The woodland flora of the Forest of Writtle and surrounding area
Hall Spring. A remnant Ash/Hornbeam coppice with a rich under-storey of Hazel, Dogwood, Field
Maple, Goat Willow and Grey Sallow it supports a modest flora, Imperforate St John's-Wort
Hypericum maculatum and Bearded Couch Elymus caninus being two of the more unusual plants
found here
Newland's Spring: TL634093. Size: 0.4 ha/1 acre. A tiny Elm copse attached to Newland Hall.
Roxwell. Dense and overgrown, it has a poor flora.
Nightingale Wood: TL652107. Size : 2 ha/5 acres. Boyton Hall, Roxwell. A tantalising remnant of
an Ash/Hornbeam coppice situated in a markedly chalky corner of the old Writtle parish. The
centre has been gutted of standard trees and coppice and is dense with scrub but the margins
support a very rich flora, among which are several Green Hellebore Helleborus viridus, a few
genuinely Wild Daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus and large numbers of Ramsons.
Reed's Spring; TL669079. Size : 1 ha/3 acres. New Bams Farm, Writtle. A small Ash/Hornbeam
coppice. Currently dense and overgrown with a poor flora.
As will be noted from the descriptions, above, the Forest is comprised of a mixture of ancient (pre-
1600) and modern (post-1600) woodlands. Although there is ample documentary evidence dating
back to the medieval period relating to the main Forest springs and adjoining Commons it is harder
to establish the age of some of the woodlands elsewhere as surviving maps date from 1600 and for
many sites they were not produced until much later than this. The following table separates the
woods into three categories - ancient (pre-1600), probable ancient, and post-1600, those in the
middle column being a personal judgement based on knowledge of the woods concerned.
Pre-1600
Probable pre-1600
Post-1600
Great Edney Wood
Little Edney Wood
Edney Common
Ellis Wood
Coppice Spring
Deerslade Wood
Birch Spring
Barrow Wood
Parson's Spring
Highwood Common
Stoneymore Wood
Mill Green Common
Mill Green Wood
College Wood
Furness Wood
Baker's Wood
Chatterbox Wood
James's Spring
Bosmore Wood
King Wood
Chapel Wood
Lee Wood
Lady Grove
Ring Grove
Hopgarden Spring
The Moors
Skreens Wood
Nightingale Wood
Writtle Park Wood
Hockley Shaw
Parkponds Spring
The Grove
Bushy Wood
Osborne's Wood
The Hyde Lake
Elmfield Farm Copse
New Wood
Tye Hall Spring
Engine Spring
Cooley Spring
Skreens Park Wood
Newland Spring
Reed's Spring
Fryerning Wood
Bell Grove
Portsmorhall Wood
Woodham's Spring
Box Wood
Well Wood
Freehold Copse (The Grove)
Horsfrith Park Wood
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