Mitcheldean Road & Forest of Dean Junction Railway extraction industry in the Forest of Dean. The Monmouth and Hereford Railway was incorporated in 1845, but limited in scope by Parliament, and the powers were not exercised. However, in 1851 the "Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway" received its authorising Act of Parliament, and it opened a line on a similar alignment from Hereford to Grange Court on 1 June 1855. The GWR itself built the connecting section from Grange Court to Gloucester, and the South Wales Railway opened its line progressively from Grange Court to Chepstow. The South Wales Railway took over the "Forest of Dean Railway", successor to
Forest of Dean Newnham on Severn and port at Lydney. The "Dean Road", still visible at Soudley, is believed to be a mediaeval rebuilding of the Roman road, and would have been an important route to transport iron ore and finished metal products. During Roman times there were Roman villas at Blakeney, Woolaston and elsewhere, and towards the end of the Roman period, around 370, a major Roman temple complex dedicated to the god Nodens was completed at Lydney. The central parts of the woodlands in the forest are believed to have been protected for hunting since Roman times. The area's history is