The name ‘Cinderhill' dates back at least as far as the 13th century, when it is recorded variously as ‘Sinderhielde', ‘Synderhelle' and ‘Cinderhild'. The ‘hill' in this context means ‘slope', and the ‘cinder' is likely to be a reference to early iron making.

‘Cinder' was a name given to the waste material produced during the making of ‘bloom', a soft impure form of iron. It consists of fragments of burnt charcoal and iron slag, and particles of iron and iron oxide, produced during the forging of solid iron bars. The presence of a pond bay just to the east of Cinderhill Woods indicates that iron making may have continued in the area for several centuries.

The site remained largely wooded until the first half of the 20th century, during which time a large extent of it was managed as coppice. Subsequently, there have been one or more attempts to plant the whole area up as sweet chestnut/oak woodland; however, such attempts have largely failed. The storms of 1987 cleared large sections of pine plantation on the site, exposing a seedbank of heather. With further clearance, and an ongoing program of grazing, this area has now become the heathland that is central to the site today.