Ruardean
Ruardean is a village in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, to the west of Cinderford. It is positioned on a hill with sights west towards the hills of South Wales. Bit currently continues to be of the village's commercial background, but once it was a centre for iron ore smelting furnaces, forges as well as coal mines. The Norman castle, now little more than a pile, regulated 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 also coal mining, however little evidence stays of this facet of the village's history. The primary historic site of the village is Ruardyn Castle, close to the parish church. In the past the town was meant as Ruardyn and also became part of Herefordshire. Nowadays the village exists inside Gloucestershire and also is part of the Forest of Dean area. Like much of the bordering location, Ruardean has historically been reasonably bad; the 1831 demographics documents 127 households, with half the populace employed in agriculture and 160 people on bad relief.
