Bedgebury Forest is a historic woodland. It has probably always been heavily wooded though the canopy today may be as dense as it has ever been. In the early medieval period the woodland was divided between two royal estates, that of Milton and Wye. By the 6th century the dens were being divided into Swine pastures and assigned to specific manors. During the medieval period the forest had a more varied landuse with heathland, enclosures, rabbit warrens and parkland, all indicated by placenames, archives and field evidence. From late in the 18th century both Frith Wood and Bedgebury Park have probably had continuous woodland cover of Sweet Chestnut and conifer plantations. The Forest contains numerous archaeological features and a woodland survey in 2006-8 recorded more than 70 sites and suggested that this barely scratched the surface.