chosen, the land well prepared, and the plants protected with nurses." "Viewing these plantations as a whole," they say, "we feel quite justified in representing to your Lordships that not only is their state such as to merit approval, but having reference to their regularity, growth, and prospective ultimate development, they are not surpassed by any Forest property in the kingdom."

Whilst the condition of the Forest of Dean was being thus canvassed, its management had been entrusted to Mr. Brown; but after a few months he was removed, and at the particular request of Government he was succeeded by Mr. Machen, until a permanent arrangement should be made, which was not, however, before the 11th of November, when the office was conferred on Sir James Campbell, Bart., heretofore Deputy-Surveyor of Bere and Parkhurst Forests, and now selected for the ability he had shown in their management. The Treasury Letter announcing his appointment also states that "after the satisfactory opinion conveyed in the Report of Messrs. Matthews, Menzies, and Murton regarding the system of management heretofore followed in this Forest, the time has come when Mr. Machen may be honourably relieved from the charge which he so long ably fulfilled, and which he resumed at the request of this Board."

During this year (1854) no less than 4,982 acres 1 rood 20 poles of plantation were thrown open, comprising the enclosures of Haywood, Edge Hills, Ruerdean Hill, and Aston Bridge. The following licences were likewise granted:--To the Messrs. Kingsford for constructing a length of tramway connecting the Woodside Colliery with a terminus to be formed at Church-way; to Messrs. Allaway for making a tramroad from the Plumphill to their iron-mine at Wigpool; to Messrs. Davis, Cooper, and Roberts to open a brickyard, and to sink additional iron-pits at Cinderford, Clearwell, and Lamb's Quay.

In 1855 information was sought to be procured as to the expediency of removing the dead wood from growing oak-trees. The practice hitherto had been not to do so, a course of which a large number of timber merchants, whose known experience justified their being consulted, expressed their unanimous approval, declaring it far better to leave its removal to nature. Another interesting investigation was now also instituted, relative to the suitableness of the Deodara pine as a Forest tree. Upwards of 120,000 plants had been raised from seed, supplied by the East India Company, in four private nurseries, half of which were distributed in Dean Forest and the New and Delamere Forests; but it is yet too early to afford any definite results. The young plants, however, appear to be particularly susceptible to frost.

On the 31st of March in this year the Hon. James Kenneth Howard was appointed one of the Chief Commissioners to administer the affairs of the Royal Forests, the Hon. Charles Gore having for some time, after Mr. Kennedy's retirement, been the sole Commissioner.

Three additional coal-mines, called Richard White's Colliery, Hollow Meadow ditto, and Ruardean ditto, besides an iron-mine, called Maxwell and Brooklyn Mine, were now granted, besides six stone-quarries and another brickyard. Licence was also granted to Messrs. Crawshay to connect their extensive colliery at Light Moore with the main line of railway near Cinderford, on the broad gauge principle, besides four other licences to connect various other works with the chief lines of traffic by short lengths of tramway.

It may be here remarked, that two years previously an inspector was appointed to view the timber intended to be felled for the navy before its being cut, and the following table exhibits the proportion of timber received at the Dockyard before and since the adoption of such a plan, showing its great utility:--

DEAN FOREST. HIGH MEADOW. 1851 48 per cent. 1851 22 per cent. 1852 44 ,, 1852 31 ,, 1853 30 ,, 1853 no fall. 1854 no fall 1854 ,, 1855 65 per cent. 1855 92 per cent.

On Tuesday, the 22nd of January, 1856, an important meeting took place at the Speech-house, Sir J. Campbell taking the chair, assisted by the Rev. H. W. Bellairs, Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools, with the object of attempting to raise the standard of teaching in the schools of the district, eighteen in number, the Crown contributing to the support of each of them. The meeting was largely attended, especially by the neighbouring clergy, and resulted in a period of five years being allowed to the managers of such schools to secure the services of certificated or registered teachers, and to adopt a scale of payments by the children, graduated according to the rental or rateable value of the tenements occupied by their parents. The formation of a central school, adapted for educating youths for filling responsible situations in the iron and coal works of the Forest, was likewise recommended, and is obviously desirable. Changes were also now made, with a view to economy, in the staff of woodmen and labourers on the Forest, whereby an annual saving, both immediate and prospective, would be obtained.

With the exception of a few decayed timber trees being felled in the course of the following year (1857), there is nothing requiring further notice, and I therefore here close the historical account of the Forest, and shall proceed in the following chapters with the other objects of inquiry which have been indicated.