- Speech House
The Speech House is the administrative building of the
Forest of Dean inGloucestershire ,England , lying at the centre of the forest on the road fromColeford toCinderford . [Brooks & Verey]The Speech House was authorised by the
Act of 1668 as part of a reorganisation of the open land in the area, and its construction was finished in 1682. [Nicholls, p. 46] It hosted the "Court of the Speech", a sort of parliament for theVerderer s andFree Miner s managing the forest, game, and mineral resources of the area. [Nicholls, p. 48] It was severely damaged in theRevolution of 1688 , but repaired soon thereafter. [Nicholls, pp. 54–55, 60] Around 1840 it began to be used as an inn, and by the late 19th century it was functioning as an hotel, which (as of 2007 ) it continues to do. [Brooks & Verey]To the southeast of Speech House is a small lake, named Speech House Lake.
Notes
References
*cite book | last = Brooks | first = Alan | coauthors = David Verey | chapter = Speech House | title = Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and the Forest of Dean | year = 1999 | publisher = Yale University Press | pages = p. 680 | id = ISBN 0300097336
*cite book | last = Nicholls | first = Henry George | title = The Forest of Dean: An Historical and Descriptive Account | publisher = J. Murray; digital version by Google Books | year = 1858 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=y4IvAAAAMAAJExternal links
* [http://www.thespeechhouse.co.uk/ Speech House Hotel website]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
