Forest Focus Winter 2019/20

Winter 2019/20

Forest Focus

The magazine for Epping Forest

Stories from the Forest

Get outside and learn

Free

Winter events

Welcome Here at Epping Forest, as well as looking after thousands of acres of ancient woodland, we also care for a number of historic sites and buildings.

One such building, Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge, commissioned by Henry VIII in 1543, is open to visitors all year round. Over the Christmas period, this special building takes on a magical air, bedecked in seasonal greenery, making it especially delightful to visit. P12 Speaking of Christmas, be sure to drop into our shop at Epping Forest Visitor Centre at Chingford and pick up some Forest related Christmas cards and presents for your friends and relatives.

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Saving Epping Forest

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Stories from the Forest 2 Forest Focus Winter 2019

All proceeds from the sale of these products go back into caring for Epping Forest. P18–19 An ideal stocking filler for any Forest fan is the recently published book ‘Saving Epping Forest’ by local historian and former Epping Forest Verderer Richard Morris. Richard gives an insight into the work of William George Shakespeare Smith, one of the heroes involved in the story of the saving of Epping Forest. P5 To dust off the winter cobwebs, this issue features an ideal winter walk up to Pole Hill and Yates’ Meadow.

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Where to go in the snow

On a clear day, some spectacular views may be enjoyed from these Epping Forest vantage points. P20–21

@COLEppingForest Epping Forest City of London coleppingforest

In this edition, Epping Forest District Museum highlights some of the historical objects, places and people linked with Epping Forest and the surrounding district. The Museum’s book ‘Epping Forest District in 30 Objects’ is available from the Museum shop at Sun Street Waltham Abbey and makes a great stocking filler. P6–11 All at Epping Forest wish you a Happy Christmas and peaceful New Year.

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Winter walk

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Get outside and learn

Shop talk

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Artist-in-residence Winter 2019/20 Forest Focus 3

Why not explore some of our other open spaces?

The City of London owns and manages green spaces in and around London for public recreation and health, including Epping Forest, Hampstead Heath, Burnham Beeches, City Commons, City Gardens, City of London Cemetery and Crematorium and West Ham Park. The Open Spaces Department also includes London Heritage sites: Keats’ House, The Monument and Tower Bridge.

See our website for a full list of sites, locations and facilities. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/ greenspaces Forest Focus is produced by the City of London Corporation.

Edited by Clare Eastwood Design by Steers McGillan Eves www.steersmcgillaneves.co.uk Print by APS Southern Ltd Front cover image: Yvette Woodhouse Photographers: Epping Forest District Museum, Michelle Foulser, Sophie Lillington, Chris Shepherd, Yvette Woodhouse The inclusion of advertising, logos or website links in this magazine does not constitute an endorsement by the City of London Corporation in its capacity as Conservators of Epping Forest or otherwise of the products or services so advertised.

Management Strategy for Epping Forest The Epping Forest and Commons Committee at their meeting in November agreed a new Management Strategy for the Forest. The new strategy runs from 2020-2030 and outlines five new strategic priorities: 1. A welcoming destination for all;

Keep in touch Why not sign up to receive our email version of Forest Focus?

If you prefer to receive a printed copy in the post, please forward a cheque, along with your name and address, for £2.50 per edition or £10 for four editions. Please make cheques payable to The City of London and post to the address below. Free of charge copies are available from the Forest Visitor Centres and at many other venues in and around the Forest.

You can also read Forest Focus online for free at www.issuu.com/cityoflondoneppingforest If you would like to receive a copy of Forest Focus in an alternative format, please contact us.

Epping Forest, The Warren, Loughton, Essex IG10 4RW 020 8532 1010

@COLEppingForest

epping.forest@cityoflondon.gov.uk

pping Forest E City of London

www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/ eppingforest

News in brief

coleppingforest

2. A beautiful Forest, sustaining internationally and nationally important wildlife habitats in an ancient wood-pasture mosaic; 3. An inspiring space for peoples’ health, recreation and enjoyment; 4. A series of heritage landscapes which are protected and celebrated; and 5. A resilient environment, where challenges are embraced and opportunities explored.

These priorities will inform our decision-making over the next 10 years and will allow us to maintain the Forest as a world-class green space that benefits our local community and enhances our environment.

