WEST DEAN is an extensive township, formed under the Act 5 & 6 Vic. cap. 48, and is situated in the Western division of the county, hundred of Saint Briavels, Monmouth union and county court district, diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, archdeaconry of Gloucester, and rural deanery of the Forest. The town extends over an area of 10,000 acres, 1,507 of which are cultivated, and whose gross estimated rental is £21,550; the rateable value is £17,010, and comprises the greater portion of the Forest of Dean: the soil is for the most part of a stiff clayey nature, and is pecularily adapted to the growth of oak, of which there are large plantations or enclosures, many thousand acres in extent, made or planted under the authority of the Crown: the subsoil is underlaid with valuable mines of coal and iron ore, together with extensive beds of stone and clay: the very great antiquity of the Forest mines, and the peculiar quality of the iron ore obtained therefrom, combined with the remarkable condition upon which the right of working them is based, have all served to render this locality as interesting to the present generation as it was profitable to the primitive operatives of the Middle Ages; its annals occupy a prominent place both in the domestic and commercial history of the kingdom, revealing as they do the dawn of the discovery of the mines in remoter times, when the iron ore was sought by the miners near the surface of the ground, and which mode of search accounts for the strange and weird-like caverns here found in many places, as likewise the steady growth of that repute for producing metal of a "gentle, pliable and soft nature," and which obtained in those times for Gloucestria or Glovernia hardware a national fame.

With but few intermissions during the centuries elapsed since medievel times, have Forest mining operations been continued, and the modern development of the trade has been so great as to have called into existence numerous districts filled with a large industrial population, all of them exhibiting in a marked degree the improvement produced by a long period of prosperous employment. The coal obtained from the several collieries not only supplies the requirements of the localities around, but is largely transmitted to other parts of the kingdom, and the iron ore, besides being extensively used in the furnances of the district, is also sent in large quantities into the county of Stafford, and also into South Wales, where it is highly valued for its mixing properties. The clay of the Forest is specially adapted for making of fire bricks, and the stone is also used to a considerable extent in the making of monuments, troughs, and grindstones, in addition to the ordinary purposes of building. Within the Forest of Dean are also very important tin, iron and steel wors, and chemical distilleries. This township is divided into four ecclesiastical districts, viz: St. Paul's. which comprises the hamlets of Park End, Whitecroft and Futterill; All Saints, comprising Yorkley and Viney Hill; Holy Jesus, comprising the greater part of Lydbrook; and Christ Church, comprising Berry Hill, Joyford, Hillersland and Lane Ends.

ELLWOOD, CLEARWELL MESNE and BREAM'S EAVES are places in the township not included in the above ecclesiastical districts.

WHITECROFT, 3 miles from Lydney station, and 5 from Coleford, is situated in the vale betwixt rising ground covered with fine plantations of timber: the inhabitants, whose dwellings are scattered here and there in singular irregularity, are mainly employed in the coal, chemical and quarry trades seated here.

Post Office - Daniel Simms, sub-postmaster. Letters arrive from Lydney at 8.15 a.m. ; dispatched at 5.30 p.m.

Post Office, Futterill - Letters through Coleford.

YORKLEY, 3 miles from Lydney station, and 5 from Coleford, is a large hamlet, the dwellings in which are scattered over rising ground, in some parts being very steep; all the houses are detached and built in positions of grotesque irregularity: the inhabitants are chiefly employed at the iron works of Park End. There are places of worship here from Primitive Methodists, Wesleyans, Baptists, and Bible Christians.

Post Office - Mrs. Amy Bailey, receiver. Letters arrive from Lydney at 8.30 a.m. ; dispatched at 5.45 p.m.

VINEY HILL is but scantily populated. It is 3 miles from Park End and 2 miles from Blakeney. All Saints church is of stone, consisting of nave, aisles and chancel, with bell cot and 2 bells, and was consecrated in 1867. An excellent vicarage has been erected near the church, which is occupied by the Rev. Samuel Edwards, M. A., the vicar. The church is endowed with £150 per annum, and is in the gift of the Rev. W. H. Bathurst of Lydney Park, by whose instrumentality, in connection with that of Mrs. Bathurst, of Eastbatch Court, the church and vicarage have been built and principally endowed. There are two mixed schools for boys and girls in this district, with residence for teachers, one situated at Viney Hill and the other at Blakeney Woodside. These schools are supported by an annual grant from the Office of Woods and Forests, and also by voluntary subscriptions.

Post Office - Letters through Newnham.

National School (All Saints), Thomas Piff, schoolmaster.

Infant School (Woodside), Miss Agnes Lawton, mistress.

BERRY HILL, 1 mile north of Coleford, has a scattered population, who are mostly employed in and around Coleford, of which latter place it forms a suburb. Christ Church is a stone building of modern date, having a tower, chancel, aisle and 1 bell. The living is a vicarage, and is held by the Rev. William Henry Taylor, B. A., of St. John's College, Cambridge. There are National Schools here for boys and girls, which are in a very efficient state.

National School, William Holden, master; Mrs. Martha Holden, mistress; Sarah Jane Holden, assistant teacher.

Infant School, Miss Sarah Cooper, mistress.

Post Office, Bream's Eaves - Letters through Lydney.

