Speaking of the Buckholt (one of the older enclosures), he observes—
“The large timber in it has been cut, and parts of it planted with young oaks, obtained from places where they had sprung up spontaneously, but it is still imperfectly stocked. Stapledge (another of the earlier plantations) has been filled up by transplanting from the thick parts, and is tolerably well stocked on the whole. Birchwood (the third of the previous enclosures) has been planted in the vacant parts, and is fully stocked and very flourishing. From the Acorn Patch (the last of the old plantations) a large quantity of young oaks have been transplanted into the open parts of the Forest and the upper part of Russell’s Enclosure. The trees drawn out are thriving, and many of them grow faster than the trees remaining in the Acorn Patch. There is a great quantity of holly and other underwood scattered on the parts where the trees are planted, and which serves for shelter and protection, and the soil is very good. The trees, though never transplanted before, came up with bunches of fibrous roots; and though of so large a size, being from 10 to 25 ft. high, scarcely any of them failed. Several experiments were tried as to pruning closely, pruning a little, and not at all; and it appears that those pruned sufficiently to prevent the wind from loosening the roots answer best, although many of those which were reduced to bare poles, and had their heads cut off, are now sending up vigorous leading shoots, and have every appearance of becoming fine timber: those unpruned did not succeed at all.” Alluding to the earthen banks, with which the plantations were mostly surrounded, Mr. Machen observes that “In most parts they appear to succeed very well, and the furze on the top of them grows very luxuriantly; but in some places, and those where the bank of mould has accumulated by being washed there in floods, the banks are mouldering, and in the last two years hawthorn-quick has been planted in those parts, and now looks very flourishing. There has not been a good year of acorns, that is, where a quantity have ripened in the Forest, since the commencement of the plantations until the present, and the trees are now loaded, and with every prospect of ripening. The young trees in all the new enclosures are looking remarkably well this year, and some of them have made shoots so long that they more resemble willows than oaks. The six first-named enclosures, in addition to the acorns and five years old oaks, have had the same quantity of five years old oaks planted in addition, in lieu of the mending over, viz. 270 on an acre; but there are parts of all these, and almost the whole of Crab-tree Hill and Haywood, which suffered not only from the failure of the acorns, but from the ravages made by the mice, that will require to be filled up as soon as there is a stock of plants sufficient for the purpose. Russell’s Enclosure is left to nature: only 10,000 Spanish chesnuts have been planted in it, and some young oaks from the Acorn Patch at the north end. There is a good deal of large timber over the whole, particularly the south and centre parts, and a vast quantity of natural young oaks sprung up in the neighbourhood of the large trees. The fern has been cut to relieve and encourage them for the last three years. The Lea Bailey Copse (north) consists of young copsewood well stored with oaks, growing on their own butts. The Lea Bailey Copse (south) has more large timber in it: this has not been regularly planted, but some trees have been transplanted from the thick parts of the north copse, and from the woodmen’s nurseries. The lower Lea Bailey Enclosure has a considerable quantity of growing timber in it, and a large quantity of young oaks springing up. No planting has been done here. The fencing round these consists of a large ditch and bank, and a dead hedge at top, with hawthorn-quick planted within. The hedge having stood three years is decayed, and another will be required this year, which it is expected will last until the quick becomes a fence. The addition to the Buckholt of about fifteen acres was planted with 3 years old oaks from the woodmen’s nurseries, and looks very thriving. All the other enclosures were planted with seedlings and tenth trees, according to the second agreement with Mr. Driver, in 1812, 13, 14, and 15, and are this year looking very well. Parts of all the enclosures will require mending over, but I should think more than half are sufficiently stocked with oaks well established, and that will require no further attention until they want thinning. On the high land of Haywood, Edge Hills, and Ruerdean Hill, firs and a mixture of other trees have been planted, and are thriving and growing fast, particularly on Ruerdean Hill, where the Scotch and larch take the lead. Firs, &c., have also been planted in the wet and bad parts of most of the other enclosures, and succeed. The nurseries we have in cultivation are the Bourts, 161 acres; Yew-tree Brake, about 5 acres; Ell Wood, 11 acres; and about 26 in the Vallets, or middle, and Sallow Vallets Nurseries, previously occupied by Mr. Driver. In these there are now about four millions of young oaks, three, two, and one year old, and about 600,000 firs and other trees of different sorts. The plants in Whitemead Park are thriving very well in all parts which are situated at a distance from the brook, but near to it they are very thin, stunted, and unhealthy, and are constantly killed down by spring frosts. Ash and fir trees have been planted amongst them, but with little success at present. The principal part of the large timber now in the Forest is about Park End, on Church Hill, Ivy More Head, Russell’s Enclosure, Park End Lodge Hill, and at the Lea Bailey. That at the Bailey appears younger, and some of it shook by frost, and rather drawn up by standing too thick. The timber about Park End is very fine, and I should suppose from 150 to 200 years old. There is a considerable quantity of young oak, from 15 to 40 years old, about Tanner’s Hill, &c., near Gun’s Mills, on the outside of Edge Hill Enclosure, and some within it in the lower part. Chesnuts Enclosure is covered with hazel, that was cut down when the oak was planted, and is now growing up with the young oaks and chesnuts, both of which are more rapidly growing in this enclosure than in any other; a double quantity of chesnuts are planted in this enclosure. There are scarcely any natural trees in the Forest but oak and beech; birch springs up spontaneously in every enclosure, and overruns the whole Forest. The few ash trees look scrubbed and unthrifty. Since the year 1809, 14,260 oak trees containing 14,546 loads of timber have been felled, viz. 11,322 trees for the navy, and 2,938 sold by auction. About 50 trees, containing about 50 loads, have been blown down or stolen.”
