(currently abundant on the dried margin of Whipps Cross Pond, but also found in many of the ponds
in the northern part of the Forest), Trifid Bur-marigold (Bidens tripartita) and at least three species
of Yellow-cress (Rorippa spp.). Rarities in this habitat are the Bristle Scirpus (Isolepis setacea) noted
by Goldings Hill Pond. It is a species that may have flourished when more livestock grazed the Forest.
It prefers growing in ground poached by cattle.
One of the botanical sensations of the drought year of 1976 was the discovery of Ludwigia (Ludwigia
palustris) growing on the dried mud of Strawberry Hill Pond. It is a great rarity, previously thought
to occur in Britain only in the New Forest (LN 56 (1977) p. 18-19).
Streamside
A number of small streams flow through the Forest. The most important of these is the Ching Brook.
This small meandering riffle and pool stream starts life as the Cuckoo Brook and joins with the
overflow from Connaught Waters, flowing across Whitehall Plain to eventually join up with the Lee.
Mention has already been made of the varied willow flora in the vicinity of Whitehall Plain. Other
plants found along the brook include Hemlock Water Dropwort, Wild Angelica (Angelica sylvestris).
Water Mint and Fine-leaved Water Celery. Butterbur (Petasites hybridus) has been known from the
margin of the Ching Brook since at least the 1940s.
4) Miscellaneous
Enclosures
The enclosure of the Forest 'waste' was the biggest threat to the continued existence of its plant and
animal life. The enclosing of Forest ground to create a defined area of privately-owned ground had
gone on over many centuries in the Forest. Early enclosures were almost invariably sanctioned by the
Forest courts. A licence was needed to enclose the ground and there was the usual proviso that the
king's deer should have access to the enclosure at all times. An early enclosure sanctioned by the
Crown was that of Wall Wood in Leytonstone, during the reign of Henry III (c. 1247). Originally
access was to be allowed to the deer but permission was granted in a later charter to the Abbot and
Convent of Stratford to empark the land and, if they wished to do so, cultivate the land (Fisher, 1887).
It seems they did not go this far. Wallwood was still wooded in the 17th century. Another licensed
enclosure was that of Wanstead Park, which appears, in a grant made by Henry VIII in 1545, to have
been then lately emparked and enclosed.
Illegal enclosure, i.e. without the permission of the Forest courts, was particularly prevalent in the
first half of the 19th century when declining Crown interest in the Forests caused the Commissioner
for Woods and Forests to encourage the lords of the various forest manors to buy up the Forestal rights
of the ground in the belief that they could then do as they pleased with the land. The Crown owned
the Forestal and manorial rights in Hainault Forest, owning the latter since the Dissolution. It was
thus easier for the Crown to disafforest and destroy Hainault in 1851. In the Epping Forest division
some lords of the manor attempted large scale enclosure (i.e. Loughton). Many smaller enclosures
were made by inhabitants of the various Forest villages. There is an apparently genuine break in the
proceedings of the Court of Attachments between 1832 and 1843 and 1 imagine with the authority of
the Court in abeyance, enclosure proceeded at an alarming rate. In 1843. at one session of the Court
of Attachments, 134 presentments for illegal enclosure were made varying in size from a few square
yards to many acres. Among well-known local names recorded were Samuel Maynard (Theydon
Bois), Thomas Rounding (2 acres, Woodford), Rev. Mr. Heathcote (Chingford), Joseph Willingale
(Loughton) and William Mellish, Master Keeper of Loughton Walk!
In some cases enclosures were just that. The land was enclosed usually with a fence, but was not
cultivated (an assart) or built on (a perpresture). Examples of this are the Forest in Loughton manor
(over a thousand acres) and Lords Bushes in Buckhurst Hill, enclosed by their respective lords of the
manor. However, the woodland and grassland aspect of both these areas still exists and obviously no
extensive destruction occurred. Other enclosures were built on. There were many enclosures in the
vicinity of the Bald-faced Stag at Buckhurst Hill. Even the burial ground of St. John's Church here
still has relic Oak and Hornbeam pollards (Plate 24). Other enclosures were cultivated. Enclosure 369
on Warren Hill was an arable field up to the 1870s as was most of Chingford Plain. Warren Hill still
has ridge and furrow, easily visible on the ground, near the junction of Manor Road and the Loughton
High Road. Other enclosures were planted with exotic trees and shrubs - Rhododendrons still occur
in Paul's Nursery, High Beach and the Theydon Bois Oak Hill enclosure. Some enclosures were made
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