 

BERRY HILL:-

BUCKLE Rev. William (curate)

TAYLOR Rev. William Henry, B. A. (vicar), Vicarage

 

COMMERCIAL:-

ADDIS Thomas, beer retailer

ASHBEE Margaret, Rising Sun, Fiveacres

BEACH Peter, shopkeeper

BROWN George, beer retailer

BROWN William, blacksmith

BROWN William, The Rock, & grocer, Hillersland

COOPER Joseph, shopkeeper, Joyford

CULLIS Eliza (Mrs.), shopkeeper, Joyford

DAVIS Benjn., farmer, Shortstanding

DEW Thomas, shopkeeper, Hillersland

EBBORN William, farmer, Shortstanding

FOX George, shopkeeper, Joyford

GODWIN Edward, beer retailer

GWILLIAM Edwin, shopkeeper

GWILLIAM Milson, shoe maker

HARRISON Charlotte, beer retailer, Joyford

HUGHES Shadrach, shopkeeper

JONES James, sculptor & stone mason

JONES Richard, shopkeeper, Hillersland

NELMES William, grocer

NORSE Henry Anderton, coal proprietor

POWELL James, shopkeeper

SHORT John, farmer, Whiteall

SHORT John, New inn, Shortstanding

SMITH David Jones, assistant overseer for the township of West Dean, Five acres

STEPHENS Isaiah, shopkeeper & shoe maker, Shortstanding

TEAGUE Edward, farmer

TEAGUE William, grocer

TOMLINS George, beer retailer, Shortstanding

WEBB John, nail maker

 

BREAM'S EAVES:-

DOBBS John & Son, carpenters & builders

PHIPPS John, beer retailer

TROTTER Isaiah, manufacturing chemist, Oakwood chemical works

 

CLEARWELL MESNE:-

ATKINSON George, iron mine proprietor, Old Bow Nine pit

BARRETT B, mine proprietor

DOWARD John, grocer & draper, & manager to the Sling iron mines

GETHING Mary (Mrs.), farmer & haulier, Milkwall

HOWELL Martha (Miss), shopkeeper

MORSE Henry, beer retailer, Ellwall

MORSE Richard, tiler & plasterer

SELBY John, builder & mason

SIMS William, beer retailer

TALBOT Wm., iron ore proprietor, Sling pit

WATKINS Hy., beer retailer & shoe maker

 

ELLWOOD:-

BALL William, haulier, Upper Ellwood

BLANCH William, farmer & haulier

DAVIS Thomas, quarry proprietor

HARRIS John, colliery manager, Drybrook house

NASH William, farmer & haulier

ROSSER Richd., stone quarry proprietor

TAYLOR Mary (Mrs.), farmer & haulier

TEAGUE Peter & Co., coal masters

 

FUTTERILL:-

BLANCH John, colliery proprietor

BLANCH Thomas, carpenter & colliery proprietor

HARRISON William, George inn

HOWELLS James, blacksmith

JONES Edward, beer retailer

POWELL Amos, haulier

Titantic Steel & Iron Co. Forest works

WANKLYN & GRINDELL, fire bricks & pottery ware makers, Dark Hill works

Western Counties Colliery Co.

 

LANE END:-

ASTON William, beer retailer

BENNETT Henry, shopkeeper

BAGLIN Daniel, beer retailer

Forest of Dean Chemical Co. naphtha manufacturers (W. H. Jackson, manager), Cannop works

GWILLIAM Benjamin, Royal Forest inn

MARLIN Mary (Mrs.), Bird in Hand

MATTHEWS Samuel & Co., carpenters & builders

MORGAN William, beer retailer

SMITH Amos, beer retailer

SMITH John, grocer

WANKLYN & GRINDELL, colliery proprietors, Edenwall colliery

WILDING Philip, grocer & provision factor

 

VINEY HILL:-

EDWARDS Rev. Samuel, M. A. (vicar), Vicarage

DAVIS Thomas, farmer

MORSE Gregory, quarryman & grocer

SHIPTON Thomas, farmer

SUMMERS George, grocer & colliery

WARREN John, nailer

WILCE George, Albion

WILLETTS Thos., beer retailer & shoe maker

 

WHITECROFT:-

BLAKE Thomas, contractor

CHAPMAN & MORGAN, chemical works proprietors

Compressed Coal Co. patent fuel manufacturers (manager's name unreadable)

HOOK Thomas, beer retailer

JAMES William & Joseph, hauliers

JONES George, shoe maer

LEWIS Alfred, beer retailer & shopkeeper

MORGAN George, beer retailer

MORSE Thomas, miller

MORSE William, haulier

NELMES Danie, haulier

Park Hill Mining Company (W. H. Fryer, manager)

PHILIPS Henry, Miner's Arms, & butcher

PHIPPS George, beer retailer

Pillowell Colliery Co. (F. Nash, manager)

RAFFILS Charles Perry, beer retailer

SIMMS Daniel, grocer & post office

THOMAS Henry, haulier

WOOD William, blacksmith & haulier

WYATT John, grocer & draper

 

YORKLEY:-

BEDDINGTON James, mason

BEDDIS Susan, Nag's Head

BRAIN William, shopkeeper

BROWN Thomas, tailor

COLEY Frederic, butcher

DAVIS Henry, beer retailer

EDWARDS William, haulier

HATTON John, Stag

HATTON William, haulier

JAMES Adam, beer retailer

JAMES Alvin, shoe maker

JAMES Henry, beer retailer

JAMES Mary (Mrs.), Globe

JAMES John, farmer

JAMES Richard, collier & beer retailer

JAMES James, carpenter & contractor

JOHNSON Benjamin, grocer & draper

JOHNSON John, mason

JOHNSON William, wood cutter

JONES George, beer retailer & grocer

KEAR Henry, carpenter

MORGAN Thomas, shoe maker

MORSE Arthur, carpenter & shopkeeper

MORSE Isaac, haulier

PHIPPS Samuel, mason & shopkeeper

PRICE Henry, shopkeeper

POWELL George Prout, butcher

STERRY James, grocer & draper

THOMAS James, tailor & shopkeeper

THORNE George, shoe maker

VIMPANY Edward, shopkeeper

WILLIAMS Charles Moythan, grocer & draper

WORGAN Thomas, grocer & baker

 

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