Ruardean is a town in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, to the west of Cinderford. It is situated on a hillside with views west in the direction of the hills of South Wales. Bit now stays of the town's industrial history, but once it was a centre for iron ore smelting furnaces, forges as well as coal mines. The Norman castle, now little bit more than a pile, regulated the shortest route from Gloucester Castle to the Welsh Marches and also the Wye Valley. The town has been, in times past, an essential centre of iron and also coal mining, however little proof remains of this element of the village's history. The major historical spots of the village is Ruardyn Castle, near to the parish church. In the past the town was spelt as Ruardyn and became part of Herefordshire. Nowadays the village exists inside Gloucestershire and is part of the Forest of Dean district. Like much of the surrounding location, Ruardean has traditionally been fairly bad; the 1831 census documents 127 families, with half the populace employed in farming as well as 160 individuals on bad alleviation.