This year, 1818, Mr. Trotter obtained the permission of the Crown to erect steam engines at Vallets Level and Howler’s Slade, and in the following year the first corn mill was constructed at Cinderford, by Mr. Brace, out of an old water-wheel, and the adjoining buildings. In the year 1819 also, through the exertions of the Rev. H. Poole, the small chapel at Coleford, erected there in the reign of Queen Anne, was taken down, and a building more equal to the religious wants of the place was erected, and duly set apart for Christian worship, by Bishop Ryder, on the 18th of January, 1821.
The Third Triennial Report of the Commissioners of Woods was issued on the 18th of June, 1819. It states that three portions of land had been granted in trust for church purposes to the Lord Bishop of Gloucester, Lord Calthorpe, and the Right Honourable Nicolas Vansittart, one piece being attached to Christ Church, Berry Hill, a second to Holy Trinity Church, and the third for a proposed church at Cinderford. It also affirms that the whole of the 11,000 acres specified in the Acts for enclosing the Forest had been taken in and planted, and that the plantations were generally in a very flourishing state, comprising with the recent purchases 14,335 acres, the whole of which lands were, from the nature of the soil and the conveniences of water-carriage, probably better adapted for that purpose than any other tract of land in the kingdom lying together and of equal extent. The report concludes by alluding to the efforts which the commissioners had been making to induce such parties as occupied encroachments on the Forest to accept leases for thirty-one years, at an almost nominal rent, with the view of effecting the ultimate restoration of these lands to the Crown, but regrets that so liberal a proposal had been refused by nearly all; nevertheless further steps were about being taken in the matter.
The following particulars relating to this period are
abstracted from Mr. Machen’s Memoranda:—“29th May, 1819. The frost was so severe that the verdure around White Mead, and throughout all the low parts of the Forest, was entirely destroyed. There was not a green leaf left on any oak or beech, large or small, and all the shoots of the year were altogether withered. The spruce and silver firs were all injured: in short all trees but Scotch fir and poplar suffered severely.—August 10th. The plantations had recovered from the effects of the frost—the oak more effectually than the beech, and had made more vigorous and thriving shoots than I ever saw. We measured several shoots in Serridge and Birchwood more than five feet long, and one in the Bailey Copse seven feet. We measured an oak planted in Whitemead Park near to the W. hedge, and in the second field planted below the house, seventeen feet six inches high: Lord Glenbervie was present. Shutcastle in the upper part, and the eastern part of Serridge, were looking best of all the new plantations, though all appear in a very thriving state this year.” From the same source we learn that Ellwood, purchased from Colonel Probyn, and containing 110 acres, was planted this year. The holes were dug four feet apart in rows, and five feet between the rows. The trees planted were 30,000 Scotch firs, 1,600 pineasters, 3,600 larch, 6,000 Spanish chesnuts, 120,000 oaks of three and four years old, and 4,500 seedling oaks planted by way of experiment in one corner of the large field on the south side of Ellwood, and with no large plants amongst them. A few of the enclosures had oaks planted in them also, viz.-
| Ruerdean Hill | 35,000 |
| Beechen Hurst | 52,000 |
| Bromley | 35,000 |
| Sallow Vallets | 12,000 |
| Park Hill | 30,000 |
and some more, from each of the woodmen’s nurseries in their respective enclosures.
In the spring of 1820, 15,000 Scotch firs were planted in Ellwood, in the place of those that died. During the autumn and the following spring, about two million
trees, which had been raised in the different Forest nurseries, were also planted out to mend over the different enclosures, viz.—