Hatfield Forest is a biological
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
in
Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
, three miles east of
Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated popu ...
.
It is also a
National Nature Reserve and a
Nature Conservation Review
''A Nature Conservation Review'' is a two-volume work by Derek Ratcliffe, published by Cambridge University Press in 1977. It set out to identify the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain. It is often known by the initia ...
site. It is owned and managed by the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
. A medieval
warren in the forest is a
Scheduled Monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and ...
.
Hatfield is the only remaining intact
Royal Hunting Forest and dates from the time of the
Norman kings. Other parts of the once extensive
Forest of Essex include
Epping Forest to the southwest,
Hainault Forest
Hainault Forest Country Park is a Country Park located in Greater London, with portions in: Hainault in the London Borough of Redbridge; the London Borough of Havering; and in the Lambourne parish of the Epping Forest District in Essex.
Geograp ...
to the south and
Writtle Forest to the east. Hatfield Forest was established as a Royal hunting forest in the late eleventh century, following the introduction of
fallow deer
''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer.
Name
The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...
and
Forest Laws
A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...
were imposed on areas by the king. Deer hunting and chasing was a popular sport for Norman kings and lords and the word ‘forest’ strictly means place of deer rather than of trees. In the case of Hatfield the area under Forest Law consisted of woodlands with plains.
Oliver Rackham
Oliver Rackham (17 October 1939 – 12 February 2015) was an academic at the University of Cambridge who studied the ecology, management and development of the British countryside, especially trees, woodlands and wood pasture. His books inc ...
, the botanist and rural historian, wrote in his book about the site, entitled The Last Forest argued that: "Hatfield is of supreme interest in that all the elements of a medieval Forest survive: deer, cattle, coppice woods, pollards, scrub, timber trees, grassland and fen .... As such it is almost certainly unique in England and possibly in the world …….The Forest owes very little to the last 250 years ….. Hatfield is the only place where one can step back into the Middle Ages to see, with only a small effort of the imagination, what a Forest looked like in use."
History
There is no written record of exactly when Hatfield was established as a
Royal Forest
A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...
, but records suggest it was sometime between 1086 and 1225. In 1238
Henry III (while retaining hunting rights) gave the land and trees to
Isobel of Huntingdon
Isobel of Huntingdon (1199–1251), also known as Isobel the Scot, was the younger daughter of David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, grandson of David I of Scotland, by his marriage to Matilda of Chester.
She married Robert Bruce, 4th Lord ...
, daughter of the
Earl of Chester. She married into the
Bruce family and the Forest remained in their hands until
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...
had his English lands confiscated by
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...
in 1306. On his death it was given by
Edward II
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to ...
to the de Bohun family. The right to
venison
Venison originally meant the meat of a game animal but now refers primarily to the meat of antlered ungulates such as elk or deer (or antelope in South Africa). Venison can be used to refer to any part of the animal, so long as it is edibl ...
stayed with the King, but the rights to the wood and soil belonged to the de Bohuns, until 1446 when the family was given the right to the deer as well, shortly after they had been awarded the
Dukedom of Buckingham. In 1521, however, the third Duke,
Edward Stafford Edward Stafford may refer to:
People
*Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire (1470–1498)
*Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1478–1521), executed for treason
* Edward Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford (1535–1603)
*Sir Edward Stafford (diplom ...
was beheaded by
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
and the Forest reverted to the Crown. After Henry's death, Edward VI granted the forest to
Sir Richard Rich.
In 1592 the Rich family sold their interest in the forest to
Lord Morley and in 1612 sold the rest of their Hatfield estate, including the lordship of the manor to
Sir Francis Barrington. This resulted in a succession of disputes over ownership and rights in the forest for the next 200 years. In 1729 it was purchased by the
Houblon family. They were a wealthy family, originally from
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...
, and included
John Houblon
Sir John Houblon (13 March 1632 – 10 January 1712) was the first Governor of the Bank of England from 1694 to 1697.
Early life
John Houblon was the third son of James Houblon, a London merchant, and his wife, Mary Du Quesne, daughter of Jea ...
who had been the first Governor of the
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...
in 1694. While leaving the traditional woodland management techniques little changed, the Houblons probably sought the help of
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English lan ...
. As a result, the lake was created and exotic trees planted (i.e. trees not native to Essex). A picnic house was constructed overlooking the lake, and in 1759 it was decorated using British and tropical shells by 17-year-old
Laetitia Houblon (1742–1828); this ''Shell House'' can still be visited today. The forest remained in the hands of the Houblon family until 1923, when
Edward North Buxton bought the Forest from his deathbed and gave it to the National Trust.
