Wentwood ( cy, Coed Gwent), in Monmouthshire, South Wales, is a forested area of hills, rising to above sea level. It is located to the northeast of, and partly within the boundaries of, the city of Newport.

Geology

Wentwood is underlain by

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

s which are assigned to the Brownstones Formation of the

Old Red Sandstone The Old Red Sandstone is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the northeastern seaboard of North America. It also exte ...

, a suite of sedimentary rocks laid down during the

Devonian period The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, w ...

. The

beds A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many be ...

dip gently to moderately in a south-easterly direction. It is the southernmost part of a range of hills formed by the relatively hard-wearing Brownstones sandstones which stretch in a rough arc northwards through eastern Monmouthshire, the broadly west-facing scarps of which are generally well wooded.

Wentwood Village

There is a small number of houses in Wentwood, known as Wentwood hamlet. Gilgal Chapel is a restored church in Wentwood.

Ancient woodland

It is the largest

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...

in Wales and the ninth largest in the UK. The current wooded area is a remnant of a much larger ancient forest which once extended between the rivers

Usk Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...

and Wye and which divided the old

kingdom of Gwent Gwent ( owl, Guent) was a medieval Welsh kingdom, lying between the Rivers Wye and Usk. It existed from the end of Roman rule in Britain in about the 5th century until the Norman invasion of Wales in the 11th century. Along with its neighb ...

into two – ''Gwent Uwchcoed'' and ''Iscoed'', that is, above and below the wood.

Prehistory

The area contains

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

burial mounds, a stone circle, and a megalithic alignment on Gray Hill, Monmouthshire.

Middle Ages

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the woods belonged to the lordship of

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the wester ...

and provided hunting preserves, and timber, fuel and pasturage for the tenants of nearby manors. The Royal Forest of Wentwood had its own forest laws and courts were held twice yearly at Forester's Oaks, above Wentwood Reservoir. These courts tried luckless locals charged with a range of crimes within the forest boundaries, from sheep stealing to poaching

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

. These crimes were taken so seriously that culprits were hanged from one of the two Forester's Oaks. The last offender dealt with in this severe way was hanged as recently as 1829.

Later history

The edges of the wood were gradually cleared and felled away in the 16th century and 17th century by farmers. In 1678 Wentwood was the scene of riots led by

Nathan Rogers Nathan Rogers (born July 16, 1979 in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian folk musician/songwriter. He is the son of Stan and Ariel Rogers. His father, a folk musician and songwriter, died in a fire aboard Air Canada Flight 797 on June 2, 1983. ...

and Edward Kemys against the actions of the Marquis of Worcester, Henry Somerset, who, as

Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire. Before the English Civil War, the lieutenancy of Monmouthshire was held by the Lord Lieutenant of Wales, except for the period from 1602 to 1629, when it formed a separate lie ...

and Governor of

Chepstow Castle Chepstow Castle ( cy, Castell Cas-gwent) at Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain. Located above cliffs on the River Wye, construction began in 1067 under the instruction of the Norma ...

enclosed 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 rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

some of the forest for his own use, and began to fell trees for use in his ironworks at

Tintern Tintern ( cy, Tyndyrn) is a village in the community of Wye Valley, on the west bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, Wales, close to the border with England, about north of Chepstow. It is popular with tourists, in particular for the scenery ...

. The tenants of the area, including Rogers, claimed that the ancient rights to the forest belonged to them, and rioted when 50 armed men of Worcester's arrived to carry away the felled wood. Molly McLean, ''The Wentwood Forest riot: property rights and political culture in Restoration England'', in ''Political Culture and Cultural Politics in Early Modern Europe: Essays presented to David Underdown'', Manchester University Press, 1995
, pp.112–132 Many stands of substantial mature Welsh Oaks were felled to meet the demand for stout oak heartwoods in

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

battleships and men o' war of the

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

era of the 19th century, such as

HMS Victory HMS ''Victory'' is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, ordered in 1758, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is best known for her role as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. She ...

and others, but the heart of the forest remained preserved for charcoal production, a necessity for the iron industry and local ironworks. Henry Somerset, 9th Duke of Beaufort sold 2,244 in Wentwood Forest, described as "the largest wood in England", in May 1902. The first conifer plantations were planted at Wentwood in 1880, and most of the native trees were felled during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to provide timber for props and supports for the trenches. When the area was replanted by the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

in the 1950s and 1960s, the original broadleaved

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

trees were largely replaced with non-native conifers, damaging the woodland habitat. More recently, broadleaved trees have been allowed to grow back.

Recreation area

Wentwood and its surrounding areas are popular with

hillwalking Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much unculti ...

and mountain biking enthusiasts and the Wentwood Reservoir, opened in 1904, is a centre for

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

fishing. The area is also home to thousands of wildlife species. These include 75 species of bird, including turtle doves,

nightjars Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk ...

and

spotted flycatcher The spotted flycatcher (''Muscicapa striata'') is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to Siberia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is decl ...

dormice A dormouse is a rodent of the family Gliridae (this family is also variously called Myoxidae or Muscardinidae by different taxonomists). Dormice are nocturnal animals found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. They are named for their long, dormant hibe ...

;

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...

pipistrelle ''Pipistrellus'' is a genus of bats in the family Vespertilionidae and subfamily Vespertilioninae. The name of the genus is derived from the Italian word , meaning "bat" (from Latin "bird of evening, bat"). The size of the genus has been cons ...

bats; and ancient woodland plants, such as wild

daffodil ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as ''Sternbergia'', ''Ism ...

wood sorrel ''Oxalis'' ( (American English) or (British English)) is a large genus of flowering plants in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae, comprising over 550 species. The genus occurs throughout most of the world, except for the polar areas; species d ...

, and yellow pimpernel. In 2006, the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tr ...

completed the purchase of some 352 hectares (nearly 900 acres) of Wentwood after a high-profile campaign, and plans a programme of conservation and restoration. In April 2007, an illegal rave event took place in Wentwood, with around 3,000 people before it was broken up. Vehicle access to much of the site is restricted, to protect the ancient monuments. Despite this, off-road vehicles have regularly caused problems, culminating in damage to one of the prehistoric burial mounds over the Christmas holidays of 2019.

References

External links

Woodland Trust site with more information

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Wentwood and surrounding areas
{{City of Newport Forests and woodlands of Monmouthshire Districts of Newport, Wales Forests and woodlands of Newport, Wales Landmarks in Newport, Wales Tourist attractions in Newport, Wales Mountains and hills of Monmouthshire Marilyns of Wales Old-growth forests