26/11/2025
🕰️ History Quiz Reveal – The Story of Forest House, Coleford
This week, we’re heading right into the heart of Coleford to uncover the story of one of the town’s most remarkable historic houses — a place that’s worn more than one name and seen more than a few chapters of Forest history.
Welcome to… Forest House — though that hasn’t always been its name.
🌳 A House With Many Names
Over the centuries, this impressive Georgian building has been known as:
Forest House — its current and best-known name
The Bluebell — during its guesthouse/restaurant era, it took on a more welcoming title The Bluebell
The Mushet House — informally, because of the famous family who lived there
Forest House Guesthouse / Hotel — its identity in the 20th century
No matter the name, the building has always stood proudly on Cinder Hill, just a stone’s throw from the centre of Coleford.
🏛️ Where It All Began
Built around 1795, Forest House wasn’t just another big home.
No — it was built to last, with stone walls nearly two feet thick and a handsome frontage that signalled status from the moment you saw it.
It quickly became known as a “substantial house,” meaning it belonged to the well-off and well-respected — a sort of Georgian VIP residence in Coleford long before anyone invented the term VIP.
🔥 The Mushet Chapter — Coleford’s Link to World Steel
In 1810, Forest House took a historic turn when it was leased by David Mushet, one of Britain’s leading metallurgists. He arrived to run the nearby Whitecliff Furnace, and although the furnace venture was short-lived, he stayed in Forest House for over 30 years.
His son, Robert Forester Mushet, would later move in — and he changed the world.
Robert invented Mushet Steel, the first commercially successful tool steel and the ancestor of modern high-speed steel.
So yes — Coleford, via Forest House, has a genuine claim to shaping the industrial revolution.
Not bad for a quiet Georgian house tucked away in the Forest of Dean.
👑 From Industrial Royalty to Local Gentry
By the early 20th century, Forest House passed into the hands of B. H. Taylor JP and his sister Emily. They were prominent local figures, and Emily lived there well into the 1930s.
The house then moved into a new phase — opening its doors first as a guesthouse, then a hotel, welcoming visitors who wanted to explore the forest long before staycations were fashionable.
🏡 Forest House Today
These days, Forest House has evolved again — but without losing its charm or heritage.
Today it operates as a large self-catering holiday home and group accommodation venue, offering:
11 en-suite bedrooms
Large lounges for gatherings
A fully equipped chef’s kitchen
Gardens, BBQ space and hot tub
A location right on the doorstep of the Forest of Dean
It hosts families, outdoor groups, celebrations, reunions, parties — you name it.
You get the history, the character, the comfort… and the bragging rights of staying in a Grade II listed building that helped shape steelmaking.
🎙️ History Corner Sign-off
From Tump House to Forest House, from iron masters to holidaymakers — this Coleford landmark has changed, evolved but has so much for us to remember
And that’s your History Corner for this week — another Forest treasure with a story worth telling.