Air Crashes
On 20 October 1987, Hastingwood Hotels Ltd,
Cessna 421B Golden Eagle (G-HAST) crashed into the forest after taking off from London Stansted Airport, the pilot and Five passengers died.
On 22 December 1999,
Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509
Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 was a Boeing 747-2B5F, registered HL7451 and bound for Milan Malpensa Airport, that crashed due to instrument malfunction and pilot error on 22 December 1999 shortly after take-off from London Stansted Airport wher ...
crashed into the forest after taking off from
London Stansted Airport
London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London.
London Stansted serves over 160 destinations a ...
. The plane, a
Boeing 747-200
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...
F, narrowly missed striking houses in the area. All four crew members on board died on impact.
Woodland management
Hatfield Forest was woodland long before it became a royal forest. This has been managed by
coppicing (where trees are cut down to ground level) and
pollarding
Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE. The practice ...
(where trees are cut above the browse (or grazing) height of deer or cattle). In the case of coppicing, the regrowth has to be protected from browsing or grazing animals by fencing, ditches and banks. There were a number of uses for the cut wood, including firewood, fences, thatching spars, furniture and flood defences. The methods used remained unchanged for centuries and are described by
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wor ...
in
The Woodlanders
''The Woodlanders'' is a novel by Thomas Hardy. It was serialised from May 1886 to April 1887 in '' Macmillan's Magazine'' and published in three volumes in 1887. It is one of his series of Wessex novels.
Plot summary
The story takes place i ...
. Some trees, rather than being coppiced, were left to grow and become ‘standards’ to be used as timber for buildings and ships. This system of woodland management is still carried on in the Forest today and can be readily seen by visitors.
Archaeology
Hatfield Forest has not been ploughed and as a result there are many archaeological remains. The principal ones are
Portingbury Rings (or Hills) and the warren area.
At Portingbury Hills, finds dating to the Iron Age included a small flint blade, four pot shards, animal bones, burnt flint and charcoal. The earthworks at Portingbury may date back to the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
. However the ditches are of a size more commonly found in medieval moats. The current earthworks may be the result of overbuilding over time.
The Warren was created for rabbits in an area of existing mounds. Warren Cottage was built for the warrener and the Forest Lodge for the head woodsman. Later remains are the Victorian fence columns. These were erected around 1857 when the Forest was enclosed. Some columns survived the 1930s, when many were sold, and sections of fencing have been recreated by the Shell House car park and in Gravel Pit Coppice, near the Lake. Parts of the Forest were used during World War II to conceal the storage of munitions for the airfield at Stansted. The remains of the huts that were constructed at this time can be seen alongside the entry and exit roads.
Ecological significance
The ecology of the Forest is in pristine condition. It is one of largest areas of land in East Anglia which has not been ploughed. There is a wide range of habitats (including coppice woodland, wood pasture, scrub, grassy plains, marsh and lake) for both animals and plants. The ancient coppices and wood pasture are likely to be managed relics of the original
wildwood and are now extremely rare, providing a last refuge for much unusual and specialized wildlife.
Wildlife
Given the wide range of unspoilt habitats in the Forest, it is not surprising that it has much wildlife, both plant and animal. Amongst mammals to be seen at the Forest are
fallow deer
''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer.
Name
The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...
,
muntjac deer,
fox,
grey squirrel,
rabbit
Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit sp ...
,
weasel
Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slend ...
and hedgehog. There are
badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...
setts, but badgers, being nocturnal are rarely seen. Two herds of
Red Poll
The Red Poll is a dual-purpose breed of cattle developed in England in the latter half of the 19th century. The Red Poll is a cross of the Norfolk Red beef cattle and Suffolk Dun dairy cattle breeds.
Description and uses
The cattle are red, p ...
cattle graze the plains in the traditional manner.
Sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...
are used as ‘conservation grazers’ for areas that have been cleared of scrub. The breeds being used are
Speckled Faced Beulah,
Wiltshire Horn
The Wiltshire Horn is a breed of domestic sheep originally from Wiltshire in southern England raised for meat.
The breed is unusual among native British breeds, for it has the unusual feature of moulting its short wool and hair coat naturally ...
and
Manx Loaghtan.
A count in May 2008 found 58 different species of birds, attracted by the various habitats. Woodland birds include
jay, green
woodpecker
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions ...
