60
The Essex Naturalist
that was later to become the sewage works formed part of the Aldersbrook
farmland, 200 acres of which was purchased from Lord Wellesley in 1853 to
provide the land for the City of London Cemetery. A sewage farm is shown on
the Ordnance Survey map of the area in 1894, and a map of 1919 shows also the
filter beds of Wanstead Urban District Council. This site was used until the mid
1970s, and thereafter lay derelict and under the control of the Thames Water
Authority.
In the early 1980s the Department of Transport took control of the site, to be
used as was suitable as an adjunct to the contemplated road-building schemes in
the area, primarily the South Woodford to Barking Relief Road (now the
A.406). The DoT maintained ownership of the land after the road was
completed, evidently to be used as "exchange" land for other road improvement
schemes which would affect Epping Forest.
A small area of the old sewage works had been transferred into the ownership
of the London Borough of Redbridge, also in the early 1980s. This was in
compensation for land lost in that borough due to the A.406 road. In order to
gain access to this exchange land, a substantial new bridge was built across the
River Roding, together with an extension of the tarmac road that runs from
Wanstead Park Road into Wanstead Park Recreation Ground. The parcel of
land - which effectively divided the rest of the original sewage works site into
two detached areas - was cleared, and a grass field was laid. The Borough it
seems originally had in mind that this be used as a recreation ground for field
games by school children, but later thought that it might be used as an addition
to the Ilford Golf Course which had lost two holes to the road-building.
The rest of the area had until very recently belonged to the Department of
Transport, and maintained a "private" status. However, as may be supposed,
increasingly the fences fell into disrepair and people entered the area, though
this has been on a comparatively small scale. Over the years the vegetation had
grown up and to most people the adjacent Park must have been more appealing
than "the sewage works". Some of those that have used the land have done so
for perhaps the less social reasons.
At times the whine or roar of trial and other motorbikes was heard, making use
of the roughness of the terrain and the isolation of the area. It has been reported
that dog-fighting has taken place. Undoubtedly rabbits have been caught here,
and air-rifles and pistols have been used not only on targets but also and more on
birds. At one time the area was used by "paintball" enthusiasts, and a number of
trees and shrubs were hacked or cut down to make hide-outs and for cover.
But people had trespassed in the area for more acceptable pursuits too. The
banks of the River Roding are sometimes used by anglers for fishing, and by
others for walking. The river, with the open land of the golf course on the
opposite bank, is an attractive place and would be quiet but for the ever-present
noise of the un-screened A.406 in the distance. Bird-watchers have appreciated