Epping Forest is an area of ancient parkland in south-east
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, straddling the border between north-east
Greater LondonGreater London is the top-level administrative subdivision covering London, England. The administrative area was officially created in 1965 and covers the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and thirty two London boroughs...
and
EssexEssex is a county in the East of England region of the United Kingdom. The county town of Essex is Chelmsford.-History:In pre-Roman Britain the territories of Suffolk and Essex were home to the Trinovantes tribe, which had grown wealthy through intensive trade with the Roman Empire, contemporary...
. It is a former
royal forestA royal forest is an area of land where certain rights are reserved for a monarch or the aristocracy, usually set aside for hunting . The concept was introduced by the Normans to England in the 11th century, and at the height of this practice in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, fully...
, and is managed by the City of London Corporation.
It covers and contains areas of
woodlandEcologically, a woodland is an area covered in trees, usually at low density, forming an open habitat, allowing sunlight to penetrate between the trees, and limiting shade. Woodland may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to...
,
grasslandGrasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
,
heathA heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly infertile acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae...
,
riverA river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water...
s,
bogA bog or mire is a wetland type that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—usually mosses, but also lichens in Arctic climates....
s and
pondA pond is an inland body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens designed for aesthetic ornamentation, fish ponds designed for commercial fish breeding, and solar...
s. Stretching between
Forest GateForest Gate is a residential area in the London Borough of Newham.Its name is derived from a southern gate of Epping Forest which once stretched continuously down from Epping...
in the south and
EppingEpping is a small market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located north-east of Loughton, south of Harlow and north-west of Brentwood....
in the north, Epping Forest is approximately long in the north-south direction, but no more than from east to west at its widest point, and in most places considerably narrower. The forest lies on a
ridge300px|thumb|right|Stratigraphic ridge found in Northeastern [[Tennessee]]A ridge is a geological feature that features a continuous elevational crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size...
between the
valleyIn geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
s of the rivers Lea and
RodingThe River Roding is a river in England that rises near Dunmow, flows through Essex and forms Barking Creek as it reaches the River Thames in London....
; its elevation and thin gravelly
soilSoil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. It is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and...
(the result of glaciation) historically made it unsuitable for
agricultureAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
. Embankments of two
Iron AgeIn archaeology, the Iron Age is the prehistoric period in any area during which cutting tools and weapons were mainly made of iron or steel. The adoption of this material coincided with other changes in society, including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles.The...
camps -
Loughton CampLoughton Camp is an Iron Age Hill fort in Epping Forest, one mile North West of the town of Loughton.The camp's earthworks cover an area of approximately 10 acres and are visible today as a low bank and ditch encircling the main camp...
and
Ambresbury BanksAmbresbury Banks is the name given to the remains of an Iron Age hill fort in Epping Forest, Essex, England.According to legend, it is the site of the last stand by Boudica against the Romans in the year 61...
- can be found hidden in the woodland. It gives its name to the
Epping Forest local government districtEpping Forest is a local government district of the county of Essex, England. It is named for Epping Forest, of which the district contains a large part...
which covers part of it.
History
The name "Epping Forest" was first recorded in the 17th century; prior to this it was known as Waltham Forest (which gives its name to the present-day
London Borough of Waltham ForestThe London Borough of Waltham Forest is a borough in East London, England and forms part of Outer London. It is a mix of built-up residential development and a fifth of the borough is made up of forestland, reservoirs, open space, parks and playing fields...
, which covers part of the modern forest). The forest is thought to have been given legal status as a
royal forestA royal forest is an area of land where certain rights are reserved for a monarch or the aristocracy, usually set aside for hunting . The concept was introduced by the Normans to England in the 11th century, and at the height of this practice in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, fully...
by
Henry IIIHenry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 to his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
in the 12th century. This status allowed commoners to use the forest to gather wood and foodstuffs, and
to graze livestockGrazing rights is a legal term referring to the right of a user to allow their livestock to feed in a given area.- United States :The concept of grazing rights in the United States descends directly from the English concept of the commons, a piece of land over which other people — often...