The plan will now be published and there will be more details in our next edition of how to access the document.

Above: A winter oak

Saving Epping Forest

Most people who have an interest in the history of Epping Forest will either have heard of or seen the name ‘W G Smith’ at the bottom of posters advertising meetings to protest against the enclosure of the Forest in the 1870s.

William George Shakespeare Smith was born in London in 1837, and followed a career in the legal profession as a solicitor. By 1865 he was married with two daughters and living in Forest Gate. Enclosure of the Forest by the local lords of the manor had started and Lord Cowley and his Trustees were leading offenders in the manor of Wanstead.

By 1871 enclosures were Forest-wide and the public were calling for action. The Commons Preservation Society (CPS) had been formed in 1865 and they established contact with some leading members of parliament. Locally, Sir Antonio Brady, who lived at Stratford,

organised a protest meeting with W G Smith and others on Wanstead Flats on 8 July 1871. Thousands attended and, as a result, the Forest Fund was set up to promote action to stop the enclosures. W G Smith became Secretary of the Fund and spent the next 7 years working tirelessly with the CPS and the City of London Corporation to save the Forest from enclosure and restore those parts that had already been enclosed.

Protest meetings were held in all the Town Halls of East London and in the open air in the Forest. Smith also invited both local and national newspapers to visit the Forest to see both its beauty and the problem of enclosures.

A record of all these events was kept by Smith in two scrapbooks, each of over 250 folios, and they show how efficient Smith and his fellow committee members of the Forest Fund were in keeping the public informed of progress in finding a solution to the problem.

The culmination was, of course, the passing of the Epping Forest Act of 1878 with much of the enclosed land being restored to the Forest and the City of London being appointed Conservators as well as acquiring the manorial rights to the soil of the Forest. At a lunch held in June 1880, presentations were made

to John Thomas Bedford (representing the City of London), George Palmer (representing the Verderers) and W G Smith (representing the Forest Fund) to thank them for all the work they had done in saving the Forest.

When W G Smith died in 1903, the two scrapbooks were presented by his wife to William Cole, Secretary of the Essex Field Club. They were placed in the Club’s library at the Passmore Edwards Museum at Stratford and are now in the Club’s archives at the Green Centre in the Wat Tyler Country Park at Pitsea.

Much of the research for the book was done by examining the scrapbooks. The scrapbooks also contain correspondence from 1866 to 1869 concerning the fight to save Wanstead Flats from enclosure.

Details of these important letters have not been published before.

Richard Morris Available to buy from Epping Forest Visitor Centre at Chingford, Yours for £5

Winter 2019/20 Forest Focus 5

Stories from the Forest

Epping Forest District Museum reveal some of the highlights from their collection Epping Forest has attracted many important historical figures including kings, queens, writers, artists, entrepreneurs and highwaymen, whose stories are part of what makes the Forest fascinating.

Over the centuries the district has been the border for ancient kingdoms, a hunting preserve for the royal court, a larder for London and its outer defence in times of trouble. The gunpowder mills were established in Waltham Abbey, Tudor royalty hunted in the Forest and William Shakespeare’s play, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ was first performed at Copped Hall, Upshire. From the nineteenth century onwards, it has provided extensive outdoor recreation areas for the capital, including its famous day trip retreats.

Epping Forest District has a rich and diverse heritage and landscape, ranging from the commuter suburbs of Loughton and Chigwell in the south to ancient rural villages in the north.

There are many traditional market towns across the district and, of course, it plays host to beautiful Epping Forest itself, which at 6,000 acres, is the largest public open space in Essex and London.

There are 1,300 listed buildings, including Epping Forest District Museum in Waltham Abbey, and more than 30 monuments across the district from prehistoric earthworks to a Norman castle.

The following ten people, places and stories have been chosen from the collection at the Museum to illustrate the captivating history and cultural legacy of Epping Forest and the surrounding district.

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Walter Spradbery In 1929, artist Walter Spradbery settled in a house known as ‘The Wilderness’, situated on Forest land in Buckhurst Hill. Together with his wife, opera singer Dorothy D’Orsay, he hosted community opera performances and concerts in his garden.

Spradbery is best known for his poster designs for London Transport. His new approach, using bold, flat colours, established his reputation as an artist and new ways to look at nature and poster design.

