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The thriving town of Lydney covers
approximately eight square miles, and stands on the  north
bank of the UK’s longest river, the Severn.
There has been a settlement there ever since Roman times - it is
thought that Lydney Park was a significant Roman settlement with
a temple, bath house and guest house dating back to the 4th Century.
There is also evidence that the surrounding area has been farmed
since the Bronze Age. It has been suggested that the Saxons named
the settlement ‘Lydeney’ possibly meaning either ‘Travellers
Island’ or ‘broad’, referring to the River Severn.
One of the town’s main features is Lydney Harbour. In 1980,
the lower and tidal basins and the connecting lock were classified
as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the rest of the harbour area,
which dates from the 1870’s, is a rare and historically important
example of an unspoilt 19th Century harbour built for sailing ships.
Both iron and coal were exported from the Forest, often on ships
built using local oak. Until Stuart times, quite large ships were
constructed at Lydney, including the 306-ton, 22-gun frigate ‘Forester’
in 1657 and the 620-ton frigate ‘Princess’ in 1660.
The town was the home of Sir William Wintour, Admiral of the Fleet
of Queen Elizabeth I in 1588, and many of the ships to oppose the
Spanish Armada were built here.
The harbour was developed because of Lydney’s importance as
a trading centre - it was the last port on the Severn where sea-going
boats could load and unload their cargoes. The real expansion of
Lydney took place around 1750, when coal production boomed, and
the harbour remained very busy during the Industrial Revolution
in the 19th Century. Producing and transporting coal, stone, tinplate
and timber and importing china clay and salt, made Lydney a small
but thriving port. At its busiest time, the Dock handled in excess
of 2000 vessels and 300,000 tons of coal annually.
Like many other small towns, Lydney suffered a reversal of fortune
during the 19th Century. By the end of the 1800’s the iron
smelting furnaces had closed due to foreign competition and a depressed
trading market. The Severn and Wye Railway and Canal Company, which
built the harbour and basin complex, went bankrupt in 1893. Tinplate
manufacture was less profitable, and the coal mining industry was
also in decline. In addition, there was increasing competition from
Sharpness Docks, after the Severn Railway Bridge was built in 1879.
The bridge linked Purton to Sharpness, which did not suffer the
tidal problems of Lydney. The gradual decline continued until 1976,
when the British Transport Docks Board closed the port by walling
in the tidal basin.
Now, however, the Docks area is being redeveloped as a tourist attraction.
Dredging and masonry repairs have been carried out to the tidal
basin area of the harbour, and the lock and outer harbour gates
have been replaced. This is part of a plan that will, eventually,
see 80 pleasure craft moored at the site. Footpaths and a road ensure
good links with the Docks area to the town centre, and Lydney was
recently identified as the Forest town that is most likely to expand
over the next few years.
There is, however, much more to Lydney. Its excellent transport
links have ensured that it is a lively place to both live and work,
with a very good range of shops, a leisure centre and sports facilities,
as well as a thriving business sector. There are also over 30 pubs,
cafes and restaurants, serving a wide variety of meals. Lydney Rugby
Club is very well known, there is an open-air swimming pool and,
of course, the town is surrounded by the Forest of Dean, with its
beautiful walks and cycle paths. It’s even possible to view
parts of Lydney and the Forest from the comfort of a seat in a restored
steam train, courtesy of the Dean Forest Railway.
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