There are five public marking days a year, the cattle still requiring to be marked with the parish
iron, although they are no longer branded. The mark is a dark bituminous paint. The Reeve, now the
head-keeper, still gets paid 6d (2p) for marking each beast at Wanstead and Woodford on the
appropriate marking day. There have been several attempts to remove cattle from the Forest,
fortunately resisted by the commoners and Conservators, although in 1977 the winter grazing rights
of the commoners were bought out for £68,000 and cattle are now off the Forest between November
and April. In winter and in very dry summers cattle tend to wander off the Forest in search of forage
causing occasional insignificant damage to gardens; their tendency to amble across roads also
frustrates car drivers. A fatal road accident led to the buying out of the winter grazing rights. There
have been various schemes put forward to make cattle more visible to motorists - none have yet been
put into operation. Other schemes have been proposed in which the 'tagging' of cattle has been
advocated so that the owner of a particular beast can be identified. It is only recently (1991) that such
a scheme has been adopted and as a result cattle are now tagged with a colour-coded clip (red, blue,
yellow, green or brown) on their left ear to identify their owner.
Grazing and Plant Life in the Forest
The pasturing of animals on the Forest over many hundreds of years has had a profound influence
on the flora. Grazing has probably been the most significant factor in determining the presence,
absence or prevalence of certain species of plant.
Generally, the more grazing and browsing animals there are on an area, the more the regeneration
of trees and shrubs is checked: reduce the grazing pressure and trees and shrubs will regenerate more
freely as is happening now in Epping Forest (see Plates 4, 7 and 30).
Excessive grazing in some areas, for instance on the southern Forest grasslands many centuries ago.
particularly by sheep, is probably the reason why we see plants such as Fine-leaved Sheep's Fescue
and Mat Grass in these areas. In other places trampling and excessive grazing by livestock may have
helped the survival of species of plant, now long gone from the Forest, such as All-seed (Radiola
linoides) and Autumn Lady's Tresses (Spiranthes spiralis).
The animals previously involved in the grazing of the Forest were of four main types - cattle (Plates
5 and 6), horses, sheep and deer, a mixture which probably enhanced the diversity of plant species in
the Forest.. At any one time numbers of individuals from each group varied on the Forest. 1895 saw
627 cattle and 310 horses pastured on the Forest, 1939 189 cattle and 30 horses, whilst 1974 saw 299
cattle and one horse pastured on the Forest. In the 1980s the maximum was around 150 cattle pastured
on the Forest and no horses. The type of grazing animals is of some significance. Cattle, horses, sheep
and deer all graze or browse in different ways. Cattle are ruminants and are largely grass feeders.
Horses are not ruminants and require a relatively large intake of vegetable matter. Size for size cattle
eat less than horses (Tubbs, 1986). This may have been the reason for commoners being allowed to
graze either two cattle or one horse on the Forest. Cattle and horse grazing strategy is also quite
different. Horses will crop the ground very closely: cattle tend to leave a tussocky pasture. Horses and
ponies generally will also browse more than cattle. In Epping forest, Wanstead and Leyton Flats are
the best places to see grazing cattle (Plate 28). The first thing that is very noticeable in summer is the
browse line on the Lime trees in the vicinity of Centre Road, a sure sign that at least here grazing
pressure is being maintained. Cattle, usually around 100 in recent years, move over the whole of the
Flats drinking at the various ponds, the Alexandra and Dames Road ponds seem to be favoured, and
shading beneath a group of trees just west of Centre Road. The cattle seem to prefer the lusher wide-bladed
grasses such as Purple Moor, Cock's Foot and Perennial Rye. They also seem to like Flote-grass (Glyceria
fluitans) growing on the muddy margins of the dried up pond by Capel Road. On Leyton Flats I have
watched cattle graze Reed-grass (G maxima) in the drying out ponds. Elsewhere, but particularly in the
north part of the Forest, Purple Moor Grass is ungrazed, its tussocks grow unchecked and the uncropped
leaf blades cause a great accumulation of 'straw' in winter which survives to the following year and can
be a fire hazard, but also the enlarged tussocks shade out other species of plants.
On Wanstead Flats (TQ 401865) there is a small triangular patch of grassland dominated by about
120 tussocks of Purple Moor Grass. It is noticeable that when grazed by cattle the tussocks of Purple
Moor Grass are grazed right down to about 9 or 10 inches in height. Red Fescue growing in the vicinity
is also eaten but not Soft Rush or Mat Grass. Other plants found on the 'Flats' and not eaten by cattle
include Meadow Buttercup (poisonous). Creeping Thistle (prickly leaves). Gorse (sharp spines) and
Broom (woody and very little leaf). Apart from the preferred grasses, cattle on the Forest will eat a
variety of other items. I have watched cattle eat leaves from the fallen bough of a poplar on Wanstead
28