Epping Forest provided inspiration for much of Spradbery’s work. The posters he designed for London Transport, between 1912 and 1944, encouraged others to visit the area to enjoy its natural beauty.

Left: The interior of The Abbey Church, Waltham Abbey

by Haydn Mackey

Haydn Mackey

Lucien Pissarro

Mackey lived in Waltham Abbey during the 1930s.

While working in a range of art styles, he is best known for his hand-coloured lino prints. His unique approach involved printing strong, black lines on to transparent paper, then adding colour by hand.

The picture was then mounted with the paint side facing down so the image and colour showed through the paper.

Lucien Pissarro was born in Paris in 1863. He was a skilled painter, engraver and lithographer, taught by his father, Camille Pissarro, a celebrated Impressionist artist.

Mackey met Walter Spradbery at Walthamstow School of Arts and Crafts in 1906. Their shared ideals and interests made them great friends. During World War I they joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. They were both committed pacifists, more concerned with saving life than taking it.

Each received medals for their bravery and continued to paint and sketch during their time in training and in France. Mackey served as an official war artist and was acclaimed for the realism and sensitivity of his paintings showing life at the front.

Between 1893 and 1897 Lucien and his family lived at 44 Hemnall Street, Epping, which he named Ergany House after his family’s hometown in France. During his time in Epping, Lucien produced 23 oil paintings, capturing scenes in the vicinity of Hemnall Street as well as local landmarks such as Coopersale Hall.

Lucien’s house still stands today and is marked with a blue plaque commemorating his occupancy.

He described the garden and view from his house in Epping as “a little finger-like English garden which I have fallen in love with.”

The painting by Pissarro in the Museum’s collection was purchased with the support of the V&A Purchase Fund and National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Mackey and Spradbery also taught art for much of their lives and played key roles in the establishment of many educational initiatives, including the Walthamstow Educational Settlement, the Community Association at Bedford House in Buckhurst Hill and the William Morris Gallery

Left: Walter Spradbery

Right: The Garden, Epping

by Lucien Pissarro Winter 2019/20 Forest Focus 7

Thomas Willingale In 1859 the Lord of the Manor of Loughton held a dinner for the loppers on 11 November. Local man Thomas Willingale suspected this was a plot to stop the loppers cutting the first branch at midnight.

If the loppers had lost their right, the Lord of the Manor would have been able to enclose more of his Forest land, profiting from its development.

Willingale made sure to leave the dinner in time to lop the first branch at midnight and in doing so, preserve the right. He is commemorated with a road and school named after him.

Woolly mammoth Around 14,000 years ago Britain was coming to the end of the Ice Age. The district (on the edge of the great ice sheet that coated much of Britain) was covered by wide grassy plains. Herds of woolly mammoth, giant elk, woolly rhino and bison roamed these plains. Their remains are often found on the banks of the River Lea. Woolly mammoths had four massive molar teeth, which they used to chew tough grass. This caused a lot of wear, seeing them through six sets of teeth in their lifetime. Their huge curved tusks were used to manipulate objects, fight and forage for food.

Stone hand axes found in this area show that people hunted mammoths.

Lopping Hall Lopping Hall in Loughton opened in 1884.

It was designed by local architect Edmond Egan.

The building was paid for by the Corporation of London to compensate villagers for the loss of traditional rights to lop or cut wood in Epping Forest. These rights were bought out when the management of the Forest was taken over by the City of London Corporation in 1878.

The right of local people to lop trees was first granted by Queen Elizabeth I and was undertaken between 12 November and 23 April every year.

To keep the right, loppers had to cut a branch at midnight on 11 November. Lopping was restricted to one man per household and it was forbidden to chop branches less than seven feet from the ground. The wood could only be used as domestic fuel.

Above: Lopping Hall

Right: Mammoth tooth and tusk

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About 10,000 years ago global temperatures increased, glaciers retreated and sea levels rose, cutting Britain off from Europe. These dramatic changes in climate shaped the landscape around the district that we see today.

Left: Grays Retreat

The retreats of Epping Forest

Pubs and inns

The arrival of the railway at places including Theydon Bois in 1865 made it easier to visit Epping Forest. The retreats provided entertainment such as helter-skelters, merry-go-rounds, donkey rides and refreshments from tea rooms that could seat up to 3000 people.

