The woodland flora of the Forest of Writtle and surrounding area
major farms - Fryerning Hall, Ray Farm (now part of Margaretting Hall Farm) and Howlett's Hall
- and numerous smaller properties. The six or so small coppices or springs on the first named farm
were all grubbed out during agricultural improvements in the nineteenth century but one small
wood (which is outside the area covered by this article) survives on Ray Farm and two large ancient
woods at Howlctt's Hall, namely. College Wood and Fryerning Wood, which form a continuum of
woodland with Birch Spring that extends south to the parish boundary with Blackmore.
Virtually all the surviving woodlands in Margaretting Parish are to be found in the Manor of Coptfold,
which abuts the main Forest springs to the southeast. James's Spring, Furness, Baker's, Bosmore,
Chatterbox, King and Chapel Woods make up this woodland complex. Coptfold - a name which
has been interpreted by various authors in the past as Copisfold-Beale alias Copfeild, Copfold,
Copwold and even Cold Hall - was owned by one Robert Gernon at the time of Domesday. He also
owned the estate at Fryerning which was later to be bought by Sir Nicholas Wadham. It subsequently
changed hands on countless occasions and does not appear to have been in the possession of a
single family for any great length of time. A member of the Petre family held it for a while during
the Victorian era. It is currently managed as a hunting and shooting estate by Simon Upton of
Furness Farm and is consequently rich in wildlife. There was, apparently, a fine Elizabethan house
on the estate at one time, this later being replaced by a Georgian pile. In the mid-nineteenth century
it was bought by Mr Attwood of Hylands Park. This eccentric millionaire was in the habit of buying
(and demolishing) any house he could see from the upstairs windows of his grand dwelling, so that
they did not spoil his view, and this was the fate that befell Coptfold Hall (Baker 1982).
The more or less continuous series of woodlands described above have much in common as they
are all situated on acidic soils, this acidity being most pronounced on the Fryerning-Mill Green
ridge, which comprises an outcrop of the Bagshot Beds, acidic sand and gravels overlaying the
London Clay. The woods consist largely of Pedunculate Quercus robur and Sessile Oak Q. petraea
standards with Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa and Hornbeam Carpinus betulus coppice. Sessile
Oak tends to predominate in woods, such as Stoneymore, that are on the infertile soils of the main
ridge, Pedunculate Oak coming more into its own elsewhere, while areas of pure Hornbeam coppice,
with few or any oak standards left standing, are present in most of the springs. In low-lying boggy
areas along streams these are replaced by Ash Fraxinus excelsior. Alder Alnus glutinosa and Crack
Willow Salix fragilis while Hybrid Black Poplar Populus x canadensis has been planted in several
woods in recent decades. Silver Birch Betula pendula and - in places - Holly Ilex aquifolium are
common throughout while Rowan Sorbus aucuparia and Downy Birch Belida pubescens are also
widespread. A moderately rich shrub layer exists on the margins of some of the woods, the commonest
species being Hawthorn Crategus monogyna. Blackthorn Prunus spinosa, Hazel Corylus avellana,
Field Maple Acer campestre, Goat Willow Salix caprea and Grey Sallow Salix cinerea but few of
these penetrate far within. Of the scarcer species associated with these soils, Alder Buckthorn
Frangula alnus is widely distributed in small numbers, being particularly numerous on Mill Green
Common, while pure bred Woodland Hawthorn Crategus laevigata is rare and Wild Service Sorbus
torminalis is more of a hedgerow than a woodland tree in this area.
Even within this area there are outcrops of alkaline soils (possibly loess) not far below the surface.
For instance, Heather Calluna vulgaris grassland restoration work is currently being undertaken at
Mill Green Common (see Plate 15) and there are old records of both Sphagnum palustre and S.
subsecundum var. auriculatum from this area : yet three hundred yards down the hill, at Handley
Barns Farm, the recent construction of several large fishing lakes revealed an unexpected broad
seam of calcareous material and the site has subsequently been colonised by a wide variety of chalk
loving species including Broad-leaved Spurge Euphorbia platyphyllos, Cornfield Knotgrass
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Essex Naturalist (New Series) 20 (2003)