Dean Forest Act 1667

The Dean Forest Act 1667 (19 & 20 Cha. 2. c. 8), sometimes called the Dean Forest (Reafforestation) Act 1667, the Dean Forest (Reafforestation) Act 1668, the Dean Reafforestation Act,   or the Forest of Dean Act 1668, was an Act of the Parliament of England, concerning the Forest of Dean.

The whole act, so far as unrepealed, was repealed by section 1(4) of, and the schedule to, the Wild Creatures and Forest Laws Act 1971. Section 1(6) of that act provides that, notwithstanding the repeal, by section 1 of that act, of the Dean Forest Act 1667, the verderers in the Forest of Dean shall continue to be elected and hold office as at the passing of the Wild Creatures and Forest Laws Act 1971.

Cyril Hart said that the Dean Forest Act 1667 is "important".

Walkley v Fox (1914) was decided under this act.

Preamble
"The forest or late forest of dean"

Wood said that the expression "the late forest", in the preamble, no doubt referred to the proceedings taken for disafforesting in the year 16 Cha. 1. It was probably a question of policy to leave the validity or invalidity of those proceedings undecided; the act rendered them unimportant (see section 5).

Section 6
This section was repealed by section 9(4) of, and part II of the third schedule to, the Crown Estate Act 1961.

Goodtitle v Baldwin (1809) was decided under this section.

Section 8
Wood said that the effect of this section would seem to be that the lands there referred to, other than the inclosures and wastes, practically ceased to be considered part of the Forest, which in time (as would appear from the perambulation of 1788), came to be considered as limited to the "23,000 acres or thereabouts" (see sections 1 and 6), and any lands surrounded by those inclosures and wastes, and the detached wastes of the Hudnalls, Fence, Bearce, Wallmore and Northwoods Green.

Section 17
Wood said this section was at least impliedly repealed by section 23 of the Dean Forest (Mines) Act 1838 (1 & 2 Vict. c. 43).

Wood said there is an obvious error in the last sentence of section 17. The probable meaning was "in any part of the 11,000 acres allotted for His Majesty's inclosure so long as the same shall continue inclosed".