Ale has been consumed since the Bronze Age, partly because it was a safer to drink than water, which was often contaminated. In 1393, King Richard II passed an act which made it compulsory for pubs and inns to display a sign to identify them to the official ale taster.

John Riggs, a builder from east London, built a mini empire of retreats in the Forest; the one at Theydon Bois was the third opened by Riggs in 1882 and was located on Coppice Row.

King’s Head, Chigwell Charles Dickens described Chigwell as “the greatest place on earth” and used the King’s Head pub there as a model for ‘The Maypole’ in his novel ‘Barnaby Rudge’. The novel also features a house near the Forest called The Warren.

A rival retreat, Gray’s, also opened on the other side of the road, showing the popularity of this form of entertainment. Riggs’ Retreat later passed into the ownership of Edwin Yates, becoming known as Yates’ Retreat before it was destroyed by a bomb in 1940.

Forest Gate Inn, Epping The Forest Gate Inn was the noted place for ‘Bean Feasts’ and ‘Pleasure Parties’. A bean-feast was primarily an annual dinner given by an employer to their employees.

Turpin’s Cave, High Beach This inn was named after the supposed hiding place of the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin.

Left: The Forest Gate Public House, Epping

Right: The Kings Head Public House, Chigwell Winter 2019/20 Forest Focus 9

Speedway racing Motorcycle racing on dirt tracks or ‘speedway’ came to Britain in the 1920s.

The first speedway race run according to current rules was held at High Beach on 19 February 1928, pulling in an estimated crowd of 3,000 people.

Speedway racing became an incredibly popular sport with crowds of 20,000 attending the site in its heyday during the 1930s. The track declined in popularity after the Second World War and was eventually redeveloped as a FSC Epping Forest and Epping Forest Visitor Centre at High Beach.

Top left: The speedway in Epping Forest Top right: St Andrew’s Church, Greensted Right: The Long Walk 1909

Greensted Church, Ongar St Andrew’s Church, also known as Greensted Church, is believed to be the oldest wooden church in the world. The 51 wooden planks visible on the church date from about 1060 although excavations in 1960 revealed earlier timbers dating from the 6th and 7th centuries. In 1013 the body of Saint Edmund, King of East Anglia, rested in the church on its way to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.

The Long Walk The Long Walk connects St Andrew’s Church with Ongar High Street. It used to be lined with elm trees but sadly these were all killed by Dutch Elm Disease in the 1970s.

Epping Forest District Museum Epping Forest District Museum celebrates the district focusing on people and the environment in which they live, through exhibitions, education and outreach programmes and events.

Visit and see the changing exhibitions, galleries, garden, gift shop and join in with a variety of exciting events and activities.

Special exhibition ‘You Wear It Well’ is on display from Saturday 25 January to Saturday 2 May. With over 1500 pieces of costume and accessories, spanning 500 years in the collection gives you the chance to see the process of caring for delicate objects and some of the highlights and horrors discovered.

Find out more about these stories and others in Epping Forest District Museum’s ‘The story of the Epping Forest District in 30 objects’ guidebook, available from the Museum.

‘The Story of Epping Forest District in 30 Objects’ costs just £4.50 and can be purchased from the Epping Forest District Museum’s shop.

Museum opening times Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10am–4pm Saturday 10am–5pm Entry is free and any donations are gratefully received.

Epping Forest District Museum 39 – 41 Sun Street Waltham Abbey EN9 1EL 01992 716882 museum@eppingforestdc.gov.uk www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk Like us on Facebook Facebook.com/efdmuseum Follow us on Twitter @efdmuseum Winter 2019/20 Forest Focus 11

Christmas at the Hunting Lodge An enchanted Christmas at the Hunting Lodge: A Midwinter Night’s Dream. William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is the tale of a summer Forest, moonlit, mysterious and magical. In the depths of our Forest winter, we offer you the Hunting Lodge, twiggy and entangled with fairies and woodland creatures and a touch of snow.

The festive month’s installation, running from Thursday 5 December to Sunday 5 January is free for you to visit during our usual opening hours and offers the perfect opportunity to browse our delightful and eclectic Christmas shop delights, whether you’re looking to buy gifts and stocking fillers or just add to your own Christmas treasure collection.

