49 



A STcetch of the History of BerMey. Bead at a Meeting of the 

 Cotteswold Club, on the 26th July, 1871, at BerMey, hy J. H. 

 Cooke. 



At the earliest period of which, we have any authentic]^ infor- 

 mation, that of the second Eoman invasion, the Vale of Berkeley 

 was for the most part a thickly wooded tract extending from 

 the Bristol Avon northwards as far as or beyond Berkeley. The 

 lower lands near the Severn were frequently overflowed by the 

 tides, and must have been a mqrass ; the woods of the higher 

 and dryer regions afforded acorns and other food for the herds 

 of swine kept by the inhabitants, while the more open parts 

 furnished pasturage for their cattle. A specimen of the general 

 aspect of the country at this time may still be seen inMichaelwood, 

 Hill Woods, and the Lower "Woods near Hawkesbury, which 

 are no doubt remnants of the primeval forest which in early 

 ages covered the vale district of Gloucestershire. 



The inhabitants of this region were a British tribe called the 

 Dobuni ; a name derived from an ancient British word signifying 

 a valley or low place, their dwellings being for the most part in 

 the valleys of the district. They were a race of a more quiet and 

 peaceable disposition than many other of the native tribes, and 

 were consequently much harassed by the incursions of their more 

 warlike neighbours, the Cattieuchlani on their Eastern frontier, 

 and the Silures who inhabited the country on the Western side 

 of the Severn. 



The Romans who under Aulus Plautius, a General of the 

 Emperor Claudius, first penetrated into these parts about a.d. 45, 

 soon overcame and then made a treaty with the Dobuni, by 

 which in return for their submission Aulus Plautius Tondertook 



