The woodland flora of the Forest of Writtle and surrounding area
planted in the past in the Ingatestone area and occurs al The Hyde Lake and in both The Grove and
Elmfield Farm Copse. A few Elms of undetermined origin can be found on the margins of many of the
area's woodlands while the tiny Newland Hall Spring consists of little else. Old photographs of the
area suggest that English Elm Ulmus procera was the most common species over much of the area.
Fagaceae Beech Family
Beech Fagus sylvatica; The history of this species in Writtle Park has been dealt with elsewhere: the
few mature standards that made it into the modern era were probably originally planted for ornament
and all succumbed to drought during the 1990s, as was the case at The Hyde Lake, where two magnificent
trees that had probably been planted when the grounds were landscaped in the 1760s faded away in a
few short years. A few - mostly adolescent - trees are present in woodlands elsewhere - particularly at
Tye Hall and Hylands.
Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa; Along with Hornbeam, the main coppice tree in all the Forest springs
and adjoining ancient woodlands in Ingatestone and Fryerning parishes, where it was actively encouraged
in the past by the Petres. Rather less common in the Coptfold woods and only thinly scattered in
outlying copses such as South Wood, Lady Grove and Woodbarn's Spring. Rare on the chalky boulder-
clay. Large numbers of top heavy coppice were uprooted by the hurricane of October 1987, many of
which remain where they fell, a good many of them still alive and sprouting new growth.
Turkey Oak Quercus cerris; Presumably widely planted in the past, (but it can be very invasive) as it
is to be found in all the Forest springs plus Stoneymore, College and Fryerning Woods. Although I
have found a few trees that have reached late adolescence, most arc youngsters, and arc confined to the
woodland margins. Also recorded from Skreens Park Wood.
Lucombe Oak Quercus x crenata: A hybrid between Turkey and Cork Oak Q. suber. Two wonderful
old trees - which date back to when the grounds were landscaped in the mid-eighteenth century - are to be
found at The Hyde Lake; one on the water's edge and the other in a field close-by.
Sessile Oak Quercus petraea: The dominant oak in a few of the woodlands on or adjacent to the
Fryerning-Mill Green ridge, notably Stoneymore Wood and Birch Spring, but hybrids between this
species and Pedunculate Oak are also common. Not confined to acidic soils - it also occurs at Horsfrith
and Cooley Spring and is among the secondary woodland that has colonised Elmfield Farm Copse - but
is certainly more common in such areas and as a hedgerow tree it appears to be restricted to the immediate
vicinity of the main woodland complex. At Howlett's Hall there are some wonderful coppice stools in
hedgerows that once formed the boundary of a wood known as Oak Redding, which was grubbed out
in the nineteenth century.
Pedunculate Oak Quercus robur: Along with Sessile Oak, the main timber tree in all woodlands on
acidic soils and common tliroughout the survey area as a hedgerow tree. Examination of the stumps of
trees felled in College Wood in the late 1980s revealed that most were between 80 and 120 years old
and it is unlikely that trees of a much greater age than this survive in any of the area's woodlands. A
few much older standard trees survive on farmland and close to the house at Writtle Park while
considerable numbers of pollards are to be found in hedgerows throughout the area.
Betulaceae Birch Family
Silver Birch Betula pendula: Common, often abundant, throughout the main woodland complex and
often colonises damp, recently coppiced areas in huge numbers. Less common elsewhere and absent
from some of the smaller outlying woods.
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Essex Naturalist (New Series) 20 (2003)