Parkend

The village has two public houses, both with guest accommodation, The Fountain Inn{{cite web |title=Fountain Inn|url=https://www.thefountaininn.info/ |publisher=Fountain Inn|accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=28 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828091828/http://thefountaininn.info/ |url-status=live }} and The Woodman Inn.{{cite web |title=The Woodman Inn |url=http://www.woodman-parkend.co.uk/ |publisher=The Woodman Inn |accessdate=28 August 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410210050/http://www.woodman-parkend.co.uk/|archivedate=10 April 2010}} 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;{{cite web |title=Whtiemead Forest Park |url=http://www.whitemead.co.uk |publisher=Whtiemead Forest Park |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=16 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216114739/http://www.whitemead.co.uk/ |url-status=live }} owned and operated by the Civil Service Motoring Association (C.S.M.A.).{{cite book |last=Edmondson |first=Donald |author-link= |date=2003 |title=Whitemead Park a short history |url= |location= |volume= |publisher=A CSMA Leisure Property |pages=12–13 |isbn=}} 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.{{cite web |title=Dean Field Studies Centre |url=https://www.bristol.gov.uk/schools-learning-early-years/dean-field-studies-centre |publisher=Bristol City Council |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828175738/https://www.bristol.gov.uk/schools-learning-early-years/dean-field-studies-centre |url-status=live }}

The village and parish church are 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,{{cite web |title=About Our Churches |url=http://www.parkendandvineyhillchurches.org.uk/1_6_churches.html |publisher=Parkend and Viney Hill Churches |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=2 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902110925/http://parkendandvineyhillchurches.org.uk/1_6_churches.html |url-status=live }} together with the village school, by Henry Poole;{{cite web |title=Church of St Paul |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1186362 |website=National Heritage List for England |publisher=Historic England |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828175737/https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1186362 |url-status=live }} a local priest who raised most of the money through public subscription and his own generosity.

File:Parkend_Cricket_Club_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2187082.jpg

Parkend Cricket Club is an English amateur cricket club that is based on the northern edge of the village on Crown Lane.{{cite web |url=https://parkend.play-cricket.com/Aboutus |title= Parkend CC |website=parkend.play-cricket.com |publisher=Parkend Cricket Club |date= |accessdate=2022-08-15 }}

Parkend have 2 Saturday senior XI teams.{{cite web |url=https://parkend.play-cricket.com/Teams |title=Parkend Cricket Club Teams |website=parkend.play-cricket.com |publisher=Parkend Cricket Club |date= |accessdate=2022-08-15}} The 1st XI compete in the Gloucestershire County Cricket League,{{cite web |url=https://gloucestershireccl.play-cricket.com/ |title=Gloucestershire County Cricket League |website=gloucestershireccl.play-cricket.com |publisher=Gloucestershire County Cricket League |date= |accessdate=2022-08-15}} and the 2nd XI are in the Cheltenham, Gloucester and Forest of Dean League.{{cite web |url=https://cgfleague.play-cricket.com/ |title=Cheltenham, Gloucester and Forest of Dean League |website=cgfleague.play-cricket.com |publisher=Cheltenham, Gloucester and Forest of Dean League |date= |accessdate=2022-08-15}} They also have a Midweek senior XI team that traditionally took part in the annual West Gloucestershire Cricket Federation "Verderers Cup" competition,{{cite web |url=https://westgloucscf.play-cricket.com/Competitions?season=76 |title=Verderers Cup competition |website=westgloucscf.play-cricket.com |publisher=West Gloucestershire Cricket Federation |date= |accessdate=2022-08-15}} and a Sunday XI team that currently play the occasional friendly against neighbouring clubs.

The Parkend juniors all play competitive cricket in the Leadon Vale Youth Cricket League.{{cite web |url=https://leodonvaleycl.play-cricket.com/home |title=Leadon Vale Youth Cricket League |website=leodonvaleycl.play-cricket.com |publisher=Leadon Vale Youth Cricket League |date= |accessdate=2022-08-15}}

The Parkend Players is an Amateur theatre group that performs most of its shows at the village Memorial Hall.