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Midwinter Night’s Dream Christmas installation Thursday 5 December – Sunday 5 January 2020 Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge Experience the midwinter enchantment of the magical Forest world of Shakespeare’s Titania and Oberon with a wander through the winter greenery and wild animals of their woodland world. Fairy wings available.

During public opening. Free

snow Where to go in the

Should the season bring us some significant snowfall, many people head to Epping Forest, wrapped up in hats, gloves, scarves and sturdy boots, trailing their sledges with them, ready for a day of fun in the snow.

There are some popular hills in Epping Forest for sledging. The top three hills for sledging, as identified by our readers in our ‘Epping Forest Awards’ from Forest Focus in 2018 were: Baldwins Hill, Pole Hill and Warren Hill.

But other sledging locations include Pillow Mounds at High Beach, the hill behind the Warren Wood pub and the Walthamstow Reservoir in Waterworks Wood.

Whilst we love to see our visitors having fun in the Forest when there is snow, we ask you to exercise caution when sledging, as it can be a dangerous activity and is undertaken at your own risk.

If you prefer to enjoy the snow in a more leisurely fashion, then simply walking through the winter wonderland that Epping Forest becomes is a magical and unforgettable experience and can be enjoyed anywhere throughout the 8,000 acres of Epping Forest and Buffer Land.

Please do not walk on the Forest’s frozen lakes and ponds and take special care not to allow your dog near them.

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Get outside and learn

Whatever the weather Helen Robertson, Centre Manager at FSC Epping Forest inspires us with ways in which to enjoy a wintry Epping Forest.

1. Go on a night-time safari Over the winter, it is With darker evenings, it is easier easy to overlook the to get out and explore the Forest opportunity of learning in the dark. Take a torch and see what is attracted to the light. If the outside, but by getting skies are clear, you may have an view of the stars! Use the organised you can enjoy amazing FSC guide to the Night Sky to help name the constellations.

Epping Forest in all seasons.

2. Go on a Christmas There are many benefits of going outside in the colder months. Winter is a chance to see the outdoors through a new lens, have different experiences and be creative in different ways. Winter play and the change in temperature and weather promote a different challenge. For children, building resilience and awareness of how the environment can affect them and others is an important lesson.

Whatever your age, here are some winter learning ideas for you, your friends and family:

nature hunt and keep your eyes peeled Use Christmas cards and carols to create your own scavenger hunt or bingo. Can you spot birds such as robins, plants including ivy and, holly and when the temperature really dips, icicles and snowflakes?

3. Mud and snow make it easier to spot tracks and trails that animals leave Look for an area of open ground and go out early in the morning, before it is disturbed by other people. Use the FSC guide to British mammal tracks and signs to help you identify what you spot.

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FSC publications make a useful addition to any outdoor adventure, to purchase, visit: www.field-studiescouncil.org/ product-category/ publications

Orion Harriers

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Orion Harriers running club has been associated with Epping Forest for over 100 years.

4. Identify trees in winter Identifying trees in winter without their leaves is not easy. You can use the buds and bark to help.

The FSC guides to Winter tree identification can help improve your skills. FSC are running a Winter tree identification course on 25 January 2020. www.field-studies-council.org/ shop/courses/identifying-treeswithout-leaf FSC have been working with the City of London for 50 years, delivering courses for families, adults and schools at FSC Epping Forest in High Beach. FSC would like everyone to enjoy looking at and being inspired by the nature around them. To take part in our courses, you do not need to have any previous experience, or any expensive kit, just enthusiasm, an interest in the subject and a desire to learn.

Helen Robertson Centre Manager FSC Epping Forest @FSCEppingforest F SC Epping Forest

The club was originally formed by a group of men from Orion Gymnastics Club, based in Hackney, who came out to Epping Forest to run as part of their training. They enjoyed it so much that they decided to form Orion Harriers Running Club.

Being gymnasts is the reason why they chose white for the club vest!

At their inception, Orion Harriers were situated in a small clubhouse at what is now part of Epping Forest Visitor Centre at Chingford next door to Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge. The club relocated to its current clubhouse, a short distance away in Bury Road, in 2010. It has over 400 senior members and a growing junior section with over 300 members and caters for all ages and abilities.

The club has worked closely with the City of London Corporation to extend the lease on its current premises and are currently looking to build an extension to cater for its ever increasing membership numbers thanks to funding from the London Marathon Charitable Trust (LMCT).

