The Point, Plump Hill , Mitcheldean (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Monday, April 23, 2012, 21:51 (4600 days ago) @ slowhands

Hi Amaska,
sorry for confusion, I was using the term my dad always used, he spent most his life thro and since the war driving buses in the Forest so I guess this may have been a significant "landmark" when climbing the hill from Mitcheldean in a laden doubledecker. I tend to think of the "Wilderness" as the area on the very summit of the hill; as you drive up from Mitcheldean and past the Point the road straightens, handy for overtaking said buses & lorries... just before the brow there's a righturn signposted "Wilderness", I really must drive up it one day soon ! I must admit I'd assumed you would understand my post as you'd driven around the area, apologies for confusing you further instead.

Thanks again Slowhands for clarifying things re the Point.
The only other point (oops) to mention is the now disused and overgrown quarry, clearly cut into the hillside twixt the road and the summit of the hill. If driving up from Mitcheldean, with the drop and view to your left, where the road swings sharp right are a couple of houses on your immediate right, hard against the hillside bank. Driving thro the "s" bend past the houses is the quarry on the same righthand side. It is this quarry that's shown in the New Regard photo, whether there were more quarries in the area perhaps below the Point I don't know.
For some years in the early 80s I travelled that road by bus for work in Mitcheldean, I always wondered how you accessed the houses down the drop below the viewpoint (near the aforemention kilns) and why on earth they were there, thanks for helping me find out !. Is this where the Rocks road were you mentioned ?. In those days a couple of HGV trucks used to park "in" the quarry, next to an old tin workshop, all presumably belonging to one of the houses. I really MUST actually stop and walk the whole area one day soon, however I've lived in Middlesex since the mid 80s so.... Sadly over the last winter theres been some nasty crashes of cars driving up the Plump and for some reason not taking the righthand bend, as a lad I enjoyed driving fast uphills but I'm at a loss to explain these crashes so please don't let this put you off.

Re the article, it is interesting from an industrial heritage viewpoint (I'm a mechanical engineer) but I'm not sure it will help you particularly in your search. The 1929 photo does show various houses below the Point but it's not overly clear, I doubt it will help you recognise any particular house. Probably standing on the Point "lookout" (I think there's a layby/bus-stop?) with binoculars will be a far better plan. If you are in the area you can borrow the New Regard from one of the local Libraries, there are a few copies available although I currently have the Cinderford copy !:
http://prism.talis.com/gloucestershire/items/923707?query=new+regard+25&resultsUri=...

This wonderfull website holds some photos of the area, the shop shown here is still standing as mentioned above, although nowadays the road is rather busier !.
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/hale_people/pages/page_16.html
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/hale_people/pages/page_13.html

This photo shows almost exactly the same view as the photo in the New Regard article, taken from the top of the quarry. According to the New Review article the pale flat disc is the tops of the limekilns, with houses beyond which you may perhaps recognise?.
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/fod_variety_1/pages/page_79.html

Could this photo of Plump Hill School c1915 contain any of your ancestors?
I presume the school is located below the Point?.
http://www.forest-of-dean.net/gallery/mitcheldean/pages/page_7.html

Another excellent old photos website which is relatively new belongs to Neil Parkhouse who is a Forester who's contributed to many local history books including the New Regard. This site's stock is growing all the time so worth revisiting. I see it contains a photo entitled "Wilderness Quarry c1915", sadly I'm struggling to place the view in a modern context, having nothing to compare against. Is it the quarry around the Point, or elsewhere on this large hill ?.
http://www.archive-images.co.uk/index.gallery.php?gid=151&img=28

To research the King family if you have the time it may be worth searching the local newspaper archives at Cinderford Library, please see this prior thread.
http://www.forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=34751

I see the Kings were from Longhope, as was my mother and her ancestors. In case you didn't know there is an excellent free website that may interest you, I see it shows the Kings in the various Census's. The site does take a little getting used-to but it does contains some excellent information and is well worth viewing.
http://www.longhopevillage.co.uk/familyhistory/

Finally please check your email for a direct mail, thanks, Jeff.