Political and Ecclesiastical Boundaries
Within the physical Forest, because of the various parochial and manorial interests in the land, there
was a need for boundaries to be defined on the ground. With regard to grazing interest this was not
so important. Intercommonage was usual, but it would have been necessary to define the boundaries,
particularly where woodcutting rights were concerned. Wood rights were specific to the manor in
which you lived and to avoid dispute between manors it would have been necessary to indicate
boundaries on the ground.
The manor, in existence since before the conquest, was for centuries the basic administrative and
economic unit, presided over by a lord (or lady) and, in return for the protection or land he gave them,
the people who lived within that manor, from slaves to freemen, owed their lord services ranging from
rents to the obligation of working the lord's farm, without pay. for a certain number of days per year.
The lords of the manor had certain rights (varying with each manor), such as mineral, wood, timber
and grazing rights. For some, the right to hold fairs and markets was an important part of the income
derived from the manor. People on the manor other than the lord also had certain rights. Most important
were the common rights - usually to graze animals or cut wood. The whole unit was regulated by the
manorial courts. Conventions and regulations grew up, with time, to suit each particular manor and
hence each of the many thousands of manors in Britain had its own set of administrative rules and
regulations. In the medieval period, manors were a great source of income, prestige and power. The
church in the Epping Forest area, before the Dissolution, had been endowed with numerous manors.
To Waltham Abbey belonged Waltham, Woodford, Loughton. Nazeing, Roydon, Epping and Theydon
Bois (among others elsewhere, for example, Stanford-le-hope). Other ecclesiastical foundations to
own manors locally included St. Peter's, Westminster; St. Paul's (hence Chingford St. Paul's); the
abbey of Stratford Langthorne, and the Abbey of Barking (Fisher, 1887).
Often parish and manorial boundaries coincided. The enclosure map of 1877 indicates such
boundaries, for example, as 'Loughton Parish and Manor', 'Theydon Bois Parish and Manor' or
'Epping Parish and Manor', although parishes could contain more than one manor. Chingford, for
example, comprised the manors of Chingford Earls and Chingford St. Paul's.
How old are these boundaries? I don't think anyone will ever find a precise answer to this question.
I assume many were in existence in Saxon times, at the time parish boundaries first came into being.
Perhaps later manorial boundaries became imposed on pre-existing parish boundaries. Some 40
manors are recorded in Domesday in the Epping and Hainault areas. I assume the boundaries of these
manors had changed little by the end of the 19th century, in the 800 years since Domesday.
The boundaries were defined in a number of ways, within the physical Forest. Firstly natural features
were used. Both the Ching Brook and the Thames Valley Brook are manorial boundaries. The Thames
Valley, near Ambresbury Banks, between Theydon Bois and Waltham Holy Cross and further north
between Theydon Bois and Epping. The Ching Brook was a lengthy part of the boundary between
Chingford Earls. Chigwell and Loughton, the three boundaries meeting at a point somewhere near
where the bridge over the Ching Brook on Rangers Road now stands.
The small Cuckoo Brook formed part of the boundary between Chingford St. Paul and Sewardstone
Hamlet and Manor. On the enclosure map the boundaries where they ran along these brooks have
been straightened. I presume to rationalise the boundary. The brooks are obviously the inspiration for
the boundary.
Another natural feature used were trees. A boundary, running northwards from High Beach,
separates the parishes of Loughton and Waltham Holy Cross. The 1863 Ordnance Survey Map (6 ins.
to the mile, V.H.M.. R5413) shows boundary posts (BP) and what I believe are boundary markers
(BM) on the boundary line. The phrase 'BM on Pollard' appears, as does 'By Tree' meaning boundary
tree. (Note - the abbreviation BM usually indicates a Bench Mark and is accompanied by a broad
arrow and spot height. A few are present in the vicinity of the boundary line, but in many cases the
letters BM are not accompanied by either the arrow or spot height, hence my belief that in this case
BM indicates a boundary marker.)
Knighton Wood has a small ditch and bank defining its boundary. Knighton Wood itself is an old
enclosure from the Forest as witnessed by the pollard trees present here. There were several attempts
at enclosing the wood (or parts of it) in 1572, 1670 and 1781. The 1670 enclosure was thrown down
by local inhabitants (Fisher. 1887) fearing the loss of their common rights over this area, but 1 presume
the later enclosures were successful, forming eventually the Knighton Estate. A cross section of the
trackway and the boundaries on either side of it - Lords Bushes and Knighton Wood, is shown in Fig. 4.
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