that beareth no woode by estimacion 15 acres; which said woo,d hath been
sold to Mr Wroth, who felled the same. The . . . woodd so felled was most
oak, beach, homebeame, and birch. The oaken wood was lopte (i.e.
pollarded) and some shredde, and the other usual wood was most lopped,
saving there was felled by the ground of the said usuall wood to the nombre
of 500 young trees . . . It hath byn felled in lyke order before at former
sales. The said wood. . . was fifteen years' growthe.
. . . 618 crabtrees and hawthornes, and two hollies being vert . . . most
parte of them were dead in the toppe and felled by carters and beaten down
on the fall of the wood.
We say that the said Munckewoodd hath byn three times sold within the
mynde of man . . . one tyme by the Abbot of Stratford, and twice in the
Queen's Majesties' tyme. . .
Wroth bought the standing wood for £20, spent £35 on felling, and sold it for
£120, which works out at 2s 7d per wooded modern acre per year of growth — a
good price for woodland at the time.
4. A survey in 1604 of Hainault Forest and six private groves (27). It covers
the same ground surveyed in 1544, but with less attention to detail. Examples:
Imprimis one parcell of Woddground lying in the Common . . . called
great hogghill well sett with Okes hardbeames and other wood
64acres. . .
Ravens Oke hill well sett with husbandree Trees 60 acres. . .
Bechehill well sett with hardbeames and other trees 80 acres. . .
The Woode . . . lyinge in the Comon . . . is to be taken of the loppinges
and toppinges of the trees growinge in the same, and not otherwise because
they cannot be inclosed.
There is no significant change between the 1544 and 1604 surveys, but both
differ from that of 1565, which must refer to some different and less-wooded
part of Hainault Forest. The two together would add up to 4000 modern acres,
not far short of the actual area of the Forest.
5. A survey of the number and value of the trees on James I's estates in 1604,
of which Table 6 is an extract. I have roughly estimated the size of the timber
trees from their value: 50 cu.ft is a large oak tree, and at this time woodland
oaks were commonly less than 10 cu.ft (38). The timber trees were thus quite
large but were fewer than three to the acre and were greatly outnumbered by the
"firewood", i.e. pollard, trees. The "wastes in Stapleford" are given for a
comparison with non-Forest wood-pasture; they apparently refer to Curtismill
Green and Chadwell Heath, 1411/2 acres (27), and show that there could, on
occasion, be as many as 80 "decaying trees'' to the acre.
6. A survey of Duchy of Lancaster lands in Loughton in 1608, recording 212
loads of timber and 1586 loads of firewood (24).
7. A survey of Loughton in 1612 (24,64) which divides the whole of Epping
Forest into plains, called collectively Fairmead, and wooded parts called High-
38