Royal Forest of Dean Freeminers’ Association

I was pleased to visit Hopewell Colliery recently and meet with Richard and Jason from the Royal Forest of Dean Freeminers’ Association. We had a great conversation about the importance of freemining—a tradition unique to our area and vital to our local heritage.

Freemining has been part of life in the Forest of Dean for thousands of years, with rights formally recognised in the 1838 Dean Forest (Mines) Act. Those born in the ancient Hundred of St Briavels, who meet certain criteria, still have the right to open their own mine, or “gale”. I’d definitely recommend a visit!