Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The population was 8,777 at the 2021 Census. The town came into existence in the 19th century, following the rapid expansion of the Forest of Dean Coalfield and the construction of Cinderford Ironworks. Its origins can be seen in the style and layout of the town, with long rows of identical terraced housing similar to those found in the mining villages of the South Wales Valleys. The decline of the coal industry in the 1950s and 1960s significantly affected the town, as most of the male population was employed in mining.