The Land That Grew the Forest

The National Forest: Heritage in the Making book is a beautifully illustrated and informative narrative of the land and people from which the Forest has grown.

Priced £12.00, it is available online through the National Forest giftshop or call the National Forest Company on 01283 551211.

This illustration from the book is a detail from a sundial mosaic, designed by Steve Field.

It is a rare portrait of 18th century entrepreneur Joseph Wilkes, who transformed tiny, impoverished Measham into a thriving industrial centre. He is perhaps best remembered for his celebrated double-sized household bricks, known as ‘jumbs’ or ‘Wilkes’s gobs’.