The Forest of Dean Local History Society
70 YEARS: 1948 - 2018
After World War II, interest in local history grew all around the country. In 1948 the Gloucestershire Rural Community Council established a Local History Committee, one of the aims of which was to establish a local history society for the Forest of Dean. Key to this was the help and inspiration of Ian Durham of the Bristol University Extra-Mural Department. He was appointed in 1946 to be the University's resident tutor in West Gloucestershire and because of his great interest in the history of the Forest and the enthusiasm of the people he met there, he became the leading light in establishing the Forest of Dean Local History Society. Ian worked very closely with Tom Bright of the Dean Forest Guardian, who reported every development in the newspaper.
The Guardian of 16 April 1948 reported: "At a meeting at Coleford last Monday attended by people from all over the Forest, it was unanimously resolved to form a Forest of Dean Local History Society. Mr. I.L. Durham MA of Newland was elected Secretary and a small committee consisting of the Rev. R.J. Mansfield, Messrs. A.J. Machen, S.D. Morgan, C.Hart, V.G. Hudson and T. Bright was appointed...It was decided that the area to be covered will be roughly that between the Severn, the Wye and the Leadon, though, of course, membership will be open to people interested in Forest history who live outside that area”. The next newspaper report noted: "Viscount Bledisloe was persuaded to accept the Presidency of the Society”, an office which he continued to hold until his death in 1952. The Society attracted about 100 members in its first couple of years.
In its early years the Society undertook a lot of hands-on archaeology, excavating a bronze age barrow at Tidenham Chase, a camp at Littledean and many other sites. Additionally, a full programme of talks and visits was developed. We still have the membership cards from 1950 to the current date showing the full range of activities.
When the Dean Heritage Centre was established in 1979 by one of our now Vice Presidents, Ian Standing, the Society worked closely with the museum.
For 30 years our journal, The New Regard, has showcased the results of research by our members. The name comes from an old term under Forest Law – a Regarder was a senior officer of the Forest.
The Society continued to grow, having over 250 members at the time of its 50th anniversary. Now there are 330 members, mostly local but some living as far away as New Zealand.
We have undertaken some large projects, including the erection of the Miners’ Memorial at the New Fancy site. In 2003 the Society obtained a grant of £11,737 from the Local Heritage Initiative. This was used to facilitate a number of different elements which made up the Miners’ Memorial Project: the sculpture, which represents 3 elements of profound importance to Forest miners – coal, iron and wood, the Roll of Honour CD, the Roll of Honour Memorial Volumes and the Mines Trails Walks. The project remembers the over 600 men who died because of accidents at work in the local mines and quarries.
The Miners’ Memorial
In 2007, at the same site, work began on the Geomap, which is an amalgam of two maps. Firstly it is a geology map of the Forest of Dean which the public can walk on, constructed using the actual rocks found in different geological layers. Secondly, it is an industrial history map showing the location of 102 collieries, 35 iron mines and 49 stone quarries, as well as the main railway lines and three tramroads.
Society members learning about the Geomap
The remnants of the New Fancy Colliery, from which coal was mined until 1944, may also be seen. In 2016 the Society placed a new commemorative stone to permanently mark the site of the shaft 2.
The Society continues to offer members and non-members a very full programme, with events in every month of the year. This year being our 70th anniversary we have an even more packed agenda than usual, culminating in a dinner for 70+ people hosted by our President, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon.
For more information visit www.forestofdeanhistory.org.uk
Mary Sullivan - Chairman, FODLHS