Parkend Carnival, held on August Bank Holiday Monday, is renowned throughout the forest as being the biggest and best for miles around.{{cite web |title=Parkend Carnival |url=http://www.parkendcarnival.co.uk/ |publisher=Parkend Carnival |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=27 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727193449/http://www.parkendcarnival.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}

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 also has a very active Women's Institute.

{{Main|Nagshead}}

File:Nagshead 032.jpg

Located on the western edge of the village, RSPB Nagshead is a quiet reserve, open all year. Facilities include a visitor centre, large car park, two viewing hides, two way-marked walks, and a picnic area. Birdlife regularly seen in the reserve includes great spotted woodpecker, Eurasian nuthatch, northern goshawk and common buzzard. Breeding birds include common redstart, pied flycatcher, and common crossbill and wood warbler, whilst Redwing, hawfinch and Eurasian woodcock can be found in winter.{{cite web |title=Nagshead |url=https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/nagshead/ |publisher=RSPB |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828175745/https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/nagshead/ |url-status=live }}

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.

{{Main|Parkend railway station}}

File:Parkend Railway Station.JPG

The railway in Parkend began life in 1810, as a horse-drawn tramroad, owned and operated by the Severn and Wye Railway Co. By 1874, the line had been converted to run standard gauge steam locomotives and the station was built in 1875 to enable the company to also run passenger services alongside its freight operations.{{cite web |title=Parkend, Forest of Dean |date=29 September 2017 |url=https://rogerfarnworth.com/2017/09/29/parkend-forest-of-dean/ |publisher=Roger Farnworth |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828175737/https://rogerfarnworth.com/2017/09/29/parkend-forest-of-dean/ |url-status=live }} 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 26 March 1976 and much of the track was dismantled.{{cite web |title=Gloucestershire's lost railways stations and the long lost lines |date=February 2020 |url=https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/history/gallery/gloucestershire-lost-railway-stations-trains-3800914 |publisher=Gloucestershire Live |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=24 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524071025/https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/history/gallery/gloucestershire-lost-railway-stations-trains-3800914 |url-status=live }} The line was bought by the Dean Forest Railway, based at Norchard, and Parkend was officially re-opened on Friday 19 May 2006 by the Princess Royal.{{cite web |title=Modern History |url=https://parkendvillage.uk/about-parkend/a-history-of-parkend/modern-history |publisher=Parkend Village |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828175752/https://parkendvillage.uk/about-parkend/a-history-of-parkend/modern-history |url-status=live }} The station 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 from the period suggests that the Romans probably did not settle there. History is then silent until 1278, and the first record of a hunting enclosure called ‘Wistemede’ - later known as Whitemead Park. The village's location, at one end of this park, is how 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, however, ‘The King’s Ironworks’ proved horrendously inefficient and it closed in 1674.{{cite web |title=Parkend |url=http://www.deanweb.info/parkend.html |publisher=DEanweb |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=29 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829085023/http://www.deanweb.info/parkend.html |url-status=live }} It would seem that occupation of the village then 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, although the remains of several bell pits, possibly dating back to the 1600s, are visible in the woods south-west of St Paul's church.{{cite web |title=Forest of Dean: Industry Pages 326-354 A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 5, Bledisloe Hundred, St. Briavels Hundred, the Forest of Dean. |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol5/pp326-354 |website=British History Online |publisher=Victoria County History |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=27 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200827143834/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol5/pp326-354 |url-status=live }}

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. In 1799 a new ironworks was constructed near the site of the current post office. Initially it suffered from technical problems, but by the early/mid-1800s it had triggered a major industrialisation of the village.

The need for improved transport links was instrumental in the construction of a horse-drawn tramroad by the Severn & Wye Railway Co in 1810, connecting the village with the docks at Lydney. Demand for coal at the ironworks also lead to the appearance of several large coal mines in the village during the early 1800s, the most notable being 'Castlemain'.

