| Parkend | |
View of Parkend |
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Parkend
Parkend shown within Gloucestershire |
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| OS grid reference | SO615082 |
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| District | Forest of Dean |
| Shire county | Gloucestershire |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Lydney |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| List of places: UK • England • Gloucestershire | |
Parkend is a village, located at the foot of the Cannop Valley, in the Royal Forest of Dean, West Gloucestershire, England, and has a history dating back to the early 17th century. During the 19th century it was a busy industrial village with several coal mines, an ironworks, stoneworks, timber-yard and a tinplate works, but by the early 20th century most had succumbed to a loss of markets and the general industrial decline. In more recent times, the village has found new life within the tourism sector, primarily as a centre for the provision of tourist accommodation.
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The village has two public houses, both with guest accommodation, and one with an adjoining hostel; The Fountain Inn and Lodge and The Woodman Inn. There are also two guesthouses, several holiday let properties, a CIU affiliated club with caravan & camping facilities, and a large camping and caravan site named Whitemead Forest Park; owned and operated by the Civil Service Motoring Association (C.S.M.A.). The Dean Field Studies Centre, once part of Parkend Ironworks, is owned by Bristol City Council and is used to accommodate schoolchildren from that city.
Another impressive building is the village and parish church, dedicated to St Paul, and situated on the eastern edge of the village in a forest clearing. The shape provides the point of interest, being both octagonal and cruciform, with the arms formed by the sanctuary, north and west transepts and the west tower. It was designed and built in 1822, together with the village school, by Henry Poole; a local priest who raised most of the money through public subscription and his own generosity.
Parkend has a cricket club with teams at several different age levels. Parkend Players is another of many organisations in the village, and performs most of its shows at the village's Memorial Hall. The village also has a very active Women's Institute. Parkend Carnival, held on August Bank Holiday Monday, is renowned throughout the Forest as being the biggest and best for miles around. During the summer, regular Sunday car boot sales are held on the recreation field, the profits from which go to support the Memorial Hall.
The village is also home to two significant tourist attractions;
Located on the western edge of the village, RSPB Nagshead is a quiet and tranquil reserve. Open all year, facilities include a visitor centre and toilets (open from 10am to 5pm at weekends during the summer), large car park, two viewing hides, two way-marked walks, a picnic area and information boards. Entrance and car parking are completely free. Wrens, Buzzards, Redstarts, Pied Flycatchers, and Crossbills are frequently seen in the reserve, but fortunate visitors may also spot Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Redwings, Woodcocks and Wood warblers.[1]
In 1942, nest boxes were erected, in the hope that Pied Flycatchers would control Oak Leafroller moths, which were defoliating trees. These boxes have been continually monitored since 1948, making it the world's longest running bird breeding programme.
The Severn and Wye Railway Company began operating mineral trains through the village in 1864. The station was built in 1875 to enable the company to also run passenger services. The level crossing gates by the station are reputedly the longest in Britain.
A decline in coal production and a reduction in passengers saw the station close to regular passenger services in 1929. The last goods train left Parkend on 8 July 1975 and much of the track was dismantled. The line was bought by the Dean Forest Railway, based at Norchard, and Parkend station was officially re-opened on Friday 19 May 2006 by HRH the Princess Royal. It is currently the northern terminus of the Dean Forest Railway.
The earliest evidence of human activity in Parkend comes from a hoard of over 1,000 Roman coins, found in the village in 1852, and dating from around AD 300. A lack of other artefacts, however, suggests that the Romans probably did not settle here. History is then silent until 1278, and the first record of a hunting enclosure called ‘Wistemede’ - later known as Whitemead Park; from which Parkend derived its name.
In 1612 James I built a charcoal-fired blast furnace and forge at ‘Parke End’, bringing with it the first real settlement. ‘The King’s Ironworks’ proved horrendously inefficient and it closed in 1674. It would seem that occupation of the village ceased until new dwellings appeared from 1747 onwards. Part of the Fountain Inn dates back to 1767 and is the oldest surviving building in Parkend.
The first record of a coal mine in Parkend dates back to 1718, but by 1787, there were 37 mines; all of which were small. In 1811 The Severn and Wye tramway reached Parkend, facilitating the more efficient, and cheaper, movement of coal. Several of the larger mines, most notably Castlemain, developed to a large scale and prospered for the next 70 before going into administration in 1880. They reopened several times over the next 50 years, but were to finally cease coal production in 1929.[2]
With the advent of coke-fired furnaces, Parkend, and its many coal mines, was once again considered an ideal location for the production of iron and work began on Parkend Ironworks in 1799. In 1825, the lower pond at Cannop and a 1½ mile leat were constructed to provide a constant supply of water to a waterwheel at the works. Despite the enormous effort expended in creating this supply, it proved inadequate and an engine house and steam engine were added in 1828. A second pond at Cannop was also constructed a year later.
The works were extended several times over the next forty years, but the iron trade went into recession and it closed in 1877. Demolition was completed by 1908, but the engine house and some ancillary buildings survived and became the country’s first ‘Forester Training School’ in 1910. During the war it was used as a barracks for the American army and it is now the Dean Field Studies Centre.[3]
In 1818/9 David Mushet built Darkhill Ironworks, just to the west of Parkend, where he experimented with iron and steel making. In 1845, his youngest son, Robert Forester Mushet, took over management of the site. One his greatest achievements was to perfect the Bessemer Process by discovering the solution to early quality problems which beset the process.[4] In a second key advance in metallurgy Mushet invented 'R Mushet's Special Steel' (R.M.S.) in 1868.[5] It was both the first true tool steel[5] and the first air-hardening steel.[6] It revolutionised the design of machine tools and the progress of industrial metalworking, and was the forerunner of High speed steel. The remains of Darkhill are now preserved as an Industrial Archaeological Site of International Importance and are open to the public.[7]
Warren James (1792–1841) - Miners' leader who led the Foresters to action against the Crown, in 1831. Born on the southern edge of Parkend.
Robert Deakin (1917-1985) - Anglican Bishop of Tewksbury. Born in the village.
Mary Rose Young (b.1958) - Internationally renowned ceramic artist, lives and works in the village.
The Story of Parkend, by Ralph Anstis. ISBN 9781899889044</ref>