THE PAST HISTORY OF THE FOREST OF ESSEX. 125
were shaded in to accommodate both kinds of name; doubtful
areas being reconstructed on the evidence of the later mediaeval
forest lands, the distribution of forest hatches (A. S. Haec)
and Gates (Danish Goia), and the occurrence of leigh (a forest
clearing). The Forest areas so formed showed a transition
stage between the hypothetical four-type forest of prehistoric
times and the later mediaeval woodland areas fixed by docu-
mentary evidence.
Fig. 4. The Forest of Essex in Saxon Times (c. 700 a.d.)
This so-formed Saxon Forest shows a repetition of the main
lines of the British Forest, as would be expected, but the areas
where deforestation has occurred are significant. A fairly com-
pact area of woodland to the south-west of the county gives-
out two spurs crossing the land in a north-easterly direction.
The major, northerly, spur after sweeping up to Hatfield Broad
Oak trends still further eastward to expand in a wide area of
woodland near Halstead, whilst a smaller offshoot reaches up to
Saffron Walden. From Halstead the spur, now much narrower,
passes north of Colchester to expand over the Tendring Hundred