In 1818/9 another ironworks was also built at Darkhill, just to the west of Parkend, and in 1845 Robert Forester Mushet took over management of the site. One of his greatest achievements was to perfect the Bessemer Process by discovering the solution to early quality problems which beset the process.{{cite book |last1=Anstis |first1=Ralph |title=Man of Iron, Man of Steel: Lives of David and Robert Mushet |date=1997 |publisher=Albion House |isbn=978-0951137147|page=140}} In a second key advance in metallurgy Mushet invented 'R Mushet's Special Steel' (R.M.S.) in 1868.{{Citation | title = Robert Mushet | url = http://www.tilthammer.com/bio/mush.html | accessdate = 2009-05-27 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090726052149/http://www.tilthammer.com/bio/mush.html | archivedate = 26 July 2009 | df = dmy-all }} It was both the first true tool steel and the first air-hardening steel.{{cite book |last1=Stoughton |first1=Bradley |title=The Metallurgy of Iron and Steel |date=1908 |isbn=978-1112218781|pages=408–409}} 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.{{cite book |last1=Anstis |first1=Ralph |title=Man of Iron, Man of Steel: Lives of David and Robert Mushet |date=1997 |publisher=Albion House |isbn=978-0951137147}}

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 Parkend Ironworks.{{cite web |title=Cannop Ponds |url=https://www.forestryengland.uk/cannop-ponds |publisher=Forestry Commission |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828175755/https://www.forestryengland.uk/cannop-ponds |url-status=live }} 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 school and St Paul’s church were built in 1822 and Henry Poole, who had designed both, became Parkend’s first vicar. He moved into the new vicarage in 1829, but the school developed structural problems and was rebuilt, on the same site, in 1845.

A stone works opened in 1850 and a tinplate works was constructed in 1853. It stood to the left of the ironworks, and further along was built a row of terraced houses, known as ‘The Square’, which were used to accommodate the workers there.

In 1864 the Severn and Wye Railway Company began operating steam locomotives on the existing tramway. This proved to be unsatisfactory and 1868 the company also added a broad-gauge steam railway line, but both were removed and replaced with standard gauge tracks by 1874. At around the same time, a loading wharf, known as Marsh Sidings, was constructed and Parkend railway station opened in 1875, allowing the company to also operate passenger trains alongside its freight operations.

In 1871 a third furnace was added at Parkend Ironworks, but the optimism behind this investment was to be short-lived.

During the mid-1870s, industry in the Forest, and across the country as a whole, quickly began to slide into a deep recession. Parkend Tinplate Works, and the ironworks that had dominated the village for 90 years, succumbed to a loss of markets and both closed in 1877. Just a few years before, these two businesses alone had been employing 500 people between them, but even this was overshadowed by the closure of the Parkend coal pits in 1880, which went into voluntary liquidation with the loss of 700 jobs.

By the mid-1880s, the industrial decline that had gripped the Forest was beginning to ease. The mines, which had closed in 1880, reopened in 1885 and by the 1890s they were prospering once again. The ironworks did not re-open and were demolished by 1909, although the imposing engine-house survived to become the country’s first Forester Training School in 1910.

The 1920s proved to be another difficult period for the residents of Parkend. The high demand for coal, that had been created by the First World War, was followed by a slump and industrial unrest. Matters were made worse as the local mines were now finding it difficult to access coal easily, and some had been worked out completely. There were major strikes in 1921 and 1926, and all the village mines, except New Fancy, finally closed for the last time in 1929. There was a considerable knock-on effect for other industries too and the railway closed to passengers in the same year. Parkend stone works closed in 1932, marking the end of heavy industry in the village.

The Forester Training School was commandeered by the War Office during WWII and used as a barracks by the American army.{{cite journal |title=The Forester Training School, Parkend |journal=Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research |date=1955 |volume=28 |issue=1 |page=48 |doi=10.1093/forestry/28.1.48 |url=https://academic.oup.com/forestry/article-abstract/28/1/48/583505 |access-date=28 August 2020 |archive-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828175756/https://academic.oup.com/forestry/article-abstract/28/1/48/583505 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} After the war it reverted to being a forestry school until it was bought by Avon County Council in 1972, for use as a field-studies centre, and regularly hosts groups of school children.

The houses known as ‘The Square’ were demolished in the mid-1950s and their occupants re-housed in a new council estate. Another housing development, of 26 dwellings, was built near the railway station, in 2004.

