Aylburton is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England, on the A48 road about two miles south-west of Lydney.

There are elements of medieval buildings in The Cross, and a Cruck frame hall was later converted to a terrace of cottages.

During the Roman period most of the slopes of the parish were originally covered in woodland and the bank of the River Severn was more than 1 km closer to the main road, with around half of the current "levels" being reclaimed before about 450 AD.

At this time the Forest (of Dean) was just inside the territory known as Britannia Secunda (Secondary Britain), which covered Wales and whose eastern border was the River Severn.

Thereafter, the Forest varied between Welsh and English possession at least until King Offa (8th C) built his famous dyke; at that point all of Gloucestershire came within England (n.b.

The land on which Aylburton (originally Æþelbeorhtes-tun or Ethelbert's farmstead) stands became part of a single manor of Lydney under the Earl of Hereford, William FitzOsbern (the builder of Chepstow Castle and founder of Lire Abbey in Normandy) in 1066, who then gifted it to Lire Abbey.

In the same year, Lire Abbey granted Lydney church to the dean and chapter of Hereford.

Following the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII, William Wyntour purchased the manor from the Crown in 1599.

It was cleared of trees by Llanthony Priory in 1306 and largely converted to agricultural land, and they allowed their tenants rights of common there.

Sir Charles Wyntour built his new manor house there in 1692, the hamlet becoming tenancies and outbuildings thereof.

The boundary had followed what was called the Forest Ditch (probably Collier's brook), but can now be seen to follow the huge walls just to the south of Aylburton Lodge, built to finalise the, often bitter, boundary dispute that had existed between Aylburton and Alvington since Llanthony Priory lost ownership.

In 1718, Wyntour's manor included (in Aylburton) 16 leasehold farms, ranging in size from 7-64 acres, which were almost entirely based on a number of smallholdings on the high street between Stockwell Lane and Millend, but then lands were sold off by the Wyntours to pay mounting debts left from repurchasing the estate, including the bulk of their tenant land in Aylburton, which was sold to John Lawes.

Other houses were built at the same time on Lower Common, including the Traveller's Rest (or Besom, opened by 1880, closed late 1980s.)

In 1894 the parish council of Aylburton was created, the Playing Field coming into use in 1898, including vehicle access for matches and events.

By 1903, the assistant curate of Lydney church was based at Aylburton at the request of the villagers and Charles Bathurst.

Modern Britain In 1936–8, Lydney Rural District built council houses on Stockwell Lane and in 1944, the almshouses were sold and demolished.

In 1949, Aylburton School became state controlled and in 1950–1, Lydney Rural District Council built Milling Crescent.

"The Hare and Hounds" inn was demolished in the mid 20th C. The coal tips and their railways were finally closed in 1960.

High Street still clearly shows many converted shopfronts which have gradually become purely residential during the 20th Century.

The derogatory nickname "Ducktown" is thought to be applied to Aylburton by outside elements (Lydney Football Team?)

[4] Local rumour had it that little folk, possibly Pwca, lived in the old mine workings that dot the area.

[6] The Annual Carnival [7] on the second Saturday in July closes the A48 between 1400 and 1500 much to the enjoyment of local residents (it was suspended in 2020 due to COVID-19).

The Fruit and Veg Show on the Saturday of the August Bank Holiday is a keen struggle between local notables.

Its site proved to be neither sheltered nor convenient for parishioners and the building fell into a poor state of repair.

The tiny Mission church at Aylburton Common was built in 1867 and underwent repairs and restoration in 1951.

Aylburton Methodist Church is situated on the High Street and is currently undergoing extensive modernisation.

Aylburton lies on the A48 road, which runs from Chepstow in Monmouthshire, Wales, to Gloucester, England.