The Statutory Forest of Dean has existed since Norman times. Originally an area reserved for the King and his chosen few to hunt within, the Statutory Forest became defined as an area where the soil, timber or herbage belonged to the Crown and was controlled with the imposition of harsh Forest Laws. Within these forests, none could reside or own land and the rights at Common Law of the local inhabitants were severely restricted.
When last legally defined in 1833, this was still assumed with some caveats, but the subsequent formalisation of encroachments and continuing sales of land mean today some 20% of land within the Statutory Forest is privately owned land – the remainder is managed as the Crown Forest Estate by Forestry England. Attribution statement: Contains OS data © Crown copyright [and database right] [year].
