Calendar of Notable Dates
c. 1130 First mention of a legal Forest of Essex
1199 Wanstead and Leyton Flats recorded as heathland
1205 'Foresta nostra prope Waltham' mentioned
1215 Charta de Foresta
1248 'Foresta regis Essex' mentioned/legal Forest' covers most of Essex
1276 'Forest de Waltham et Wyntre' mentioned
1299 Ambresbury Banks 'castrum de Eppinghatthe' mentioned
1301 Perambulation finally settled the boundaries of the Forest to south-west Essex -
and Crown lands elsewhere in Essex including Hatfield. Writtle and Kingswood
1365 Lopping explicitly mentioned for Waltham Forest
1498 Monkewode (Monk Wood) mentioned
1543 Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge completed
1544 Henry VIII briefly established a park on Chingford Fairmead
c. 1595 Waltham Abbey Map (oblique aerial view) made, original in Hatfield House
1630 Most detailed Regard of the Forest
1634 Attorney General on behalf of Charles I declared the pre-1301 boundaries of the
Forest; legal Forest once again covered most of Essex
1640 Boundaries of the legal Forest returned to their pre-1634 extent
1641 Perambulation of Waltham Forest to redefine the boundaries
c. 1641 Map of Foresters'Walks in Waltham Forest
1653 Act of Parliament to disafforest the Forest during the Commonwealth. No action
was taken by the restoration of Charles II in 1660
1662 The name Epping Forest first recorded
1665 Last Regard of the Forest
1666 Sir Henry Wroth of Loughton granted leave to enclose 1,500 acres of the Forest.
It is conjectured he did not do so because of opposition
1670 Last known Justice Seat held for Waltham Forest
1771 Richard Warner's 'Plantae Woodfordienses' printed
1772 - 1774 Epping Forest surveyed by Chapman and Andre producing the first detailed and
accurate map of the Forest. Map published in 1777.
1777 Enfield Chase destroyed
1812 Gravel pits on Leyton Flats cover 6 acres
1817 Attempt by the Commissioner of Woods and Forests to disafforest Epping and
Hainault Forests
1830- 1834 Turnpike Trust constructed 'Epping New Road'
1848 A parliamentary committee recommended the disafforestation of Hainault and
that the Crown should sell its Forestal Rights to the lords of the manors in Epping
Forest
c. 1850 Rifle Butts built on Honey Lane Plain
1851 Hainault Forest largely destroyed
1853 Last record of Court of Attachments held for Waltham Forest (last full court held
in 1848)
1856 Eastern Counties Railway opened line from Stratford to Loughton
1858 Easter Hunt formally abolished (although carried on to 1882)
1865 1,316 acres of forest enclosed by lord of the manor of Loughton
1866 Thomas Willingale asserted his right to lop trees in Loughton manor
1871 Only one third of the Forest remained unenclosed. Suit commenced against lords
of the manors by the Corporation of London and City solicitors
1872 Loughton Camp discovered
1874 Master of the Rolls granted an injunction against further enclosures by the lords
of the manors
1877 Last traditional pollarding carried out on Staples Hill in Epping Forest
1878 Epping Forest Act passed; the Crown no longer had any Forestal Rights and the
Forest became a place for public recreation
1878 Staples Road reservoir constructed
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