, but only the king was allowed to hunt there. "Forest" in the historical sense of royal forest meant an area of land reserved for hunting, and did not imply that it was necessarily wooded.
In
TudorThe House of Tudor was a prominent European royal house that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch Henry Tudor, descended paternally from the rulers of the Welsh principality of Deheubarth, and maternally from a legitimised branch of the English royal...
times
Henry VIIIHenry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lord of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII.Henry VIII was a significant figure in the history of the English monarchy...
and Queen Elizabeth I hunted in the forest. In 1543 Henry commissioned a building, known as Great Standing, from which to view the chase at
ChingfordChingford is a town in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is a suburban development situated northeast of Charing Cross. To the north and east of Chingford is Epping Forest and the boundary with Essex...
. The building was renovated in 1589 for Queen Elizabeth I and can still be seen today in Chingford. The building is now known as Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, and is open to the public as a museum.
There were disputes between landowners (who
enclosedEnclosure or inclosure is the process which was used to end some traditional rights, such as mowing meadows for hay, or grazing livestock on land which is owned by another person, or a group of people. In England and Wales the term is also used for the process that ended the ancient system of...
land) and commoners (who had grazing and cutting rights). One group of commoners were led by
Thomas WillingaleThomas Willingale , lived in the village of Loughton in Essex, United Kingdom. He was instrumental in the preservation of Epping Forest and is commemorated for his actions...
(1799-1870) who on behalf of the villagers of
LoughtonLoughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Buckhurst Hill, Theydon Bois, Waltham Abbey, and Chigwell...
continued to lop the trees after the Lord of the Manor (Maitland) had enclosed of forest in Loughton. This led to an injunction against further enclosures.
The Epping Forest Act 1878 was passed saving the forest from enclosure, and halting the shrinkage of the forest that this had caused. Epping Forest ceased to be a royal forest and was placed in the care of the City of London Corporation who act as
Conservators. In addition, the Crown's right to
venisonVenison is the culinary name for meat from the family Cervidae. Deer meat, whether hunted or farmed, is termed venison.-Etymology:The word derives from the Latin vēnor...
was terminated, and
pollardingPollarding is a pruning system in which the tree is headed back every year. This pruning encourages lateral branches and is normally done two or three metres above ground level. The tree is allowed to regrow after the initial cutting, but once begun, pollarding requires regular maintenance by...
was no longer allowed, although grazing rights continued. This act laid down a stipulation that the Conservators "shall at all times keep Epping Forest unenclosed and unbuilt on as an open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the people".
When
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
visited Chingford on 6 May 1882 she declared "It gives me the greatest satisfaction to dedicate this beautiful forest to the use and enjoyment of my people for all time" and it thus became "The People's Forest". The City of London Corporation still manage Epping Forest in strict conformity with the Epping Forest Act without any money for its upkeep coming from local rates or taxes. The Conservators administer the forest from the Grade II* listed Warren House in Loughton; the grounds of Warren House, which was built around a medieval hunting lodge, were laid out by
Humphry ReptonHumphry Repton , was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the nineteenth century...
.
Until the outbreak of
BSEBovine spongiform encephalopathy , commonly known as mad-cow disease , is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease in cattle, that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 4 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of four to...
in 1996 commoners still exercised their right to graze cattle and every summer herds of cattle would roam freely in the southern part of the forest (and occasionally in the streets of
LeytonstoneLeytonstone is an area of East London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is a high density suburban area, located north east of Charing Cross in the ceremonial county of Greater London and the historic county of Essex...
). Cattle were reintroduced in 2001 but their movements are now more restricted to reduce conflict with traffic.
The right to collect wood still exists but is rarely practised and is limited to "one
faggot of dead or driftwood" per day per adult resident.
