Arden, Warwickshire
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The Forest of Arden is a territory and cultural reference point in the English West Midlands, that in antiquity and into the Early Modern Period covered much of that district: 'This great
forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
once extended across a wide band of Middle England, as far as the River Trent in the north and the River Severn in the south'. It thus included much of
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
, and parts of
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
,
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, the West Midlands, and
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
. It is associated with
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
and is the setting of some of his dramas. The 'forest' did not necessarily denote continuous woodland, "but a large predominantly wooded area with many clearings and areas of cultivation''. The Forest of Arden area may be said to fall within the Roman roads which bounded the territory within: in the east by
Icknield Street Icknield Street or Ryknild Street is a Roman road in England, with a route roughly south-west to north-east. It runs from the Fosse Way at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire () to Templeborough in South Yorkshire (). It passes through ...
, in the south by the
Salt Road A salt road (also known as a salt route, salt way, saltway, or salt trading route) refers to any of the Prehistory, prehistoric and Recorded history, historical trade routes by which essential salt was transported to regions that lacked it. Fro ...
(the modern Alcester to Stratford Road), in the south east by the Fosse Way, and in the north and west by
Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...
. The Gough Map shows this traditional extent of the forest. More recently the shorter term ''Arden'' has been used to describe a smaller area primarily concentrated in the historic county of Warwickshire and parts of the modern West Midlands
metropolitan county Metropolitan counties are a Subdivisions of England, subdivision of England which were originally used for Local government in England, local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyn ...
.


History


Early history

Believed to be derived from a Brythonic word ''ardu''- "high" (cf. ), by extension "highland", the area was formerly thickly forested and known as the Forest of Arden. Located near the geographical centre of England, the Forest of Arden, through which no
Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
s were built, was bounded by the Roman roads
Icknield Street Icknield Street or Ryknild Street is a Roman road in England, with a route roughly south-west to north-east. It runs from the Fosse Way at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire () to Templeborough in South Yorkshire (). It passes through ...
,
Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...
, Fosse Way, and a prehistoric salt track leading from Droitwich. It included the north-western half of the traditional county of Warwick, stretching from
Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon ( ), commonly known as Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon (district), Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of Engl ...
in the south to Tamworth in the north, and as well as areas that are now the large settlements of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
,
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
and
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...
, in addition to areas that are still largely rural with numerous areas of woodland. A significant settlement in the forest was the town Henley-in-Arden (in a valley of the River Alne, approximately 15 miles southeast of Birmingham), the site of an
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
hillfort. Wide lands in this district were held in the time of
Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
by Alwin, whose son Thurkill of "of Arden," founded the
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of this name. The Domesday book reveals that in 1086 the Forest of Arden was comparatively lightly settled, and poor in terms of agricultural wealth. An ancient mark stone known as Coughton Cross is still present at the southwestern corner of the forest, at the junction of
Icknield Street Icknield Street or Ryknild Street is a Roman road in England, with a route roughly south-west to north-east. It runs from the Fosse Way at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire () to Templeborough in South Yorkshire (). It passes through ...
(now A435) and the salt track, now the southern end of the frontage of Coughton Court, and is owned by the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
. According to local tradition, travellers prayed here for safe passage through the forest. Thorkell of Arden, a descendant of the ruling family of
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
, was one of the few major English landowners who retained extensive properties after the Norman conquest. His progeny, the Arden family, remained prominent in the area for centuries, by the 14th century, under Sir Henry de Arden, the most prominent Ardens had their primary estate at Park Hall, Castle Bromwich,
Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...
. Connection to this ancient family was important in the identity work of the Dudley family in the sixteenth century. Mary Arden, mother of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, was a member of this prominent West Midlands family, who had also had a prominent centre of power in
Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...
in the 1500s. From around 1162, until the suppression of their order in 1312, the
Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...
owned a preceptory at Temple Balsall in the middle of the Forest of Arden. The property then passed to the
Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...
, who held it until the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
during the 16th century. During the medieval era it is believed the forest began to become enclosed and deforested.


Early modern period

Robert Catesby Robert Catesby ( – 8 November 1605) was the leader of a group of English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Born in Warwickshire, Catesby was educated at Oxford University. His family were prominent recusant Catholics, a ...
, leader of the
Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...
of 1605, was a native of Lapworth, a village in Arden. It is believed that many local families across the Arden area had resisted the Reformation and retained Catholic sympathies, possibly including the family of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
, whose paternal ancestors were from the Balsall area. Many of the key engagements of
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
of 1642 – 1651 were fought in the Arden area, such as the Battle of Camp Hill.


