THE SEARCH is on to find the stones that indicated the traditional Statutory Forest Boundary that was defined in 1832.

Over the centuries these carved boundary stones, traditionally known as the Perambulation (because it was walked), have become hidden and lost.

In 1997, Glynn Bullock, Forest warden for Forestry England, along with former colleague Dave Clark, started a project to locate and document as many of the original 218 boundary stones as possible.

Since then, many missing stones have been found, some having been confused for grave stones, moved or re-purposed.

Some of the more unusual are recorded in a booklet written in 2011 ‘The statutory Forest of Dean, Its Boundary and Perambulation’ where it document that stone number 10 was found in a chicken shed being used as a roost while stone 39 was found in the bed of a stream at Breams Eaves.

Elsewhere, stone 42 was found supporting a water butt and stone 33 is embedded the wall of a former milking parlour.

Stone 184 was so badly eroded it was taken away to be re-carved.

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK’S FORESTER