Forest of Dean (UK Parliament constituency) Forest of Dean (UK Parliament constituency) Forest of Dean is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Mark Harper, a Conservative. 1885-1918: The Sessional Divisions of Coleford, Lydney, Newent, and Newnham. 1918-1950: The Urban Districts of Awre, Coleford, Newnham, and Westbury-on-Severn, the Rural Districts of East Dean and United Parishes, Lydney, Newent, and West Dean, and part of the Rural District of Gloucester. 1997-2010: The District of Forest of Dean, and the Borough of Tewkesbury wards of Haw Bridge and Highnam. 2010-present: The District of Forest of Dean, and the Borough
Forest of Dean Coalfield feature of the Forest of Dean Coalfield is that its edges are almost entirely exposed at the surface. Mining in the coalfield has always been hampered by the excessive amount of water encountered underground - trapped by the basin-shaped strata. Water drains into the basin by general percolation and, more directly, via surface watercourses. For much of their length, streams in the area run over impervious clay deposits, but, where valleys cut through the rim of the basin, carboniferous limestone and sandstone are exposed, allowing water to penetrate underground via swallow holes, cracks, and fissures. Water also enters the basin