Culture and cultural references


Shakespeare

Shakespeare's play ''
As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...
'' is set in the Forest of Arden, but it is an imaginary version incorporating elements from the Ardennes forest in
Thomas Lodge Thomas Lodge (September 1625) was an English writer and medical practitioner whose life spanned the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Biography Early life Thomas Lodge was born about 1557 in West Ham, the second son of Sir Thomas Lodge ...
's prose romance ''Rosalynde; Or, Euphues' Golden Legacy'' and the real forest (both as it was when the play was written, i.e. subjected to
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...
and
enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...
, and the romanticized version of his youth). Lodge was familiar with the English Forest of Arden via the ownership and occupation by the family of the manor Soulton by his father, Sir Thomas Lodge. This manor is located on the boundaries of the English Forest of Arden in a territory in which the Tudor Statesman Sir Rowland Hill was active, furnishing a possible inspiration for Shakespeare's character Old Sir Rowland. Shakespeare's Arden seems to have promulgated a vision of the forest that fits in with the English nostalgic autostereotype of
Merry England "Merry England", or in more jocular, archaic spelling "Merrie England", refers to a utopian conception of English culture, English society and culture based on an idyllic pastoral way of life that was allegedly prevalent in Early Modern Britai ...
, and inspired subsequent artists such as
Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, ...
John Collier.


Myths and legends

The status of Coventry as an isolated settlement surrounded by the thick Forest of Arden has been cited by some historians as a cause for the prospering of a cult of the pagan goddess Cofa after the rest of the country had been Christianised. It is believed that in the 12th century, this localised cult had transferred its veneration from the goddess Cofa to
Lady Godiva Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. She is mainly remembere ...
, an Anglo Saxon Countess of the area. The warping of the myths with the real historical figure of Godiva, could explain many of the legends associated with her. According to the legend, the hero Sir Guy of Warwick set up his hermitage at Guy's Cliffe in the Forest of Arden, overlooking the River Avon.


In other fiction

Moseley Bog is a remnant of the Forest of Arden, now a local nature reserve that inspired the Old Forest in
J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...
's ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...
'' books.


Court offices

In 1758 the Earl of Aylesford and five others founded (or possibly re-founded) the Woodmen of Arden. This is an exclusive archery club that takes its offices from the medieval
Royal Forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...
court positions, such as
Verderer Verderers are forestry officials in England who deal with common land in certain former royal hunting areas which are the property of the Crown. The office was developed in the Middle Ages to administer forest law on behalf of the King. Verderers ...
and Warden. The organisation claims to be a successor to an older organisation of woodmen, however there is scant evidence that forest law ever applied in the Forest of Arden.


Forest law

Unlike other forests of the era it does not appear that the Forest of Arden was ever subject to forest law. It is unclear why this is, however it is possibly because wide-scale settlement of the area did not occur until comparatively late, and thus the forest still represented something of a
frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...
. This may have been due to the density and size of the forest – which overlies a large area of clay resulting in natural vegetation of dense broad-leaved woodland like oak and lime – as well as the dangers within such as bears and wolves, which did not become extinct in Great Britain until the sixth and seventeenth centuries respectively. No Roman road penetrated the forest;
Icknield Street Icknield Street or Ryknild Street is a Roman road in England, with a route roughly south-west to north-east. It runs from the Fosse Way at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire () to Templeborough in South Yorkshire (). It passes through ...
,
Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...
, and Fosse Way all went around it instead, and a salt track bounded the south side. The Domesday book indicates that the area was still little settled by 1086, with a handful of former Iron Age hill forts, Roman forts, and Anglo-Saxon settlements at places like Henley-in-Arden, Coleshill and Ulverlei. A medieval era wayside cross known as the Coughton Cross sits at the southern boundary of the forest, and was allegedly a site where travelers would pray for safe passage through the forest prior to entering. The first major wave of settlement of assarts occurred from the eleventh century to the fourteenth century, as a result of "peasant land hunger" from settlements south of Arden and "seignorial encouragement" and lords desiring to expand their holdings and political power. Even so, settlers had to be enticed to colonise the area. In the planted borough of Solihull the Lord of the Manor offered free burgage tenure in which residents were free, rent-paying burgesses, rather than villeins owing service to the Lord of the Manor. In Tanworth in Arden the Earl of Warwick pursued a policy as overlord that unusually saw over 60 per cent of the income from this manor derived from free rents. Royal forests subject to forest law were established on wooded land adjoining the Forest of Arden, at Sutton Park in the Anglo-Saxon era, and Feckenham Forest in the early Norman era, both much smaller and more manageable than the vast untamed land of Arden. Despite the lack of evidence that the Forest of Arden was ever under forest law, the Woodmen of Arden, founded (or refounded) in 1758, claim to be a revival of a body who traditionally exercised the role of crown forestry officials in the area.


