Hainault Forest

Our visit

As mentioned on our visit to Wanstead Park, now we have more time, we are keen to learn more about the ancient forests to the east of London which are havens for humans and wildlife alike. We decided to visit Hainault Forest, a name familiar to Londoners from the central line tube map, as we had never been before.

First, a bit of history ... When we think of forests, we imagine large, densely wooded areas, but, historically, forests were much more than that. Back in the early 1100s, 'forest' was a term used for an area of land dedicated to royal hunting, and would have been a patchwork of habitats including areas of woodland, wetlands, settlements and open grassland areas used for grazing. Hainault formed part of the vast Forest of Essex; owned by the crown and used as a royal hunting forest and anyone living within it was subject to forest law. In reality this applied to most of Essex, and forest law defined everyday life.

This continued for centuries until in the late 1700's when the law was changed to permit the harvesting of timber for shipbuilding by the Navy.

In 1851 another Act of Parliament was passed to remove the forest’s legal protection and make way for large scale clearing. 100,000 trees were felled in Hainault in the space of three short weeks, with steam ploughs ripping trees clean out of the ground.

Luckily, a few people recognised the true value of the forest for wildlife and for recreation. This included Edward North Buxton, a local MP and Hainault Forest’s life saver. He spearheaded a campaign which ultimately saved what was left of the forest, and later came to the rescue of nearby Epping Forest too.

By lobbying parliament and harnessing public pressure, Buxton is thought to be the pioneer of the modern conservation movement, and his efforts meant that the forest at Hainault reopened to the public in 1906.

Today, Hainault Forest is jointly owned and managed through a partnership between Essex County Council, the London Borough of Redbridge and the Woodland Trust to
ensure the valuable wildlife and habitats of the forest are protected whilst creating a space for people, both local and from further afield, to connect with nature and enjoy facilities for learning, recreation, play and events.