Bream

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Bream
Gloucestershire
Location
Grid reference: SO604059
Location: 51°44’59"N, 2°34’26"W
Data
Population: 3,171
Post town: Lydney
Postcode: GL15
Dialling code: 01594
Local Government
Council: Forest of Dean
Parliamentary
constituency:
Forest of Dean

Bream (historically known as Breem) is a village in the Forest of Dean, west Gloucestershire. The population was around 3,170 in the 2011 census.[1]

History

Human activity at Bream dates back to the Iron Age, when iron ore was being mined in the local area.

The first dwellings in Bream were recorded in 1452.[2] In 1505, the St James' church, Bream or St James chapel as it was then known, was built. In 1712, the population of Bream was 300.

In 1822, the church was reconstructed.[2][3]

The main employment in the village in the past was coal mining, farming, and forestry. Today with the mines closed, there is very little employment now in the village, although there are three garages and several shops. Bream is one of the largest villages in the Forest of Dean with a population of over 3,000. It is just one of a number of settlements which make up the Forest Ring of settlements on the fringes of the statutory Royal Forest. Positioned on the southern edge of the forest core between the towns of Lydney and Coleford, the village is set on a ridge of high ground, falling away on three sides.[4]

Sport

Bream has a rugby union team with rugby pitches and members bar, and a cricket club with pitches and members bar.

Notable residents

  • Wayne Barnes - International rugby union referee. Lived in Bream and played for Bream Rugby Club.
  • Warren James (1792–1841) - Miners' leader who led the Foresters to action against the Crown, in 1831. Lived in Bream.
  • Ron Moore - rugby union (RU) and rugby league (RL) footballer of the 1930s for Bream RFC, Wakefield Trinity, and Bramley RLFC lived in Bream.[5]
  • William "Billy" Stone - rugby union (RU) and rugby league (RL) footballer of the 1910s, and 1920s for Bream RFC (RU), Great Britain (RL), England, and Hull F.C. lived in Bream.[5]

References

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Bream)