Ecology
The age of the forest and the range of habitats it contains make it a valuable area for wildlife, and it is designated as a
Site of Special Scientific InterestA Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based...
. Its former status as a working or pasture forest have had a great effect on its ecology. This is particularly evident with the
pollardPollarding is a pruning system in which the tree is headed back every year. This pruning encourages lateral branches and is normally done two or three metres above ground level. The tree is allowed to regrow after the initial cutting, but once begun, pollarding requires regular maintenance by...
ed trees, which, as they have not been cut since the passing of the Epping Forest Act, have now grown massive crowns of thick, trunk-like branches with correspondingly large
boleBole may refer to:* A hearth where lead was smelted on a Bole hill;* Bole District, Ghana;* Bole, Ghana, town;* Bole, Nottinghamshire, England;* Bole International Airport;* Bole, Xinjiang, China;* bole , a unit of momentum;...
s. This gives the trees an unusual appearance, not known in other forests. Often the weight of the branches cannot be supported by the parent tree, and the large amount of dead wood in the forest supports numerous rare species of fungi and
invertebrateAn invertebrate is an animal without a vertebral column. The group includes 95% of all animal species — all animals except those in the Chordate subphylum Vertebrata ....
s.
Predominant tree species are
Pedunculate OakQuercus robur is commonly known as the Pedunculate Oak or English oak. It is native to most of Europe, and to Asia Minor to the Caucasus, and also to parts of North Africa.-Taxonomy:...
(
Quercus robur),
European BeechThe European Beech or Common Beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae.-Natural range:The natural range extends from southern Sweden to central Italy, west to France, southern England, northern Portugal, and central Spain, and east to northwest Turkey, where it intergrades...
(
Fagus sylvatica),
European HornbeamCarpinus betulus is a hornbeam native to western, central and southern Europe, extending eastward as far as western Russia and Ukraine. It requires a warm climate for good growth, and occurs only at elevations up to 600 metres...
(
Carpinus betuloides),
Silver BirchBetula pendula is a widespread European birch, though in southern Europe it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey and the Caucasus...
(
Betula pendula) and
European HollyIlex aquifolium is a species of holly native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia....
(
Ilex aquifolium). A wide range of animals are found, including
Fallow DeerThe Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae.The male is a buck, the female is a doe, and the young a fawn. Bucks are 140-160 cm long and 90-100 cm shoulder height, and 60-85 kg in weight; does are 130-150 cm long and 75-85 cm shoulder height, and 30-50 kg in weight. Fawns...
(
Dama dama),
MuntjacMuntjac, also known as Barking Deer, are small deer of the genus Muntiacus. Muntjac are the oldest known deer, appearing 15-35 million years ago, with remains found in Miocene deposits in France and Germany.-Description:...
(
Muntiacus reevesi) and European adder (
Vipera berusVipera berus is a venomous viper species that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of Western Europe and all the way to Far East Asia. They are not regarded as highly dangerous; bites can be very painful, but are seldom fatal. The specific name, berus, is New Latin and was at...
).
Although the Epping Forest Act almost certainly saved the forest from total destruction, it has to some extent had a deleterious effect on the area's
biodiversityBiodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems...
. The pollarded trees allowed light through to the woodland floor, increasing the numbers of low-growing plants. Since the Act, the vast crowns of the pollards cut out most of the light to the underbrush. In addition, the area surrounding the forest is now to a great extent urbanised; the corresponding reduction in grazing has led to former areas of grassland and heathland being overcome by
secondary woodlandEcological succession, a fundamental concept in ecology, refers to the predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological community. Succession may be initiated either by formation of new, unoccupied habitat or by some form of disturbance of an existing community...
