In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Coleford like this:
COLEFORD, a small town, a tything, a chapelry, and a sub-district in the district of Monmouth and county of Gloucester. The town stands on the line of the Coleford, Monmouth, Usk, and Pontypool railway, in Dean forest, near Offa's dyke and the river Wye, 4 miles ESE of Monmouth. It consists chiefly of one main street; does a large trade in mineral productions; is a seat of petty sessions and a polling place; and has a head post office, ‡ a market-house, and four places of worship. ...
A market is held weekly; and fairs on 20 June and 5 Dec. The environs are picturesque; and one spot was the scene of a skirmish in 1643. The tything includes the town; and is in Newland parish. Pop., 2, 600. Houses, 538. The chapelry includes most of the tything. Pop., 2, 376. 'T he living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Gloucester and Bristol. Value, £150.* Patron, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. The church was rebuilt in the time of Anne, on the site of a previous one destroyed in the civil war; and has a tower. There are chapels for Independents, Baptists, and Wesleyans. -The sub-district contains two parishes, West Dean township, and four tythings of Newland. Acres, 22, 672. Pop., 13, 964. Houses, 2, 814
Coleford through time
Coleford is now part of Forest of Dean district. Click here for graphs and data of how Forest of Dean has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Coleford itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Coleford, in Forest of Dean and Gloucestershire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/289
Date accessed: 26th April 2024
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