The story of the Forest of Dean boundary stones at The Lea concludes:

 

In 1640 Charles1 abandoned his attempt to reimpose medieval Forest Law and the enlarged boundaries of the Forest of Dean. But, following his execution after defeat in the Civil War, the Commonwealth reintroduced it and, it seems, reinstated the enlarged boundaries to include The Lea once again. In 1656, another Eyre (Forest Court) was held in Dean. Records are scanty, but we do know that, for example, William Phillipps, of Lea Line, and seven other men in or around The Lea, were accused of building houses or barns, in breach of Forest Law, and Thomas Nourse was accused of coppicing ten acres in ‘Owley Grove’ – probably the modern Howley Grove - at Lea. They, and many others, may have escaped without any penalty. The court proceedings were never completed, and in the next year the Council of State passed an Act ‘to mitigate Forest Law in Dean’. Some idea of the burdens it had imposed may be gained from what was now made legal:

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'... from henceforth it shall and may be lawful, to and for all, and every the owners, tenants, and occupiers of all and every the lands and tenements which remain and are within the metes, limits and bounds of the said Forest, to cut down and dispose of any the timber-trees, woods, and underwoods growing in and upon all and every their several and respective lands and tenements at their own will and pleasure without licence of any Justice in Eyre or his deputy, and without the licence or view of any officer of the said Forest whatsoever; And also to manure and improve their said several lands and tenements by ploughing, assarting, digging, inclosing, and fencing the same at their will and pleasure, and to keep their dogs unexpeditated...'

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(To assart was to clear land of trees & other vegetation and bring it into cultivation. Expeditation was the maiming of dogs by cutting off three claws from the front feet, so that they could not be used to hunt deer!)

 

Finally, in 1668, in the reign of Charles II, the Dean Forest Reafforestation Act confirmed, once and for all, the reduced boundaries of the Forest of Dean. 

 

It takes a lot of oaks to build a wooden warship. Much came from private woodlands but as fears of a timber shortage grew, the state began to worry about the condition of its own woods. In 1787, as part of an inquiry into the Forest of Dean, brothers Abraham and William Drivers were commissioned to carry out a survey. In the course of this work, they produced the first accurate map of the Forest boundary. In 1832, the lines on their map became the statutory boundary, which it remains to this day. Its course was marked on the ground by 218 numbered stones. On each was carved ‘D.F’., 1832, and its individual number. The boundary between the Forest and the parish of Lea was marked by stones 169 to 177. 

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In 1997, the Forestry Commission began a project to relocate and record as many of the stones as possible. Several years later, they began to replace some stones that were found to be missing. Six of the stones at The Lea are original, dated 1832. Three are modern replacements, dated with the year they were put in place. 

 

That is not quite the end of the story. In one of several twentieth-century reviews of local government boundaries, the land on which the old Wesleyan chapel at The Lea stands and a strip to the east, as far as the road up to Lea Bailey Hill, were transferred to the parish of Lea. These are within the Forest. In a reversal of centuries of history, one of the surrounding parishes has now encroached upon the Forest of Dean.

 

In case anyone should wish to see the boundary stones, their locations are listed below (based on information from the Forestry Commission). Great care should be taken when looking for or at the stones which are on roadside verges or visible from the highway. 

David Mullen