– this has been exacerbated by the majority of the forest's
deerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also considered to be deer – these include muntjac and water deer...
being enclosed to prevent impacts with vehicles on the major roads that run through the forest. In recent years, the Conservators have experimented with pollarding in selected areas of the forest, and a herd of English
Longhorn cattleLonghorn cattle are a long-horned brown and white breed of beef cattle originating from Craven in the north of England. They have a white patch along the line of their spine and under their bellies....
has been reintroduced to graze the heathland and grassland.
Cultural references
Epping Forest has frequently been the setting for novels, and has attracted poets, artists and musicians for centuries.
The sculptor,
Jacob EpsteinSir Jacob Epstein was an American-born British sculptor who worked chiefly in the UK, where he pioneered modern sculpture, often producing controversial works that challenged taboos concerning what public artworks appropriately depict...
, lived on the very edge of the Forest for a quarter of a century at Baldwins Hill
LoughtonLoughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Buckhurst Hill, Theydon Bois, Waltham Abbey, and Chigwell...
. Sir William Addison says that he wanted his sculpture 'Visitation', now in the Tate Collection, to be sited overlooking the Forest. In 1933, he exhibited 100 paintings of the Forest, and continued to paint during the war. His
gouacheGouache[p], the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water...
, an essay in green tints and textures,
Pool - Epping Forest, of Baldwins Hill Pond, was exhibited in 1945. Many of his Forest painting are in the Garman-Ryan Collection at the New Art Gallery,
WalsallWalsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation, and is sometimes described as part of the Black Country.Walsall...
The song "The White Buck of Epping" by
Sydney CarterSydney Bertram Carter was an English poet, songwriter, folk musician, born in Camden Town, London. He is best known for the song Lord of the Dance , set to the tune of the American Shaker song Simple Gifts, and the song "The Crow on the Cradle", adapted from an old folk song...
(1957) refers to a sighting of (and subsequent hunt for) a white buck in the forest.
The
progressive rockProgressive rock is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility."...
band
GenesisGenesis are a Grammy Award-winning English rock band formed in 1967, and are among the top 30 highest-selling recording artists of all time with approximately 150 million albums sold worldwide, including 21.5 million albums sold in the United States. In 1988, the band won the Grammy Award for Best...
has a track titled
The Battle of Epping ForestThe Battle of Epping Forest is a song by English rock band Genesis, appearing on their 1973 album Selling England by the Pound . At 11 minutes and 49 seconds long, it is the longest song on the album....
on their 1973 album
Selling England by the PoundSelling England by the Pound is the fifth studio album by the progressive rock band Genesis and was recorded and released in 1973. It followed Foxtrot and was the band's commercial peak with Peter Gabriel, hitting # 3 in the UK where it remained on the charts for 21 weeks. The album went gold in...
, telling a story of two rival gangs fighting over East End protection rights.
WingsWings was a rock group formed in 1971 by ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Linda McCartney. The group was the only "permanent" group that any of the former members of the Beatles were ever involved with after their break-up...
sang "There was a lead guitarist. Who lived in Epping Forest" in
Famous Groupies, a track on their 1977
London TownLondon Town is the sixth album by Wings and was released in 1978. The recording of the project was a long and tumultuous one, which saw the loss of two of its band members, the birth of a baby and the release of Britain's then top-selling single of all time - all during London Towns making.-...
album.
British
industrial musicIndustrial music is an experimental music style, often including electronic music, that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s to describe Industrial Records artists...
pioneers
Throbbing GristleThrobbing Gristle is a British industrial music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions. The band consists of Genesis P-Orridge , Cosey Fanni Tutti , Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson , and Chris Carter Throbbing Gristle is a British industrial music and...
recorded a song called
Epping Forest on their 1977 cassette release
Nothing Short of A Total War
The composer, Niso Ticciati, published a short
Epping Forest Suite in 1968.
The British rock band
FeederFeeder are a Welsh rock band, formed in Newport during 1992 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Grant Nicholas and drummer Jon Lee. Bassist Taka Hirose later joined after Grant responded to an advert. Jon Lee took his own life in January 2002 at his Miami home...
shot one of the scenes their first ever video for the single
Stereo World"Stereo World" is a song by Feeder, released as the group's first single in 1996. It was taken from the Swim mini-album. It also appears on the later released LP debut Polythene of 1997...
