Coleford, Gloucestershire

Coleford is a small market town in Gloucestershire, England in the west of the Forest of Dean which has a population of 8,351 (2001 census). It is situated approximately four miles to the East of the Welsh border on the English side, and is close to the Wye Valley, a popular walking and canoeing area. The town is the administrative centre of the Forest of Dean district.

[edit] History

Coleford takes its name from one of the two rivers that merge in its centre, and was, quite obviously, a fording point for said river. All the streams were culverted in the 19th Century, but the one flowing through St. John's Street was reopened in 2001 to allow for maintenance work to take place, before being recovered.

Coleford is also one of the oldest towns in the Forest of Dean, largely developed and not deeply affected by coal mining, which became the forest's staple industry during the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries. For this reason, its greatly differs visually from Cinderford the other major town situated in the east of the forest. Coleford's architecture

Coleford clock tower

is mainly Georgian in appearance, although many of these are simply facades,covering much older buildings. Notable buildings include 'The Angel' pub, with its large arched entrance, hinting at its coaching inn days, what-was Trotters Department Store, now home to Fairways Furnishings, and the Clock Tower in the centre of the town. The Clock Tower was originally attached to an octagonal church, built in 1821, but when, in 1882, this church was considered to be too small for the towns population, the main building was demolished, just leaving the tower, and a new much larger church (St. John's) was built on a hillside overlooking the town. Another delightful building, the old market hall, stood next to the Clock Tower, until it succumbed to the 1960s desire to demolish any buildings that no longer served any definite or useful purpose.

[edit] Today

Being a more established town, Coleford was able to adapt much more easily to the mine closures of the 1950's than the neighbouring town of Cinderford. Today, due to its excellent location in the heart of the forest, Coleford is popular with walkers and cyclists, and the local council have been striving to encourage further interest in the tourist industry of the area. There is also a large factory in the town, originally Beechams, now part of GlaxoSmithKline, which is the sole production facility for all Ribena and Lucozade. The town is also home to bestselling author Andrew Taylor (author) and Children's author and illustrator Shoo Rayner. One building which has survived is the former goods shed for the old railway line to Monmouth, which is now a museum to the history of the local rail network.

Coleford is also home to one of the Local librarys which was designed by retired County Architect Derek D. Bridle

Coleford recently featured in a newspaper/magazine advert for the new (2006) Renault Clio. The left page featured a view of a typical French street and the right page featured St. John's Street in Coleford. The main shop in the picture is the Forest Bookshop, while to the right of it is B.M.C. Weston's flower shop, though in the advert the name is changed to T.M.C. Weston's, presumably due to the connotations that the name 'BMC' (see British Motor Corporation) might have in a car advert.

Many scenes of the film Outlaw were filmed in Coleford.

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Categories: Forest of Dean | Towns in Gloucestershire | English market towns | Gloucestershire geography stubs