Hainault Forest Country Park
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
The large lake in Hainault Forest Country Park
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| Area of Search |
Greater London Essex |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TQ477938 |
| Interest | Biological |
| Area | 136.0 hectares |
| Notification | 1986 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Hainault Forest Country Park is 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.
With an area of 336 acres (136 hectares), Hainault Forest Country Park is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The Redbridge section of the park is being developed by the Redbridge Council as a country park. The Essex section is managed by the Woodland Trust, who are contracted to do so by its owners, Essex County Council.
Hainault Forest is one of the remaining sections of the former Forest of Essex in England. Epping Forest and Hatfield Forest are other remaining examples. The forest belonged to the abbey of Barking until the Dissolution of the Monasteries; it extended northwards to Theydon Bois, east to Havering-atte-Bower, on the south to Aldborough Hatch, and westwards to Leytonstone. In a survey made for Henry VIII in 1544 its extent was some 3,000 acres (12 km2).
The forest land was condemned as waste by an Act of Parliament, 1851, disafforested, the deer removed, and 92% of the old growth forest cut down. The land became marginal agricultural land and subsequently a significant proportion has been built on. The destruction was deplored by Sir Walter Besant in his works on London: the forest is also the setting for his novel All in a Garden Fair.
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