Orion Harriers mainly do cross country running, but they have an athletics section and runners take part in many road races

throughout the year. They offer Beginners groups for adults wanting to start running or people getting back to fitness and take them from zero to 5km runs in 6 weeks. Cross country running is seen as Orion’s unique selling point and this takes place in beautiful Epping Forest.

Orion Harriers has a long standing relationship with the London Marathon, having been one of the clubs that helped to get it off the ground in 1981. The 2019 marathon saw former club captain Ken Jones take part as the oldest runner in the race, aged 85.

The club hosts many races in the Forest, ranging from 5kms to the world famous Orion 15, which takes place in March; its 15 miles of mud, hills and differing weather all add to the challenge and mean that it is recognised as one of the must do races for runners.

Orion Harriers think they are very lucky to have such a resource as Epping Forest on the doorstep and are proud to be a part of Epping Forest’s history, so if this article has whetted your appetite for running with Orion, then why not come down for a run with them? email: info@orionharriers.com website: www.orionharriers.com

Winter views Pole Hill to Yates Meadow On a clear winter’s day, this walk can provide some spectacular views over London and the surrounding countryside.

1. Chingford Golf Course Chingford Golf Course dates back to 1886 and is a public course laid out on Forest land. It is one of the oldest courses in the country.

During the Second World War a small prisoner of war camp with its own chapel was located here.

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2. Pole Hill Pole Hill, originally called Hawk Hill, is 67m (218 feet) above sea level and provides excellent views over London.

The concrete platform is all that remains of a World War II antiaircraft gun, sited to take advantage of the Hill’s panoramic views. In the absence of enemy invasion, the soldiers busied themselves growing vegetables in a small allotment next to the gun.

Pole Hill Obelisk was built in 1824 to mark the Greenwich Meridian and act as a sighting point for the Transit Telescope at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. After a mere 26 years, the Meridian was recalculated in 1850 and now lies about 6m to the east, its new position marked by a second, smaller obelisk.

3. Hawk Wood As you progress further into Hawk Wood, look out for the scrawny trunks of old pollarded hornbeams with their characteristic diamond pattern on the bark. Hornbeam is restricted to the south and east of the country and is rare elsewhere.

It was encouraged and pollarded in Epping Forest to increase its yield of wood, which is particularly close-grained and hard and so is ideal for firewood or for making charcoal. The name hornbeam comes from the Saxon, meaning ‘horny-wooded tree’. This hardness also made it suitable for making wooden gears and mill machinery, mallets, piano mechanisms and police truncheons.

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4. Yardley Hill Yardley Hill is 67m (218 feet) above sea level and was added to the Forest in 1899, at which time it consisted of grazing land. The Hill is said to be the most southerly point reached by the ice sheet of the last Ice Age and so is capped with a layer of chalky boulder clay deposited by the ice. This richer, more calcareous soil encourages a richer flora than the usual London clay.

Distance: 4 miles (6.2km) Time: I.75 hours Start/end: Chingford Rail Station Terrain: Surfaced rides and unsurfaced woodland trails. Steep in places.

5. Yates’ Meadow Yates’ Meadow was acquired by the Conservators in 1983 and is named after John Yates, a former Chairman of the Epping Forest Committee (1979-1981). Some fantastic views may be obtained from here.

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Shop talk This elegant felt swan will delight any lover of birds and nature.

£7.20 Felt swan a-swimming mini kit

This gorgeous craft kit contains absolutely everything you need to make four delectable felt gingerbread men decorations.

£7.50 Robin felt craft mini kit

Books

A charming embroidered robin mini craft kit contains everything you need to make one felt hanging decoration. A feathered friend in winter and the festive season, he is too sweet to put away come spring.

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£14.40 Gingerbread men felt craft kit

A Tudor Christmas Alison Weir and Siobhan Clarke £9.99 We often assume that Christmas owes everything to the Victorians. In fact, as Alison Weir and Siobhan Clarke reveal, carol-singing, present-giving, mulled wine and mince pies were all just as popular in Tudor times, and even Father Christmas and roast turkey dinners have their origins in this period. Beautifully illustrated with original line drawings throughout.

