Ruardean
Ruardean is a village in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, to the west of Cinderford. It is situated on a hillside with sights west towards the mountains of South Wales. Little currently stays of the village's industrial history, once it was a centre for iron ore smelting furnaces, forges and coal mines. The Norman castle, currently bit more than a mound, commanded the shortest route from Gloucester Castle to the Welsh Marches and also the Wye Valley. The town has actually been, in times past, a vital centre of iron and coal mining, though little evidence stays of this aspect of the town's background. The major historical spots of the village is Ruardyn Castle, near to the parish church. In the past the town was spelt as Ruardyn and also belonged to Herefordshire. Nowadays the village exists inside Gloucestershire and becomes part of the Forest of Dean area. Like much of the bordering location, Ruardean has historically been reasonably poor; the 1831 demographics documents 127 households, with half the population used in agriculture and also 160 individuals on bad alleviation.