Two miles lower than the bridge is the Forest port of Lydney,
now chiefly used for shipping coal; and as the ex-Verderer
of the Forest resides near it, and he would be able to furnish
information of interest to our American visitor, we decided
to drive to Lydney to begin.
It was too late to start the same day, however; and Senator
Hoar stayed at Upton, where his visit happens to mark the
close of what is known as the "open-field" system of tillage;
a sort of midway between the full possession of land by freehold,
and unrestricted common rights. The area over which he walked,
and which for thousands of years has been divided by "meres"
and boundary stones, is now to be enclosed, and so will lose
its archaeological claims to interest. In one corner of it,
however, there still remains a fragment of Roman road, with
some of the paving stones showing through the grass of the
pasture field. The name of this piece of land gives the clue
to its history. It is called Sandford; a corruption of Sarn
Ford, from _sarnu_ (pronounced "sarney") _to pave;_ and _fford,_
a road.
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