Inventory Site Record

Epping Forest is all that remains of the once extensive Forest of Essex that became the Royal Forest of Waltham, and is now a tenth of its size in 1641. Enclosure took place as farming and housing encroached, with the loss of commoners rights. Although a protest by commoners was staged in 1817, by the 1870s the Forest was much reduced. When the Corporation of London purchased land for its cemetery at Little Ilford in 1855 this brought commoner status; in 1871 the Corporation began proceedings against the various Lords of the Manor with interests in the Forest who wished to enclose it. This resulted in the Corporation's purchase of all the remaining areas and the 1878 Epping Forest Act conveyed ownership and responsibility to the Corporation. On 6 May 1882 Epping Forest was opened by Queen Victoria, who dedicated it 'to the enjoyment of my people for ever'.

Site location:

numerous access points

Postcode:

IG8/E17

What 3 Words:

pools.major.locals

Type of site:

Public Open Land

Borough:

Waltham Forest

Open to public?

Yes

Opening times:

unrestricted

Special conditions:

Facilities:

Waymarked trails. Various recreational facilities in the wider Forest include fishing, horse riding. Visitor Centres (The View in LBWF; High Beach in Essex

Events:

Public transport:

Tube: Snaresbrook. Rail: Wood Street Walthamstow; Chingford

Citymapper    
Google Map    
streetmap.co.uk

Research updated:

08/07/2021

Last minor changes:

14/07/2022

Please check with the site owner or manager for latest news. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/epping

Epping Forest once covered a tract of land ten times greater than its current extent of 2,476 hectares. The powerful Abbeys of Barking and Waltham were both bordering the Forest and most of the land was owned by the monks until the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The Manors of Walthamstow and Higham were within the area of the Forest and since the C9th there were carefully regulated commoners' rights of grazing and felling, and it was also used for deer hunting, a favourite sport of the monarchy, particularly in the time of the Tudors and Stuarts. In the C17th changes took place during the Commonwealth and in 1653 an Act of Parliament to sell the Waltham Forest was disallowed by Cromwell and Forest rights were re-established at the Reformation, although tree-felling, gravel-digging and poaching increased into the early C19th. In 1817 a protest by commoners was staged although by the 1870s the area of Forest was much reduced.

When the Corporation of London purchased land for its cemetery at Little Ilford in 1855 this brought with it commoner status that was later beneficial to preserving the Forest. In 1871 the Corporation began its successful proceedings against the various lords of the manor with interests in the Forest who wished to enclose the forest. The Corporation then purchased all remaining areas of Forest land and in 1878 the Epping Forest Act was passed conveying ownership and responsibility to the Corporation of London. On 6 May 1882 Queen Victoria opened Epping Forest dedicating it 'to the enjoyment of my people for ever'. Since then the Corporation has brought back some areas of the forest as well as other land that remains as farming to provide a rural buffer around the forest.

The part played by local people and ordinary Londoners in the campaign to save Epping Forest cannot be underestimated. On 8 July 1871 thousands gathered on Wanstead Flats (q.v.) to protest against enclosure of a large area by the Lord of Wanstead Manor, Lord Cowley. Efforts to address the threat of enclosure had begun earlier, with a meeting in Mile End in February 1866 leading to the establishment of a local branch of the Commons Preservation Society, and in succeeding years the cause of saving the 'People's Forest' led to protests and fundraising. The threatened enclosures of Wanstead Flats in 1871 brought the local campaigners a powerful ally in the City of London Corporation, who threatened legal action. However, the campaigners' protest was equally significant; the mass action on Wanstead Flats on 8 July was promoted through a series of well-attended public meetings in Stratford, Shoreditch, Hackney and Mile End. On the day, the huge crowd that attended provided pressure on the government. A number of people began destroying the fences and although this action was condemned by some, including the press, within a month the first of the Acts to protect Epping Forest was enacted by Parliament. During the ensuing years local campaigners continued to promote the cause and when the last of the Epping Forest Acts was passed in 1878 this represented the first legal declaration of the right of the public at large to use an open space for leisure, which had implications for all threatened open spaces across the country.

