Speech House

The Speech House was the administrative building of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England, lying at the centre of the forest on the road from Coleford to Cinderford.[1]

Speech House, Forest of Dean, February 2008

The building was originally constructed as a hunting lodge for Charles II and 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.[2] It hosted the "Court of the Speech", a sort of parliament for the Verderers and Free Miners managing the forest, game, and mineral resources of the area.[3] It was severely damaged in the Revolution of 1688, but repaired soon thereafter.[4] Around 1840 it began to be used as an inn, and by the late 19th century it was functioning as a hotel, which (as of 2013) it continues to do.[1]

To the southeast of Speech House is a small lake, Speech House Lake.

Speech House pudding was a pudding traditionally served in the verderers' court room.[5]

Notes
  1. Brooks & Verey
  2. Nicholls, p. 46
  3. Nicholls, p. 48
  4. Nicholls, pp. 54–55, 60
  5. FitzGibbon, Theodora (1975) A Taste of the West Country. London: Pan; p. 32
gollark: I wonder if I can rig it easily, hold on.
gollark: Vote rigging, probably.
gollark: As I said, we're remaining separate cults but can work together on important issues like defeating other cults.
gollark: Well, I don't like them.
gollark: The Cult of Transistor has decided to ally with the Cult of Diodes in an Alliance of Semiconductor Devices, <@!386749061056823299> can confirm.

References
  • Brooks, Alan; David Verey (1999). "Speech House". Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and the Forest of Dean. Yale University Press. p. 680. ISBN 0-300-09733-6. from series Buildings of England orig. ed by N. Pevsner
  • Nicholls, Henry George (1858). The Forest of Dean: An Historical and Descriptive Account. J. Murray; digital version by Internet Archive.
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