(1996) in Epping Forest.
The forest was featured on the 2005 television programme
Seven Natural WondersSeven Natural Wonders was a television series that aired on BBC Two from 3 May to 20 June 2005. The programme took an area of England each week and, from votes by the people living in that area, showed the 'seven natural wonders' of that area in a programme.The programmes were:The series covered...
as one of the wonders of the London area, in an episode presented by
Bill OddieWilliam Edgar Oddie, OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who first became famous as one of The Goodies....
.
The forest has criminal associations. The
highwaymanA highwayman was a robber who preyed on travelers, particularly one who traveled by horse; those who robbed on foot were called footpads. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
Dick TurpinFor other meanings see Dick Turpin .Richard Turpin was an infamous English rogue and highwayman. Turpin engaged in poaching, burglary, cattle rustling, horse theft, highway robbery and murder before being executed in York by Gareth Wynne...
had a hideout there. The tree cover and the forest's location close to London have made it notorious as a burial area for murder victims.
Triple
policemanA police officer is a warranted employee of a police force. Police officers are generally responsible for apprehending criminals, maintaining public order, and preventing and detecting crimes...
murderer
Harry RobertsHarry Maurice Roberts is one of the UK's most notorious murderers and longest-serving prisoners.-Murders:Roberts was the instigator of the Massacre of Braybrook Street, a triple-murder of policemen in 1966....
hid out in the forest for a short time before his arrest in 1966.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20021126/ai_n12651237
The forest was the location for Living TV's
Most Haunted Live!Most Haunted Live is a spin-off of the paranormal reality television series Most Haunted and is also produced by Antix Productions. The show consists of paranormal investigations broadcast live over a period of one or more nights, usually with interactive sections that involve the...
on their New Year Live show in 2003/4. The theme of the programme was the highwayman Dick Turpin.
T E Lawrence owned an estate at
Pole Hill, ChingfordPole Hill is a geographical feature on the border between Greater London and Essex. From its summit there is an extensive view over much of East, North and West London, although in the summer the leaves of the trees in Epping Forest have a tendency to mask some of the visibility to the North and...
; this was added to the Forest in 1929 and Lawrence's hut re-erected in the Forest HQ at the Warren,
LoughtonLoughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Buckhurst Hill, Theydon Bois, Waltham Abbey, and Chigwell...
, where it remains, largely forgotten, today.
Literature
Elizabethan
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
s such as
George GascoigneGeorge Gascoigne was an English poet. He was the eldest son of Sir John Gascoigne of Cardington, Bedfordshire.-Early life:...
and
Thomas LodgeThomas Lodge was an English dramatist and writer of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods.-Early life and education:He was born about 1558 at West Ham, the second son of Sir Thomas Lodge, who was Lord Mayor of the City of London in 1562–1563...
lived in and around the forest. The writer
Lady Mary WrothLady Mary Wroth was an English poet of the Renaissance. A member of a distinguished literary English family, Wroth was among the first female British writers to have achieved an enduring reputation...
lived at Loughton Hall.
Ben JonsonBenjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
, best known for his satirical play
The AlchemistThe Alchemist is a comedy by English playwright Ben Jonson. First performed in 1610 by the King's Men, it is generally considered Jonson's best and most characteristic comedy; Samuel Taylor Coleridge claimed that it had one of the three most perfect plots in literature...
, was a frequent visitor to the forest with
George ChapmanGeorge Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
.
In the 18th century,
Mary WollstonecraftMary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and feminist. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book...
, writer, philosopher and feminist, spent the first five years of her life growing up in the forest.
In the
Victorian eraThe Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements...
,
Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens FRSA , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print...