Geography

The area is punctuated by a large number of settlements – such as Bearley, Shirley and Henley – ending with 'ley', meaning 'a clearing'. There are also a large number of areas with references to woodland, such as Kingswood, Nuthurst, Packwood, Hollywood, Earlswood, Four Oaks, and so on. It is not known exactly when deforestation began, but even in the 16th century it was understood that the forest of Arden had been diminished from what it had been due to enclosure and later logging, due amongst other things to the demands of the navy for wood. The forest itself is today mostly reduced to individual oaks, hedgerows and occasional pockets of ancient woodland, such as the former Royal Forest of Sutton Park and Rough Wood. Ecologist Steven Falk, undertaking research with Warwickshire County Council, conducted a survey of the oldest trees in the Arden area and found over 500 examples of ancient ''
Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It ...
'' (common oak), including examples exceeding 1000 years old. The oldest trees are believed to be in Ryton Woods where ''
Tilia cordata ''Tilia cordata'', the small-leaved lime or small-leaved linden, is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to much of Europe. Other common names include little-leaf or littleleaf linden, or traditionally in South East England, pry or p ...
'' (small-leaved lime) has been coppiced for so long that individual coppice stools have become difficult to distinguish from clustered ones. Falk estimates these trees are well over 1000 years old. The fauna is typical for the wider area, however before emparkment would have included traditional game species such as wild deer, boar and White Park cattle. Many species of deer still roam the region, however the cattle have long since been lost to emparkment. Wild boar were extinct in Great Britain in the 17th century, however they were accidentally reintroduced in the 1970s and sightings have been made in the Arden area. A number of rivers run through the Arden area including the River Cole and the River Blythe.Given the history and natural geography of the area, tourism supports some of the local economy. Towns in the area include Hampton-in-Arden, Henley-in-Arden, and Tanworth-in-Arden. The name 'Arden' is used prominently across the region, such as Arden Academy and the Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club. The Arden Way is a waymarked UK National Trail that traces old paths and routes through rural areas of the ancient Forest of Arden.


Government protections

The
Stratford-on-Avon District Stratford-on-Avon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Warwickshire, England. The district is named after its largest town of Stratford-upon-Avon, but with a change of preposition; the town uses "upon" and the district ...
allocated the Arden area within its borders as a Special Landscape Area in 1996. Although the Arden area itself is not recognized as an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
, it borders the Cannock Chase AONB to the north, and
Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...
AONB to the south.


Arden Sandstone

Arden Sandstone is a distinctive Triassic white heterolithic
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
quarried from the Arden area and used in local buildings. The sandstone contains a large amount of calcium carbonate ('lime') originating from the shells of creatures that lived in the water in which the sandstone formed, which over time develops a reddish hue due to a type of algae ( Trentepohlia jolithus) that grows only on such lime-bearing stone. The stone varies in colour from a muddy brown-red to a brighter orange or red ochre depending on factors such as how long it has been exposed. It is a common building material across the Arden area, and many prominent and famous buildings use it, such as Kenilworth Castle,
Maxstoke Castle Maxstoke Castle is a privately owned moated castle dating from the 14th century, situated to the north of Maxstoke in Warwickshire, England. History Maxstoke Castle was built by Sir William de Clinton, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, in 1345 to a rect ...
, St Alphege Church, Solihull, Stoneleigh Abbey Gatehouse, and numerous others. The stone features prominently in villages across Arden, such as Temple Balsall and Knowle.


Forest restoration and rewilding

Deforestation and emparkment has reduced the woodland cover, but it should be kept in mind that "forest" meant a legal and governance territory before it connoted tree cover as it does to modern ears. The area remains largely rural, and pockets of trees, a few ancient woodlands, field boundaries and ancient oaks remain as the heritage of the once much larger forest. Most of the trees and woodland that made up the forest and still remain are today protected, and there are a number of listed buildings across the area, noted for their history. Many of the buildings are operated by the National Trust and can be visited by tourists.


Heart of England Forest

Publisher Felix Dennis planted substantial areas of woodland in the area. He created a charity, the Heart of England Forest, to carry on this work. On his death in 2014 he left most of his fortune to be used for this purpose. 3,000 acres (12.1 km2) have been planted in Spernall, Dorsington and Honeybourne, and at the Lenches in Worcestershire.


Arden Forest scheme

In 2021 it was announced that a new 'Arden Forest' scheme was being established in the borough of
Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...
, to create a continuous wildlife corridor across the region, in an effort to restore and rewild some of the forest. The aim is part of a wider project seeking to plant a quarter of a million trees within ten years across the area.


National forest proposal

The Countryside Commission considered creating a new national forest in the area in 1989, but the proposal was not taken up.The Forest of Arden
Heart of England blog
A Community Forest was established in the 1990s to the north of the forest of Arden called the Forest of Mercia, and a national forest has since been established between
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
and
Swadlincote Swadlincote is a historic mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, in the county of Derbyshire, England. It lies within The National Forest (England), The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire ...
in the East Midlands, however.


See also

* Hampton-in-Arden * Henley-in-Arden * Tanworth-in-Arden * Arden family * Woodmen of Arden * Arden University


References


Notes


Sources

* *


Further reading

* {{cite journal, url=http://www.bahs.org.uk/45n1a2.pdf , title=Landowners and their Estates in the Forest of Arden in the Fifteenth Century , first=Andrew , last=Watkins , journal=Agricultural History Review , year=1997 , volume=45 , issue=1 , pages=18–33 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927190144/http://www.bahs.org.uk/45n1a2.pdf , archive-date=27 September 2007 , jstor=40275129


External links


About the Forest


Geography of Warwickshire