Hainault Forest is a geosite situated between Hainault, in Redbridge, in the London Borough of Havering, and in the parish of Lambourne, in the Epping Forest Borough of Essex. It is an area of 136 hectares, managed by different bodies, depending on the location: the Redbridge section is managed by Redbridge Council, while the Essex section is managed by the Woodland Trust.
Hainault Forest, along with Epping Forest and Hatfield Forest, is one of the remaining forests in Essex. This forest belonged to Barking Abbey until the dissolution of the monasteries. It extended north to Theydon Bois, east to Havering-Atte-Bower, south to Aldborough Hatch, and west to Leytonstone.
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| Hainault Forest |
In the Census ordered by Henry VIII in 1544, the extent of this forest was reported to be about 12 km2. The forest area has been drastically reduced due to deforestation legalized by an Act of Parliament in 1851, ancient trees, along with the forest fauna, were demolished and the land was divided into building lots, to meet the growing demand for housing. in London. This act was deplored by Sir Walter Besant in his works on London: incidentally, the forest was the setting for his novel All in a Garden Fair. After lobbying public opinion to conserve the remaining parts of the Hainault Forest, a total of 3.3 km2 of land was purchased for public use in 1906.
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| Hainault Forest |
The district is served by the Hainault and Grange Hill stations on the Central line. Road lines serving the area are: 150, 167, 169, 247, 275, 362 is on the 462. Line N8, which connects Hainault the Lowe with Stratford and Oxford Circus serves the district at night.