carpets the ground. This is a feature typical of secondary woodland (58), though
paradoxically it also occurs in two or three other areas carpeting the ground in the
undisturbed woodland.
Wild Service (Sorbus torminalis)
This tree is undeniably the most outstanding feature of Lords Bushes. It is a rare
tree whose presence is taken to indicate an ancient continuity of woodland. In Britain
wild service has largely a southern distribution and in eastern England, Essex has by far
the greatest concentration of this tree (59). Most records come from single trees in
woodland but there are also a number of records from hedgerows on Tiptree Heath and
in the Rayne, Black Notley and Felsted area (34). Epping Forest has a relatively large
population of this species and Lords Bushes is probably the finest site for this species in
the Forest.
The overall distribution in Lords Bushes indicates a concentration on the London
Clay in the extreme south east corner with just four trees isolated from the main group,
three of which are growing on Pleistocene sands and gravels while the third is growing
the side of drainage ditch on exposed London Clay. Notably many of the trees grow on or
near a pathway or near a brook or ditch. Lloyd (42) in his paper on service in Epping
Forest also noted this. In Monks Wood Huntingdonshire service tends to grow on the
margin or close by the borders of rides (63) and along ditches, rarely does it appear in
the middle of a stand of trees, possibly semi-shade is an ecological requirerhent of this
species.
What is most unusual about the distribution of one group of wild service in Lords
Bushes is that the trees closely follow the banks of the old Squirrels Lane. The presence
of these trees may indicate the antiquity of this trackway (Plate 9). I can find no
reference to the origin of the name 'Squirrel' (if indeed this was the original name)
though two fields, which are now built on but were located immediately south of the
section of Squirrels Lane in Lords Bushes, are named in the tithe award of 1838 as
'Further Squirrels' and 'Hither Squirrels' (68).
It is unlikely the trees present today were planted and the trees have in all
probability just suckered along the banks of the road. Lloyd (42) also records wild
service on the boundary bank of the old drove road, Blind Lane, near Lippitts Hill and
Richard Warner (74) records wild service thus, "In woods and hedges, found in Sakes
commonly called Snakes Lane. On a bank between Mr Warners Fields and Ribton Lane
[probably a boundary bank] and in a wood called the Sale in the Parish of Waltham-
stow.
Further work on leaf configuration (assuming the trees have suckered and hence the
suckers having similar leaves to the parent tree) could shed some light on the parentage
43