' novel
Barnaby RudgeBarnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty is an historical novel by the author Charles Dickens. Barnaby Rudge was one of two novels that Dickens published in his short-lived weekly serial Master Humphrey's Clock, which lasted from 1840 to 1841, when Barnaby Rudge was published...
begins with a description of the forest in 1775. Alfred, Lord Tennyson lived at Beech Hill House, High Beach, from 1837-1840, where he wrote parts of
In MemoriamIn Memoriam A.H.H. is a poem by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, completed in 1849. It is a requiem for the poet's Cambridge friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage in Vienna in 1833, but it is also much more...
. Suffering from depression, he stayed as a guest at Dr Martin Allen's asylum, where he would have encountered poet
John ClareJohn Clare was an English poet, born the son of a farm labourer who came to be known for his representations of the English countryside...
, whose behaviour became so erratic that he was removed to the asylum in 1837.
William MorrisWilliam Morris was an English architect, furniture and textile designer, artist, writer, socialist and Marxist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement. Morris wrote and published poetry, fiction, and translations of ancient and medieval texts...
, artist, writer and socialist, was born in
WalthamstowWalthamstow is a town in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, North East London, England, located north east of Charing Cross. Walthamstow is bordered to the north by Chingford, south by Leyton and Leytonstone, east by the southern reaches of Epping Forest at Woodford and west by Tottenham and...
in 1834, and spent his early years in what was then rural Essex, close to the outlying sections of the forest.
Arthur MorrisonArthur George Morrison was an English author and journalist, known for his realistic novels about London's East End and for his detective stories....
, "the English
ZolaZola may refer to:People:* Zola , South African entertainer* Émile Zola , French novelist* Arlette Zola, Swiss singer* Calvin Zola , Congo DR footballer...
," lived successively at
ChingfordChingford is a town in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is a suburban development situated northeast of Charing Cross. To the north and east of Chingford is Epping Forest and the boundary with Essex...
,
LoughtonLoughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Buckhurst Hill, Theydon Bois, Waltham Abbey, and Chigwell...
, and High Beach in the Forest, and - particularly in
To London Town - the Forest is used as a contrast to the East London deprivation he wrote about.
During the 20th century, several writers used the forest as a setting for their novels, including R. Austin Freeman's
Jacob Street Mystery (1940), partly set at Loughton Camp.
Dorothy L. SayersDorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist...
' 1928 mystery
Unnatural Death includes the discovery, in Epping Forest, of the body of a young woman possessing knowledge that could incriminate a murderer. The
horrorHorror fiction is a genre of fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle and horrify the audience. Historically, the cause of the "horror" experience has often been the intrusion of a disturbing supernatural element into everyday human experience...
writer
James HerbertJames Herbert is a best-selling English horror writer known for his simple yet compelling sensationalist novels, which are notable for their use of horrific set pieces...
used Epping Forest as the setting for his novel
Lair (1979). In the book, a horde of Giant Black Rats establish a colony in the forest and embark on a murderous campaign against
humanHumans are bipedal primates belonging to the species Homo sapiens in Hominidae, the great ape family. They are the only surviving member of the genus Homo. Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving...
s. Herbert mentions a now obscure
legendA legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
attached to the forest - the legend of the white
stag STAG: A Test of Love is a reality TV show, hosted by Tommy Habeeb. Each episode profiles an engaged couple a week or two before their wedding. The cameras then follow the groom on his bachelor party, recording all the crazy antics. The next day, Tommy Habeeb shows a highlight tape to the...
. Supposedly, the sighting of this animal is an
omenAn omen is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. Omens may be considered "good" or "bad", but the term is more often used in a foreboding sense, as with the word "ominous".-In ancient Rome:Ancient Roman religion employed two distinct types of...
of trouble and death. Natural historian and author
Fred J SpeakmanFred J Speakman was an English naturalist and author. He was one of Britain's best known naturalist-authors in the 1960s.- Life :...
lived at the Epping Forest Field Studies Centre, High Beach. He wrote several books about the area, including
A Poacher's Tale with Alfred T Curtis, a
Waltham AbbeyWaltham Abbey is a market town of about 20,400 people in the south west of the county of Essex, in the East of England region. It is about 24 km north of London on the Greenwich Meridian and lies between the River Lea in the west and Epping Forest in the east. It takes its name from Waltham...
