Flats and from near Hatch Grove (Plate 29) 1 have seen Wych Elm, Blackthorn and Crab leaves eaten, as
well as those of sapling Horse Chestnuts and Sycamore. Cattle here were also noted eating Ivy leaves.
Sheep have a different feeding strategy from cattle, tending to crop the turf to very low level - not
leaving a tussocky sward as the cattle do.
Sheep are no longer found on the Forest. Commoners could not graze sheep but some landowners
by special grant were able to do so and numbers mentioned in documents indicate that at least in the
medieval period they had a significant impact on the vegetation of the Forest.
Plains and grassy heath have been long established in Epping Forest. As far back as 1199 Wanstead
and Leyton Flats are recorded as heath and the abbey of Stratford Langthorne was licenced to graze
many hundreds of sheep here, the licence being very specific as to the grazing area. 1 suspect that the
present day flora of these sites (see page 82) reflects this intensely grazed past.
Fallow deer during the medieval period probably occurred in sufficient numbers to have had a
significant effect on the vegetation. By the mid-19th century their numbers had dwindled greatly and
at this time they would have had little impact on the vegetation. Fallow deer graze on lush grasses
and herbs and will also browse to a greater extent than sheep or cattle, particularly when there are
young leaves on the trees. Hornbeam, however, is ignored as a food source. Acorns, Sweet Chestnut
and Beech mast are eaten in good nut years. Bramble and Ivy are favourite foods at any time of year
(Chapman, 1984). Today rather few deer are found in the Forest: none were reported in 1971. They
can be seen in the vicinity of the Wake Arms and in the Theydon Bois area. Fallow deer are, however,
quite frequent on land west of the Forest. Herds in the Forest today tend to be small, perhaps no more
than 8 or 9 individuals.
Rabbits, particularly in the vicinity of warrens (see page 36) and before myxamatosis took hold,
would have had a significant local impact on vegetation. Myxamatosis devastated Forest rabbit
populations. 1 recall seeing a swollen-eyed, partly paralysed victim of the disease near the Cuckoo
Pits in the 1970s and it is only recently that rabbit populations are making a comeback, for example,
on Warren Hill, on Fairmead and near the Wake Arms. The closely cropped lawn type landscape
created by intensive rabbit grazing is, perhaps, best seen at Paul's Nursery, High Beach (TQ 413978)
and may well become more widespread.
The tree and shrub species found in the Forest today (not including introductions) reflect the grazing
aspect of the Forest's history. Trees such as Beech, Oak and Hornbeam are generally unpalatable to
livestock and hence have survived. Other trees which are palatable such as Ash and Elm, although being
found in some quantity in farmland just outside the Forest, are rare in it and often confined to the margins.
The Effects of Declining Grazing Pressure
In the absence of grazing pressure, in particular in the northern half of the Forest, there has been a
tendency for trees and shrubs to invade former grasslands and heathland (Plate 30). Birch, once an
uncommon tree in the Forest, now invades many of the damp heathy areas, among them Long Running,
Deer Shelter Plain and Sunshine Plain. Much to the detriment of the plants here, the birches tend to
dry out the wet soils that many of the characteristic plants of these places require. On many of the
neutral grasslands colonisation takes a different form. On Chingford Plain, for example, encroaching
vegetation is mainly Oak and Common Hawthorn, sometimes forming small islands in a sea of grass.
Other species found in these islands include Blackthorn, Elder, Rose and Crab, the latter seeming to
be quite frequent in secondary growth in the Forest. A characteristic feature of many Forest grasslands
is the attractive but invasive Tufted Hair Grass (Deschampsia caespitosa), very noticeable on plains
such as Fairmead and Chingford. This tough grass seems to thrive once grazing pressure declines
again, much to the detriment of other less competitive species of plant. The serrated edge of its leaf
means it is highly unpalatable although deer will eat it and once it dominates a grassland it is difficult
to dislodge. Ungrazed Purple Moor Grass tussocks, particularly in the northern part of the Forest, also
tends to swamp less competitive species of plant. Many parts of the Forest with pollard trees have a
characteristic shrub layer of Holly. This again seems to be a feature of unbrowsed pasture woodland.
Despite its sharp spines Holly is browsed by livestock, particularly in winter, and indeed in the New
Forest Holly pollards provided a source of winter feed for livestock.
Ponds
It is likely that at least some Forest ponds originated as stock ponds, to water grazing animals.
Fairmead Pond, situated near the New Lodge (it is shown on the 1777 Chapman and Andre map)
would have been conveniently close to monitor grazing animals coming to drink. Up to the 19th
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