Littledean
Littledean is one of the ancient villages of the Forest
of Dean. Situated a mile east of the town of Cinderford,
it contains many old buildings dating back to the 1600's,
and some even earlier. Littledean Hall, open to the
public, is one of these ancient buildings, and it is
reputed to be one of the most haunted houses in England,
though this is stoutly denied by its current owner who
is at pains to discourage the notion..
The village was once the site of Roman occupation,
and the remains of the Roman temple can be seen in the
grounds of the Hall. Even earlier, the hillside to the
east of the village was the site of an ancient encampment
and the hillside still bears traces of the banks and
ditches of the fortifications. Littledean grew up at
the centre of a network of ancient Forest tracks (notably
the Roman road which led up from the ford and ferry
at Newnham). By 1086 a motte & bailey castle, known
in later times as the Old castle of Dene, had been built
on a hill to the east, in a commanding position above
the village and the valley leading up from the Severn
plain. Littledean gradually became a centre of local
industry, especially iron making and associated metal
trades.
Littledean's Church of St Ethlebert was built in the
late 12th century with the tower added in the 14th century.
Today this has a rather truncated appearance, because
the tower originally had a spire which was destroyed
in a severe gale in 1894 and never rebuilt. Other buildings
of interest are the Red House an early building, possibly
with a Norman Core, the Old Coaching Inn and Littledean
Hall. Also known as Dean Hall, this is reputed to be
the oldest known house in Gloucestershire . The present
house is 16ht century in date, with an early17th century
north wing and a mid 19th century top storey. Within
the grounds of Littledean Hall is a Roman temple, sited
at a springhead on the edge of the Forest escarpment.
It was only discovered in the early 1980's and subsequent
archaeological excavation revealed a complex history.
Perhaps the most interesting artefact from the site
is a piece of sandstone which has a primitive face carved
on one side. This was found on the site in 1991 and
is of Celtic origin. As the Romans often adopted local
religions and sacred sites, it is thought that Littledean
temple was built as a water shrine dedicated to the.
deity of the River Severn and its bore, for the site
has excellent views of the great horseshoe bend in the
river.
The most noticeable building in the village is Littledean
Gaol, an imposing structure designed by the London architect
William Blackburn using locally quarried red sandstone,
it was one of four identical gaols built in the country
by Sir George Onesiphorus Paul in 1791 and is easily
the best preserved. The public can visit it by prior
arrangement.
Panoramic view of Littledean and the Severn Valley
 In the 19th century, Littledean had the local
magistrates court house for this part of the Forest, and the old prison , or to give it's correct title, "Littledean House of Correction", still remains, although
it is now used as a commercial premises.
Prison occupants in the 1851 census
The old Village Cross
Littledean War Memorial
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