Forest of Dean - Foresters

Foresters

If born within the hundred of St Briavels, an ancient administrative area covering most of what is now considered the Forest of Dean, one is classed as a true Forester. This classification bestows a unique right for (traditionally) males who are over 21 and have worked in a mine for a year and a day — they can register to be a freeminer. These ancient rights that were put on the statute books in the Dean Forest (Mines) Act 1838, the only public act to affect private individuals.Residents of the hundred who are over 18 can also graze sheep in the Forest in accordance with an agreement between the Forestry Commission and the Commoners Association.

In October 2010, for the first time, a woman won the right to be classified as a Freeminer. Elaine Morman, an employee at Clearwell Caves in the Forest, who had worked as a miner of ochre for a number of years, raised a claim of sexual discrimination against the Forestry Commission. After Mark Harper MP raised the matter in the House of Commons, the Forestry Commission reversed its position and agreed to register her.