A HUNT has been launched to track down 55 missing Forest of Dean boundary stones, which date back nearly two centuries.

The appeal as part of the Forestry Commission’s centenary celebrations comes just after a couple discovered one buried in their Whitecroft garden.

A concerted effort by wardens to track down as many as possible of the region’s 218 original stones, which were laid down in 1832, has located 163 to date, with No 37 coming to light earlier this year at the home of Peggy Römer and Nathan Stockill.

Peggy said: “We recently moved to the Forest and in all the house paperwork we found a Forestry Commission booklet on the Statutory Forest of Dean and its boundary stones. After a look through, we noticed that one of these stones, Number 37, appeared to be in our garden but was lost... Well it’s not lost anymore.

“While doing some garden tidying, we uncovered the curved topped of a large stone which looked very much in the ground. So we just started digging... and digging... and digging... and discovered it about 1.3m underground. It’s really amazing and we can’t believe we actually found it.”

Among stones already recovered are stone Number 10, being used as a roost in a chicken shed, and stone Number 39, which was discovered in the bed of a stream at Breams Eaves.

Forest Warden Glynn Bullock, who has led efforts to recover the stones since 1997, said: “During our centenary year, in which we are celebrating 100 years of Forestry, it would be fantastic if we could find all the missing stones.”

Glynn, along with Forest Warden colleague Kevin Davis, visited Peggy and Nathan to help lift the most recent find above ground and reset it.

Glynn and former Forestry England colleague Dave Clark started their project to locate as many of the stones as possible 22 years ago and hope the new appeal will locate many more, including nine missing in Drybrook, five in Coalway and four in Ruardean Woodside.

Many of those found have been confused for grave stones, while others have been moved or put .

Those still missing are 19, 20 in Blakeney; 29 Oldcroft; 31 Yorkley; 36 Whitecroft; 43, 44, 48 Bream; 57, 58 Clements End; 59, 63 Sling; 66, 67, 70 Clearwell; 79 Milkwall; 83, 84, 85, 86, 87 Coalway; 89 Broadwell; 91, 95 Five Acres; 103 Shortstanding; 105, 106, 107 Joyford; 111, 112, 113 Lydbrook; 122, 123, 124, 125 Ruardean Woodside; 132 Morse Road; 134, 135, 136, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143 Drybrook; 149, 150 Bailey Brook; 154, 156 Dancing Green; 165, 168 Lea Bailey; 178 Lining Wood; 185, 188 Jubilee Road; 199 Pope’s Hill. If you think you may have a missing stone in your garden or know of the whereabouts of one of the above, you can call the Forest Wardens on 0300 67 4800 or email [email protected]