s connected with his adjacent collieries, and consigned them
to the care of Mr. Zachariah Jolly as their master, an office which he
ably filled for several years. The attendance was large, sometimes
exceeding 280 children of both sexes. In the first seventeen years, to
July, 1857, nearly 1,400 young persons were admitted into the schools, at
ages ranging from four to twenty-two years. There was also an evening
school for adults, some winters numbering ninety, patronized by the South
Wales Railway Company, who subscribed liberally to it. By the Act of
July, 1842, dividing the Forest into ecclesiastical districts, its
south-east section was constituted one of them, and a stipend of 150
pounds per annum provided for the minister, so soon as the church
intended for it should be built and consecrated. Aided by large
donations from the Crown, Charles Bathurst, Esq., the Rev. Dr. Warneford,
and others, the new church, erected on the hill above Cinderford Bridge,
at a cost of 3,109 pounds, in the Early Pointed style of Gothic
architecture, on the plan of a Latin cross, with a belfry turret, and
capable of seating 800 persons, was consecrated under the name of St.
John the Apostle, by Bishop Monk, on the 22nd of October, 1844. There
was a large attendance of clergy, and upwards of 1,100 persons were
present, many others being unable to obtain admission into the church.
The Rev. R. Davies preached from St. Matt. xii. 34. The Rev. T. G.
Smythies, who had been residing for some time in the district, became the
first incumbent. This appointment he continues to hold, and by the aid
of the Crown, the late Bishop Monk, Dr. Warneford, and the Gally Knight
Fund, has built an excellent parsonage conveniently adjoining the church.

Following the course of ecclesiastical and educational progress in the
Forest, it only remains to record the most recent step taken, namely,
that at Lydbrook. The erection of a church there, although contemplated
for several years previously, was deferred for some time, until the
assiduous exertions of the Rev. J. Burdon, and the munificent donation of
2,000 pounds from Mr. Machen and his relatives, secured its
accomplishment. {172} The cost of the building, including the site,
which lies on the north-east slope of the Lydbrook Valley, close to the
original school-room, was 3,500 pounds, to which the following public
bodies thus contributed:

Her Majesty's Commissioners of 250 pounds
Woods,