The Gillingham Royal Forest project aims to connect people with the history, heritage and wildlife of the Gillingham Royal Forest through events, walking trails and volunteering work. GILLINGHAM ROYAL FOREST TODAY
Gillingham, the gateway to North Dorset, with its all-important rail links enabling access to the home of the historic royal forest, is ready to be discovered and enjoyed. The legacy of
Gillingham’s Royal Forest is a rich history of people and wildlife, with clues in the landscape as to its royal past, with scheduled ancient monuments as well as ancient hedgerows and woodland which are now home to protected species such as Bechstein’s and Daubenton’s bats. The Gillingham Royal Forest project aims to allow people to:
LEARN: by connecting people with the history, heritage, and wildlife of the Gillingham Royal Forest through a programme of events including walks, talks, workshops and other experiences. ENJOY: the project will deliver two new walking routes as part of the project as well as improved access and new interpretation to enhance visits to the area
GET INVOLVED: with recording our natural heritage, help project partners to improve, restore and reconnect habitats for the benefit of people and wildlife. From gardens and greenspaces to landscape-scale conservation works. HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL: GILLINGHAM’S ROYAL FOREST
- The royal forest in Gillingham was established after the Norman Conquest in 1066, it measured 13.7 square miles or 8,000 acres.
- Following the Norman Conquest in England, in practice, a royal forest was similar to a kind of ‘preserve’, taken into Crown ownership with its own far-reaching and strict laws to safeguard the woods and pastures for royal hunting.
- In the case of Gillingham, the forest’s purpose was to raise deer for the royal larder.
- Forests of this kind featured a variable mixture of woodland trees but were part of a mosaic or patchwork of other habitats such as open grassland and farmland – our modern day understanding of the word ‘forest’ isn’t what was reflected in the landscape back then.
- The deer park featured a hunting lodge, and it was King John who was particularly fond of hunting in the forest, visiting every year from 1203 to 1214.
- A map was drawn up of the forest in 1624 and forms the basis of the Gillingham Royal Forest project area today.
- In 1625 the deer were removed and the area was ’disafforested’ - meaning it was enclosed for use by private landowners - leading to local riots.
- PARTNERS -
The Gillingham Royal Forest project is a partnership project led by Dorset Wildlife Trust and includes: Blackmore Vale Line Community Partnership, Dorset Council, Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group South West (FWAG), Gillingham Action for Nature Group (GANG), Gillingham Local History Society and Museum, Gillingham Town Council, Gillingham Walkers, Motcombe Parish Council, Natural England, North Dorset Health Walks, NFU, Riverfly Group, Stour Catchment Partnership, The Three Rivers Partnership and U3A . Ongoing, the partners and community groups that we work with is likely to expand to include others as the project develops. This project is made possible thanks to National Lottery players, Southern Co-op and South Western Railway Customer and Communities Improvement Fund (CCIF).
