Plate III. Ex-pollard beeches between the King's Oak and the Wake Arms in
1977. The clustered trunks to the right are probably the result of casual
coppicing. The dense trees in the background are an overgrown plain. Note
the absence of almost any plant other than beech, the result of a century of
continuous shade.
Courtesy of Epping Forest Conservation Centre
Epping Forest was one of the first "wild" public open spaces. The Con-
servators had little theory and no experience to guide them in their management
policy. Several of their decisions were remarkably far-sighted. They rejected, as
contrary to the Act, proposals to use the Forest as a formal park or for modern
forestry. They were advised by E. N. Buxton, who appreciated the ecological
damage done by unnecessary tree-planting, the destruction of dead wood,
drainage, and the use of carts on Forest soils — though his policies on some of
these points have not always been carried out.
Unfortunately the Conservators knew little of the ecological history of the
Forest; the science of ecology itself had hardly begun. They had the misap-
prehension that the Forest had a long history of mismanagement which it was
their business to remedy. The lack of a sense of history is shown by the fate of
the lodges. The more romantic "Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge" was ex-
cessively restored; the more historic New Lodge, from which the Forest had been
administered since before 1378 (7), was demolished to save the cost of repair
(23,66).
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