,
great spotted woodpecker
The great spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocopos major'') is a medium-sized woodpecker with pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly. Males and young birds also have red markings on the neck or head. This species is found acro ...
,
carrion crow
The carrion crow (''Corvus corone'') is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus ''Corvus'' which is native to western Europe and the eastern Palearctic.
Taxonomy and systematics
The carrion crow was one of the many species or ...
,
blue tit,
great tit,
chaffinch,
nightingale,
kestrel
The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviou ...
and
bullfinch
Bullfinch is a name given to two groups of passerine birds.
True bullfinches
The true bullfinches are thick-billed finches in the passerine family Fringillidae. They comprise the genus ''Pyrrhula''. These birds are restricted to the Old World, an ...
. Around the lake, depending on the time of year, are
greylag geese
The greylag goose or graylag goose (''Anser anser'') is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus ''Anser (bird), Anser''. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and ...
,
Canada geese,
mute swan
The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home ...
,
great crested grebe
The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display.
Taxonomy
The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in t ...
,
common tern
The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migrator ...
,
moorhen,
coot
Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...
, occasional
kingfisher
Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...
,
cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
, and
grey heron
The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more north ...
, with
swallows and house
martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austr ...
s skimming the water.
Buzzards can increasingly be seen above the Forest.
Eight species of
bats are found in the Forest, with dusk the best time for sightings.
Hatfield Forest is especially important for its
invertebrates
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordat ...
, especially those associated with decaying wood. Of particular significance are the saproxylic
beetles
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describe ...
and the site is in the top 10 in the UK for these specialised fauna.
Trees are found in abundance, with the main species being
oak,
ash
Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
,
hornbeam
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Origin of names
The common English name ''hornbeam ...
,
hawthorn
Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to:
Plants
* '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae
* ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
,
hazel
The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
and
field maple. There are over 800 ancient trees in the wood pasture areas, some of which are over 1,200 years old, and of especial note are the huge pollarded oaks and hornbeams.
Mistletoe
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant.
...
grows in profusion, especially on the old hawthorn scrub. The most famous tree in the Forest was the Doodle Oak, which was one of the largest trees ever to grow in England. It last bore green leaves in 1858 and its site is marked in the north of the Forest.
A total of over 400 species have been found in the Forest. Some of the more common ones are: white
clover
Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...
, common spotted
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of floweri ...
,
selfheal, sheep's
sorrel
Sorrel (''Rumex acetosa''), also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ('dock' being a common name for the genus '' ...
,
herb robert
''Geranium robertianum'', commonly known as herb-Robert, or (in North America) Roberts geranium, is a common species of cranesbill native to Europe and parts of Asia, and North Africa. The plant has many vernacular names, including red robin, de ...
,
bugle
The bugle is one of the simplest brass instruments, normally having no valves or other pitch-altering devices. All pitch control is done by varying the player's embouchure.
History
The bugle developed from early musical or communication ...
,
agrimony,
bee orchid, perforate
St John's wort, common field
speedwell, and bird's foot
trefoil
A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four ring ...
. The forest also has extensive fields of
buttercups during late May and early June. Over 600 species of
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...
can be found.
Facilities
There are many miles of walks within Hatfield Forest, which is crossed by several rights of way, and is open at all times to those on foot. A car park at the entrance is always open.
Two boardwalks improve accessibility for visitors, especially those with buggies. One goes to the Lake and the facilities in the Lake Area, while the other is a sensory trail, which helps those who are visually impaired to understand and enjoy the Forest. Horse riding and fishing are allowed subject to permits being obtained.
See also
*
List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Essex
Essex is a county in the east of England. In the early Anglo-Saxon period it was the Kingdom of the East Saxons, but it gradually came under the control of more powerful kingdoms, and in the ninth century it became part of Wessex. The modern co ...
*
List of National Trust properties in England
This is a list of National Trust properties in England, including any stately home, historic house, castle, abbey, museum or other property in the care of the National Trust in England.
Bedfordshire
*Dunstable Downs
*Whipsnade Tree Cathedral
* ...
*
List of Ancient Woods in England
References
External links
Hatfield Forest- The National Trust
{{Coord, 51.8577, 0.2291, display=title
English royal forests
Forests and woodlands of Essex
National Trust properties in Essex
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Essex
National Nature Reserves in Essex
Nature Conservation Review sites
Hatfield Broad Oak
Aviation accidents and incidents locations in England