252 FOREST OF BEAN. 



of the disorders of the Civil War to throw down the 

 fences, which the grantee had already begun to make. 

 Sir John Winter was a prominent and devoted Royalist 

 during this period. He endeavoured to rouse the 

 population of the district in favour of the king ; but his 

 inclosures under the Royal grant had made him un- 

 popular, and the people sided in the main with the 

 Parliament. The supply of iron from the Forest for the 

 founding of cannon was an important consideration. 

 Finally Winter, after many conflicts, was forced to fly, 

 and his stronghold, Lydney House, was captured. His 

 property was assigned to his victor, General Massy, 

 together with his iron mills and woods, but with the 

 reservation of timber trees which were not to be felled. 



During the Commonwealth, frequent orders were 

 made by Parliament with the object of preventing 

 the destruction of timber in the Forest by unauthorised 

 persons, and directing that any trees which had been 

 cut down should be reserved for the use of the 

 Navy. 



In 1650, orders were given for the suppression 

 and destruction of the iron works, partly with the 

 view of saving the timber of the Forest, which was 

 heavily drawn upon for fuel for the smelting. In 

 1656, an Act was passed for mitigating the rigour 

 of the forest laws, and for preserving the timber 

 in the Forest. An effort was consequently made to 

 carry out the arrangement of a few years previous, 

 under which 16,000 acres were to be inclosed and 

 planted. This was again resisted by the population of 



