Forest History

The Forest of Marston Vale is one of 12 Community Forests in England. Community Forests were set up around towns and cities in the early 1990s, to improve land affected by industrial use in the past. The Forest of Marston Vale covers 61 square miles of Bedfordshire between Ampthill, Milton Keynes and Bedford. The Forest has a planned life of 40 years and in the first 17 years... ...has planted over a million trees ...over 50 km of hedgerow have been planted or restored ...created 75km of conservation field margins to benefit farm wildlife ...launched 6 Forest Trails ...300 hectares of existing woodland has been brought into management ...created numerous schemes to improve village environments ...and much more.

The Forest of Marston Vale is itself centred on the 'Brickfields', an area of existing and former clay pits stretching ten miles between the M1 motorway and the southern fringe of Bedford. The Vale has not been well wooded since the Iron Age. Much of the surviving ancient woodland probably resulted from regeneration after the end of the Roman occupation of Britain. Early Saxon settlement and land exploitation concentrated on the better quality soils; this tended to leave belts of woodland on the higher ridges as seen in the Domesday survey of 1086. Extensive woodland was largely confined to a broad belt on the western Clay Ridge, the scarp slope of the Greensand Ridge and a swathe (possibly up to 1 km wide and extending to 700-1000 ha) on the slightly raised ground running through the core of the Vale, now followed by a railway line from Millbrook to Kempston Hardwick. A major phase of woodland clearance took place during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when the mediaeval population was at its highest and there was a severe shortage of land for agriculture. After this time woodland clearance continued, but was more sporadic, the result being the sparser distribution of ancient woodland at the time of the Enclosure Awards in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This distribution is similar to that seen now. A number of deer parks were made by clearing some of the woodland during the mediaeval period: Brogborough, Beckerings and Combes Park in the Ridgmont/Lidlington area and others at Ampthill, Marston Moretaine, Millbrook and Stagsden. Unfortunately, there is now little trace of most of these.

The surviving woodlands are concentrated at the edge of the brickfield area and the ridges. Most of the other woodlands are small and access is difficult, and nearly all are unmanaged and neglected. Some of the woods were once productive. A decline in demand for woodland products provided by traditional forms of management, such as coppicing, has caused regular management to cease in all but a few woodlands. However, management of the existing woodland resource is vital. Many hedgerows remain, but are in poor condition. As a result of elm disease in the early 1970s, most hedgerow trees have disappeared.

John Bunyan (1628-1688), a braziers son, was born in Elstow, near Bedford. After serving in the Parliamentary army he returned to Elstow and underwent a deep spiritual crisis that lasted for several years. In 1660, following the Restoration, he was arrested and held in Bedford gaol for the next twelve years. While in prison he published several books, including Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666), and began to write The Pilgrim's Progress (1668). Upon his release Bunyan became pastor of the Bedford congregation and the remaining years of his life were spent preaching and writing. His later works include The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680), The Holy War (1682) and the second part of The Pilgrim's Progress (1684).

The grade II listed Cardington Hangers are each approximately 247m long, 55m wide, and 48m high. Originally purchased in 1917, they soon became the Royal Airship Works. Hangar No.2 stood originally in Norfolk and was moved and enlarged to build the R100 airship, designed by Barnes Wallis (of Dambusters or Wellington Bomber fame) with the help of Neville Shute. Although the R100 made a successful transatlantic return flight to Montreal, the crash in 1930 of the R101 in France on its maiden flight to India led the UK government to abandon further airship development. Cardington continued to develop balloons for many years. One hanger was leased by the Fire Research Station (1972-1989) and then by the Building Research Establishment.

In many villages in Britain there will be a small round, square or rectangular building which can be identified as a dovecote. Today's picturesque buildings once served a more practical function, providing housing for an important part of the household diet. Young doves or pigeons (squabs) supplied fresh meat throughout the year, while older birds were mainly used to lay eggs, with some culling occurring before winter. The birds were also bred for their manure, and in the 16th and 17th centuries for saltpetre - a component of dung - which was used to make gunpowder.