-born
poacherPoacher may refer to:*Poaching, the theft or illegal killing of animals or plants, or sometimes artifacts. A poacher is someone who engages in poaching.*A device used for poaching *Poacher , a family of fish...
, and
A Keeper's Tale, describing the life of forest keeper Sidney Butt.
Horse riding
Horse riding is popular in Epping Forest. Riders need to be registered with the Epping Forest conservators before they are allowed to ride in the forest.
Running
RunningRunning is a means for an animal to move on foot. It is defined in sporting terms as a gait in which at some point all feet are off the ground at the same time. This is in contrast to walking, where one foot is always in contact with the ground, the legs are kept mostly straight and the center of...
as a form of recreation in Epping Forest goes back almost to the birth of the sport in the 1870s, including hosting the inaugural English Championships in 1876.
Motorcycle speedway
High Beach within Epping Forest was the first British venue for
motorcycle speedwayMotorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway or flat track motorcycle racing , is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit...
, on 19 February 1928. The track was behind The King's Oak public house, and drew large crowds in its early days. The track was closed when a swimming pool was added to the pub's grounds after the Second World War, though enthusiasts and veterans still gather at the site every year on the nearest Sunday to 19 February. The remains of the track are still visible, in the grounds of the Epping Forest Field Centre behind the King's Oak.
Mountain biking
Epping Forest attracts large numbers of
mountain bikersMountain biking is an ever evolving sport that has recently seen a huge flux of popularity but has firm roots in experimentation with non "mountain" style bicycles. The sport consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, with specially equipped mountain bikes or hybrid / cross...
. Mountain biking is generally permitted except around the Iron Age camps, Loughton Brook and other ecologically or geomorphologically sensitive areas. Despite clear signposting, a minority of mountain bikers continue to cause damage in these areas, and the Conservators of Epping Forest have expressed their concern, although horses cause similar damage. A number of clubs organise rides, particularly on Sunday mornings. The forest is also used as a training area for many national level mountain-bike racers as it is highly regarded for its fast and tight flowing single track trails. This type of terrain is known within the mountain bike fraternity as cross country.
Epping Forest was considered as a venue for the mountain-biking event of the 2012 Summer Olympics, though the final choice was near
Hadleigh CastleHadleigh Castle in the English county of Essex overlooks the Thames estuary from a ridge to the south of the town of Hadleigh. Built in the 1230s during the reign of King Henry III, the structure is the most important late-medieval castle in Essex and is now preserved by English Heritage as a...
.
Rambling
OrienteeringOrienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain. Participants are given a map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they use to find control points...
and rambling are also popular. There are numerous guidebooks offering shorter walks for the casual visitor. The most important event in the ramblers calendar in the area is the traditional Epping Forest Centenary Walk, an all-day event commemorating the saving of Epping Forest as a public space, which takes place annually on the fourth Sunday in September.
See also
- Edward Buxton (conservationist)
Edward North Buxton was a British conservationist and liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1886....
, who played a part in saving the forest for public use
- Stephen Pewsey
Stephen Pewsey is an Essex local historian and prolific author. He grew up in Southend-on-Sea, later living in Newham , and Loughton, Essex....
, Historian
- Epping Forest Keepers
The Epping Forest Keepers are an ancient body responsible for the management and care of Epping Forest, which covers approximately ten miles of forest, bridleway, woodland, recreational space and parkland stretching from Leytonstone in east London, north to Epping in Essex...
, responsible for the management and care of the forest.
External links
Mountain biking
Conservation
Images