The Tree that’s meant to be Yuval Zommer £12.99 This is a charming Christmas picture book with a heartfelt message about love and embracing what makes us different. Families will love sharing the story and talking about kindness, generosity, and the true meaning of Christmas.

For the Christmas tree...

Cards and advent calendars

£7.50 Wool dog in Santa hat

A great selection of Christmas cards from £2.25

£4.95 Ginger bread tea cups Advent calendars from £7.95

£5.99 each Mr & Mrs Hedgehog

£7.50

£7.25

Wool badger

Woodland fairies

Walks in the Wild Peter Wohlleben £14.99 Can you tell the difference between wolf and dog prints?

Which trees offer the best shelter from a storm? How do you tell a deciduous tree from a conifer? Bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben invites you on an atmospheric journey of discovery. Learn to find your way through the woods without a compass or GPS, which berries are good to eat, how to read animal tracks, and how to spend a night alone in the woods.

Forest Adventures Clare Gillman and Sam Martin £12.99 Packed full of ideas for sports, gadget-free games, crafts, inventions and adventures of all kinds, this book will ensure your kids are equipped and entertained by nature.

Whether it’s crafts and science experiments indoors, croquet in your back garden, silly races in the park, making sandcastles on the beach or going on a hiking expedition further afield, here is something to do, learn and have fun with, whatever the weather.

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Winter events 20 Forest Focus Winter 2019/20

2019 Family event: A Midwinter Night’s Dream Christmas Installation

Thursday 5 December – Sunday 5 January 2020 During public opening Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge Experience the midwinter enchantment of the magical Forest world of Shakespeare’s Titania and Oberon with a wander through the winter greenery and wild animals of their woodland world.

Fairy wings available.

Free event. No booking required.

City of London Corporation event

Further information 020 7332 1911 cityoflondon.gov.uk/ eppingforestevents Book City of london Epping Forest events through Eventbrite www. eppingforest.eventbrite.com

Walk: Wanstead Park Christmas walk

Sunday 8 December 10.30am–12.30pm Meet at Warren Road entrance Come and enjoy this part of the Forest with a pre-Christmas celebratory walk led by naturalist Judy Adams. Suitable for families.

Mince pies and mulled wine available at the end.

Free. No booking required.

Epping Forest Heritage Trust event

‘The spirit of Christmas’

Sunday 22 December 11am–2.30pm The Temple, Wanstead Park Celebrate Christmas at The Temple in Wanstead Park with a free drop-in event with Christmas stories for all ages, Christmas crafts, seasonal live music by local musicians such as folk group ‘Storm in a Teacup’ and refreshments. Charge for refreshments and crafts.

Donations please to Friends of Wanstead Parkland.

No booking required.

Friends of Wanstead Parklands in partnership with City of London Corporation event.

2020 Walk: Connaught Water then and now

Wednesday 1 January 10.30am–12.30pm Bury Road car park Join Judy Adams on New Year’s Day to explore Bury Wood, Cuckoo Brook, Pear Tree Plain and more en route to Connaught Water. Ideal for families, with an opportunity to discover (and feed) the ducks at Connaught Water – no bread please.

Duck food will be available.

Free. No booking required.

Epping Forest Heritage Trust event

Taster session: Romancing the Forest floristry

Tuesday 11 February 10.30am–12.30pm Epping Forest Visitor Centre at Chingford Joan Payne, an experienced florist, demonstrates an arrangement using natural materials found on the Forest floor and combines them with a few fresh flowers to make a simple Valentine’s display.

Bring your own selection of flowers!

No booking required. Free course. Waltham Forest Adult Learning Service in partnership with City of London Corporation.

Working together with City of London to deliver education in Epping Forest FSC Epping Forest, is situated in the heart of Epping Forest. The purpose built, fully accessible Centre has six classrooms, and associated facilities, with direct access to the teaching sites which include woodland, grassland, heath and river. Most of the teaching sites are fully accessible.

The Centre is just a few minutes from the M25 and Loughton Underground Station.

For further information and list of forthcoming events, please visit www.field-studies-council.org.uk

Epping Forest Heritage Trust www.efht.org.uk

Taster session: Capturing winter in charcoal Tuesday 14 January 10.30am–12.30pm Epping Forest Visitor Centre at Chingford Lisa Ivory is a practising artist and experienced art lecturer who wants to help you make exciting drawings of the Forest landscape using charcoal.

