Gunns Mill Visit

We had the pleasure of being invited to visit Gunns Mills, in Littledean, Forest of Dean a few weeks ago. Its a place that we have walked past so many times and longed to take a sneaky peak inside. It did not disappoint.

The site is currently owned by The Forest of Dean Buildings Preservation Trust, who are undertaking the daunting task of restoring this impressive scheduled monument. The building has been under wraps for 20 years whilst structural work is undertaken and funds are acquired to complete the rest of the work.

Work is currently taking place on an external wall. We are very much looking forward to returning when the work is complete.

Watch this space for potential courses held here........

What is it? (Taken from the https://fodbpt.org/index.html)

"Making iron in the Forest of Dean began before the Roman period. With the wealth of local iron-ore and ample wood for charcoal it continued over the centuries. In the years around 1600AD, new large scale technology arrived in the form of the charcoal-fuelled blast furnace. During the 17th century the Forest had more of these furnaces at work than anywhere else in Britain. Gunns Mill Furnace was one of them, built in 1625 and rebuilt in 1682-3.

The furnace is one of the most complete of its kind in Britain; rare and important, and the only surviving example in the south of England. After 1740 the site became a paper mill."