Mining in the Forest
With its rich coal seams, mining has been a major industry in the forest and was the main occupation of Foresters until 1945.
Coal mining can be traced back to the Roman occupation and was established as a local industry by the 14th century with a proliferation of small mines throughout the Forest.
Early pits tended to be shallow and traditional miners would hack away at the surface seams using a pick axe on a relatively small scale.
Until
the late 18th century, most mines were little more than 1 metre deep but, by
now, surface coal supplies were becoming exhausted and it was necessary to dig
deeper pits and mine deeper underground. This meant that machinery became
necessary which was beyond the resources of the small-scale, independent free
miners and many were forced to sell or lease their gales to companies with
greater resources which lead to a change in the local mining industry as new,
larger mines developed run by colliery companies which might own several mines
in contrast to smaller, independent free miners.
By
the mid-19th century there had been much capital investment by the colliery
companies and the older networks of tramroads used by horse-drawn trams laden
with cargoes of charcoal, iron, coal, timber and lime were replaced by faster,
more efficient rail routes. During the 19th century, these branch lines carried
increasing loads and developed into commercial lines linking the main collieries
with river ports at Lydbrook, Newnham, Lydney and Bullo Pill and further afield
with the Great Western and Severn and Wye Railways providing faster transport
links beyond the Forest with links to London, Bristol and South Wales and,
eventually, throughout Britain.
The mining industry was responsible for much of the residential building in the Forest as miners moved into the new towns and villages close to the pits and new communities were formed with clusters of houses close together in marked contrast to the scattered spread of remote cottages – some of which originate from the days when it was legal to build virtually anywhere in the Forest providing smoke could be seen from the chimney by sunset. Such a policy led to a fence and chimney being built with the rest of the house following at a rather more leisurely pace afterwards!
The
Coleford High Delf seam was one of the main collieries in the mid-19th century.
Former miners have graphically described the rough and tough conditions
underground where there was little room to stand and described how they had to
crawl through narrow tunnels while boys aged as young as ten would operate the
ventilating doors underground – often for up to 72 hours per week. Other boys
would drag coal laden trolleys (‘hods’) weighing up to 1.5cwt along the
narrow rails underground. It was hard, demanding, physical labour in appalling
working conditions.
By 1880 mining dominated the forest with 63 collieries producing an output of 800,000 tonnes, increasing to over 1 million tonnes by the early 20th century. Probably the most well known and one of the greatest Forest mines, was the Lightmoor Colliery owned by the Crayshaw family. Henry Crayshaw was a key figure in the Forest and known and the ‘Iron King of the Forest of Dean’ for his initiative of using Cornish pumping engines and the beam engine – which is now displayed, still in working order, at Dean Heritage Centre.
Gradually, coal supplies were becoming depleted and it was becoming uneconomic to mine deeper which would have required further plant to pump out water from the mines, sinking ever-deeper pits and, eventually, forest mining fell into decline. Mining continued until 1965 when the last commercial mine was closed by the National Coal Board making large number of miners redundant with a knock-on effect for the railways and the lines fell victim to Beeching in the 1960’s and the Forest was forced into an economic slump.
However,
the free miners continue to work their smaller mines in the Forest and one of
these, Hopewell Colliery near Cannop, is now open to visitors who can don a
miner’s hat, walk underground and see the conditions endured. Similarly, some
mining of ochres continues to take place at Clearwell using traditional tools
and methods.
Elsewhere in the forest, the main collieries have been demolished and their former sites converted into tranquil respites while the slag heap from New Fancy pit is now a large mound with a viewpoint over the Forest. However, the observant walker rambling through the Forest will identify vent shafts, former tramroads, remains of the railways and open or bricked up mine tunnels.
Despite the recent closure of both of the Forest’s major long-term industries, coal and iron, leading to a short-term economic slump the Forest has emerged triumphant with its rich woodlands, fauna, flora, a relaxed air, tranquil pace and open spaces devoted to leisure, pleasure and relaxation.
And where else are there free-range sheep dozing at the roadside?!