Charcoal has soft, fragile, tenuous qualities that make it the perfect medium for the depiction of light.

No booking required. Free course. Waltham Forest Adult Learning Service in partnership with City of London Corporation.

FSC EPPING FOREST

Friends of Wanstead Parklands www.wansteadpark.org.uk

Walk: The Changing Face of Snaresbrook

Sunday 16 February 10.30am–12.30pm Meet at Snaresbrook Road car park Join local historian Lynn Haseldine-Jones for a walk in the now less rural parts of Woodford, learning a little of the families who shaped this area and why the Forest is as it is today.

Free. No booking required.

Epping Forest Heritage Trust event

FSC Epping Forest www.field-studies-council.org Waltham Forest Adult Learning Service www.walthamforest.gov.uk

Winter 2019/20 Forest Focus 21

Artist-in-residence Have you experienced the new sound installation, Echoes, at the Epping Forest Visitor Centre at Chingford yet?

Visit until 5 January 2020 to listen to the brand-new Epping Forestinspired music composed by our artist-in-residence, Ellie Wilson.

Echoes: Unearthing stories of the Forest is a set of new music compositions exploring human impact on Epping Forest through the centuries: Iron-Age hillforts, WWII bomb craters that are now ponds, and Ellie’s ancestor, Thomas Willingale – a local labourer who contributed to the saving of the Forest during the nineteenth century enclosure movement. The work includes a self-penned folk song, field recordings, and a graphic score based on a map of Loughton Camp.

Simply pop along during opening hours (Tuesday to Sunday, 10am – 5pm) and pick up some headphones to enjoy a different perspective on the ancient woodland around you.

22 Forest Focus Winter 2019/20

On Monday 17 January, the installation will move along to the Epping Forest Visitor Centre at High Beach, so you can enjoy the experience from a different perspective in the ancient woodland, until Friday 21 February.

Ellie Wilson is currently busy as a performer and composer commissioned by Shakespeare’s Globe to compose music for their productions of Henry VI and Richard III. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to experience her interpretation of Epping Forest this winter.

For further information visit our website, or Ellie Wilson’s website www. elliewilsonmusic. co.uk Below: Graphic score based on a map of Loughton Camp.

Below left: A linocut print by Kat Flint illustrating Echoes

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Go Further Cycling We provide cycle hire with top quality and well maintained bikes, at a great location.

We also have a well stocked shop with bikes and a great range of clothing and accessories and also offer bike servicing and repairs.

Go Further Cycling Chingford Golf Course 4 Bury Road, Chingford London E4 7QJ

020 8524 6626 www.gofurthercycling.co.uk info@gofurthercycling.co.uk

Winter 2019/20 Forest Focus 23

Visit us Epping Forest Visitor Centre at Chingford Rangers Road, Chingford, E4 7QH Tel 020 7332 1911 Please visit our website for opening times Epping Forest Visitor Centre at Chingford, with its displays and regularly changing exhibitions, is the perfect place to start your exploration of Epping Forest.

The Temple Wanstead Park, E11 2LT Tel 020 7332 1911 Open 10am–3pm on the following days: Sat 7 & Sun 8 December Sat 4 & Sun 5 January Sat 1 & Sun 2 February The Temple, a Grade II listed building, dates from the 1760s and is a survival from the heyday of Wanstead Park.

Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge

Epping Forest Visitor Centre at High Beach

Rangers Road, Chingford, E4 7QH Tel 020 7332 1911

High Beach, IG10 4AE Tel 020 8508 0028 (during opening hours)

Please visit our website for opening times

Tel 020 7332 1911 (outside of opening hours)

The Hunting Lodge is a Grade II* listed building built for Henry VIII in 1543 and is an amazing survival of an intact Tudor hunt standing.

For opening hours, please visit website.

Contact us Epping Forest Headquarters, The Warren, Loughton, Essex IG10 4RW Email: epping.forest@ cityoflondon.gov.uk Tel 020 8532 1010 (24hrs)

Snuggled in the heart of the Forest, the Centre is located adjacent to the High Beach easy access path. The Centre is run

by Epping Forest Heritage Trust.

@COLEppingForest Epping Forest City of London coleppingforest www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/ eppingforest