The Forest is the largest area of public open space in Greater London; it extends 21 kms from Epping Lower Green in Essex in the north to Wanstead in the south and is up to 3.5km wide, two-thirds of which is woodland, the remainder open grazing and water; there are also remains of two Iron Age earthworks. A number of sports and recreational facilities have been provided by the Corporation, including football and cricket pitches and a golf course, as well as horse rides and fishing. Coppicing and pollarding have been re-introduced in some parts of the Forest. A large part of the area of Epping Forest within Greater London is within the borough of Waltham Forest including Chingford Plain, Hawk Wood, Bury Wood and Pole Hill in the north of the borough, and also Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge (q.v.). Yate's Meadow and Yardley Hill lie to the north of Pole Hill, through Hawk Wood. Moving southwards are The Warren Pond and Whitehall Plain; Hatch Forest and Hatch Plain; Reed's Forest; Higham's Park (q.v.); Walthamstow Forest, Gilbert's Slade and Rising Sun Wood; Leyton Flats. Wanstead Flats and Knighton Wood (q.v.) are in the borough of Redbridge and areas around City of London Cemetery and Crematorium (q.v.) are in the borough of Newham.

Grazing by cattle takes place in a number of areas of the Forest, including Chingford Plain, Yardley Hill and Yate's Meadow, where the Corporation's herd of longhorn cattle are grazed from April to June and September to November. Pole Hill, Yate's Meadow and Yardley Hill are three of the highest points around the Chingford area and provide excellent views of the city. On the summit of Pole Hill stands a granite obelisk with the following inscription: 'This pillar was erected in 1824 under the direction of the Reverend John Pond, MA, Astronomer Royal. It was placed on the Greenwich Meridian and its purpose was to indicate the direction of true north from the transit telescope of the Royal Observatory. The Greenwich Meridian was changed in 1850 and adopted by international agreement in 1884 as the line of zero longitude passes 19 feet to the east of this pillar.' An Ordnance Survey Trig Point is located at that point, marking the top of the hill.

Part of Pole Hill was once in the ownership of T.E. Lawrence (1888-1935, best known as 'Lawrence of Arabia') who acquired 18 acres of land on the western side of the hill, which he first rented then began buying in small parcels after WWI. His plan was to set up a private printing press with Vyvyan Richards, who he knew from Oxford. The press was to be housed in a medieval-style timber hall designed by architect Herbert Baker. Lawrence built a small hut here, where he stayed at times; the first hut was destroyed by fire, and rebuilt by Vyvyan Richards with boys from Bancrofts School (q.v.). Known as 'The Cloister',  Richards lived here for several years until 1922. It was demolished in 1930 and rebuilt in The Warren, Loughton, and the land at Pole Hill was then acquired by the City of London Corporation. A plaque reflecting Lawrence's presence here is fixed on the granite obelisk.
 

Sources consulted:

Robert Burley, Meg Game, Mathew Frith 'Nature Conservation in Waltham Forest', Ecology Handbook 11 (London Ecology Unit, 1989); The Official Guide to Epping Forest (Corporation of London); Ian Dowling and Nick Harris, Images of London: Wanstead and Woodford, Tempus Publishing 2003, p51; William Addison, 'Epping Forest, Its Literary and Historical Associations' (J M Dent & Sons Ltd London, 1945, 1947 ed); Corporation of London, Epping Forest Management Plan 2004-2010 A Summary. Mark Gorman, 'Saving the People's Forest' (University of Hertfordshire Press); Bernard T. Ward, ‘Lawrence of Arabia & Pole Hill Chingford’ (reprinted from Essex Journal Vol. 9, no. 3) originally published by the Chingford Historical Society, 1976.

Grid ref:

TQ394950 (538838,194953)

Size in hectares:

403 in LBWF

Site ownership:

City of London Corporation

Site management:

Conservators of Epping Forest/Friends of Epping Forest

Date(s):

ancient, 1878 (acquired by Corporation of London)

Designer(s):

Listed structures:

None

On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens:

No

Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965:

No

Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931:

No

Local Authority Data

The information below is taken from the relevant Local Authority's planning legislation, which was correct at the time of research but may have been amended in the interim. Please check with the Local Authority for latest planning information.

On Local List:

No

In Conservation Area:

No

Tree Preservation Order:

No

Nature Conservation Area:

Yes - Metropolitan Importance

Green Belt:

No

Metropolitan Open Land:

Yes

Special Policy Area:

Yes - Special Area of Conservation in parts; SSSI in parts

Other LA designation:

SSSI

Epping Forest, Chingford, April 2020. Photograph Sally Williams

Click a photo to enlarge.