Coalway is a village in the West

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

region of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England, approximately one mile south-east of the town of Coleford. Within the civil parish of Coleford, the village is just south of the village of Broadwell.

History

An ancient route known in 1345 as the coal way ran north-westwards from the Forest boundary at Coalway Lane End and down Lord's hill to join the main road through Coleford east of Coller brook.Coleford
Victoria County History Known later as Coller Lane, it was used by travellers from the

Purton Purton is a large village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, about northwest of the centre of Swindon. The parish includes the village of Purton Stoke and the hamlets of Bentham, Hayes Knoll, Purton Common ...

passage on the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

in the later 17th century. Early building at Coalway was on or near the road between Coleford and

Parkend Parkend is a village, located at the foot of the Cannop Valley, in the Royal Forest of Dean, West Gloucestershire, England, and has a history dating back to the early 17th century. During the 19th century it was a busy industrial village with s ...

, which was diverted southwards after it was turnpiked in 1796. There was a

beerhouse __NOTOC__ A beerhouse was a type of public house created in the United Kingdom by the Beerhouse Act 1830 ( 11 Geo. 4 & 1 Will. 4. c. 64), legally defined as a place "where beer is sold to be consumed ''on'' the premises". They were also known as "s ...

at Coalway by 1841, and this had expanded to three public houses by the late 1870s. The Plough (opposite ‘The Rec’) The Britannia Inn on Coalway cross and The Crown Inn. Forest of Dean: Social life
Victoria County History The last remaining of these is

The Crown Inn Crown Inn may refer to: * The Crown (hotel), Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England * The Crown Inn, Birmingham, England * The Crown Inn, Glossop, Derbyshire, England * Crown Inn, Helmsley, North Yorkshire, England * The Crown Inn, Pishill, Oxford ...

. Which had a field attached to it where bonfires and sheep sales was held. The

Primitive Methodists The Primitive Methodist Church is a Christian denomination within the holiness movement. Originating in early 19th-century England as a revivalist movement within Methodism, it was heavily influenced by American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–18 ...

built a chapel called "Pisgah" at Coalway in 1861. A green was given by a local landowner to the people of Coalway for recreational and sports, in the latter part of the 1930’s. Funds was raised to build recreational equipment in the 70’s. A village hall was built on it and in 1988 changing rooms was built by the local football team Mushet and Coalway. A school opened in 1966 when Coalway Infants School opened; this was followed by Coalway Junior school in 1976.Forest of Dean: Education
Victoria County History The local woods have beautiful walks. Foxes, deer, badgers and wild boar are local to the forest.

References

External links

Forest of Dean Villages in Gloucestershire Coleford, Gloucestershire {{Gloucestershire-geo-stub