Whitemead Park, which had been the Forestry Commission’s headquarters since 1814, was bought by the Civil Service Motoring Association in 1970. It opened as a caravan site in 1971 and is now the largest tourist accommodation facility in the forest.

Freight operations by the railway continued at Marsh Sidings up until 1976, after which much of the track was dismantled. The line was bought by the Dean Forest Railway Preservation Society and Parkend station was officially re-opened by princess Anne on 19 May 2006.{{cite book |last1=Anstis |first1=Ralph |title=The Story of Parkend: A Forest of Dean Village |date=2009 |publisher=Lightmoor Press |isbn=978-1899889044}}

• Warren James (1792–1841) - Miners' leader who led the Foresters to action against the Crown, in 1831. Born on the southern edge of Parkend.{{cite web |title=Early History |url=https://parkendvillage.uk/about-parkend/a-history-of-parkend/early-history |publisher=Parkend Village |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=28 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828175759/https://parkendvillage.uk/about-parkend/a-history-of-parkend/early-history |url-status=live }}
• Jolly John Nash (1828–1901) - Colliery proprietor who became a leading music hall entertainer in London.Mary Atkins, "'Jolly' John Nash: A Forest 'Lion Comique'", The New Regard: Journal of the Forest of Dean Local History Society, No.23, 2009, pp.60-64
• Robert Deakin (1917-1985) - Anglican Bishop of Tewkesbury. Born in the village.{{cite web |title=St. Paul's Church, Parkend |url=http://parkendandvineyhillchurches.org.uk/St.Paul's.html |publisher=Parkend and Viney Hill Churches |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=29 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129154158/http://www.parkendandvineyhillchurches.org.uk/St.Paul's.html |url-status=live }}
• Mary Rose Young (born 1958) - Internationally renowned ceramic artist, lives and works in the village.{{cite web |title=Mary Rose Young |url=https://www.maryroseyoung.com/ |publisher=Mary Rose Young |accessdate=28 August 2020 |archive-date=1 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201193433/https://www.maryroseyoung.com/ |url-status=live }}

• New Fancy
• Parkend Ironworks
• Darkhill Ironworks

{{Reflist}}

File:Level crossing, Parkend - geograph.org.uk - 810215.jpg|Level crossing near Parkend Station.

File:Parkend Primary School - geograph.org.uk - 895199.jpg|Parkend Primary School.

File:Field Study Centre.jpg|The Dean Field Studies Centre, formerly part of Parkend Ironworks.

File:The Fountain Inn and Lodge (Hostel) - geograph.org.uk - 50583.jpg|The Fountain Inn.

File:Royal Forester at Parkend Station - geograph.org.uk - 1476649.jpg|The 'Royal Forester' at Parkend Station.

File:Memorial Hall, Parkend - geograph.org.uk - 810190.jpg|The Memorial Hall.

File:Pike House - geograph.org.uk - 743985.jpg|The Pike House, at the junction of Bream and Coleford Roads.

File:Tower of St Paul's Church - geograph.org.uk - 895186.jpg|St Paul's Church.

File:Parkend Baptist Church - geograph.org.uk - 809641.jpg|The Baptist Chapel.

File:Mary Rose Young pottery and gallery - geograph.org.uk - 743979.jpg|Mary Rose Young pottery and gallery.

File:Parkend Cycle Path.jpg|The cycle path in Parkend.

File:Historic 067.jpg|Edward VII lime trees in the village.

File:EBay 025.jpg|Runic script on an 1886 gravestone in Parkend churchyard.

File:Warren James.jpg|Stylised mural of the miners' leader Warren James, in the Fountain Inn.

{{Commons category|Parkend, Forest of Dean|Parkend}}

• [https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3687190 Photographs of Parkend and surrounding area on geograph]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111007210513/http://www.fountaininnandlodge.co.uk/rspb_nagshead_reserve.html Walks beginning in Parkend]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111007210530/http://www.fountaininnandlodge.co.uk/biking_family_cycle_trail.html Mountain Bike Trails beginning in Parkend]

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Category:Villages in Gloucestershire

Category:Forest of Dean