lii Journal of Proceedings.
Loughton or " Cowper's " earthwork. Only having been recognised as
a " camp " by Mr. B. H. Cowper in 1872 its written history is comprised
in that gentleman's careful descriptions, no previous records being extant.
The following are the titles of Mr. Cowper's papers:—(1) " Notes on an
Entrenched Camp in Epping Forest, with plan by Mr. D'Oyley:" read at
a meeting of the Royal Archaeological Institute, November 5th, 1876
(' Archeological Journal,' vol. xxxiii., p. 88); (2) " Ancient Earthworks in
Epping Forest " (loc, cit. p. 245) ; (3) ' Ancient Camps in Epping
Forest, with plans by William D'Oyley, of Loughton:' a pamphlet
published by the Epping Forest Fund in 1876, and now very rare ; (i)
"Epping Forest and its Ancient Camps" (with woodcut), 'Cassell's
Family Magazine,' vol. iii. (1877), p. 153. Mr. Cowper also addressed
many letters to the ' City Press,' 'Notes and Queries,' &c, in the hope
of obtaining some information, but without success.
Mr. Cowper thus recounts the circumstances leading to his discovery
and recognition of the camp :—
" It was on a bright summer's day in 1872 that I took a ticket to
Loughtou for a ramble in the Forest, which thereabouts is exceptionally
attractive. After crossing a streamlet, I ascended a prominent and
elevated hill commanding a prospect of remarkable beauty and extent.
As I wandered on, my attention was diverted from the natural charms
of this lovely spot, by what past experience suggested might be an ancient
moat or ditch. A few minutes examination produced the conviction that
here was one of those renowned earthworks of which examples are
scattered over the country. After only a provisional investigation, and a
mental resolve to make enquiry, other explorations were made, and the
supposed earthwork was left, but not forgotten.......During three
years I could obtain no further clue, so in 1875 I decided upon seeking
for the Loughton entrenchment again. I went, therefore, and this time
sought the place from the Epping New Road, or from the west. I did
not know the precise position, and it was only with difficulty I discovered
it; in fact, not until I had mentally abandoned my task, and concluded
that the camp must have been a phantom after all. It was no phantom,
however, and I traced the lines of the embankment and trench for a
considerable distance. This was all I could do on my second visit, except
that I took note of the exact locality. Since then I have been several
times, and have traced the entire circumference, and obtained other
details.''
Further examination, and a careful survey made in 1876 by Mr. D'Oyley,
confirmed Mr. Cowper's first impressions, and to these gentlemen belong
the credit of discovering and defining one of the most interesting
antiquities of the kind in the neighbourhood of London. The camp is
situated in the depths of the Forest, about a mile north-west of the
village of Loughton, and about two miles south-west of Ambresbury
Banks. It is marked on the new official map, but the dimensions there
laid down are very misleading—in reality the Loughton Camp is about 800
yards in circumference, and contains between eleven and twelve acres, the
two Forest camps (Ambresbury and Loughton) being almost exactly
of the same size. Its position as a military station is noteworthy. It
occupies the headland of an elevated plateau, overlooking the deep valley