In the year 688
Caedwalla, king of the West Saxons, granted to
Abbot Aldhelm of
Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, thirty hides on the eastern side of Braydon Wood (
de orientali parte silve Bradon). At its greatest extent, Braydon Forest covered about a third of the area of the county of Wiltshire, but over the centuries most of it was gradually cleared. A remnant south of
Minety, known as
Ravensroost Wood, was notified as a
Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1989 and is managed as a nature reserve by
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. ==Keepers==