Epping Forest Heritage For All

Epping Forest, owned and managed by the City of London Corporation, has long been a cherished place for people and communities.

London’s “Green Lung”, its heritage includes the stories of these ancient trees and people’s relationship with them, the iron age forts of Loughton Camp and Ambresbury Banks, Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge, the “saving” of the Forest ahead of the Epping Forest Act of 1878 and Queen Victoria’s dedication of the Forest “for the enjoyment of her people for all time”.

As one of the earliest publicly accessible and protected landscapes in England, Epping Forest pre-dates the UK’s National Parks by nearly 80 years. After a historically important campaign to protect it from enclosure during the 1860s and 1870s, which brought together local people, politicians, and early environmentalists such as Octavia Hill, it was entrusted to the City of London as Conservators by the Act of 1878, to maintain its natural aspect.

The reason Epping Forest is such a precious and irreplaceable place is because of people’s involvement with the Forest throughout centuries, and that is the main heritage that this programme is celebrating: the relationship between people and the Forest.

• Develop partnerships with diverse local community organisations to create bespoke guided walks, talks and conservation activities
• Create digital materials to engage and inspire new people about the heritage of the Forest
• Expand our work with Muslim Hikers and Black Girls Hike, who are partners on the project
• Recruit and train new walk volunteers
• Capture new stories of connection to the Forest, in effect, creating and capturing new heritage about the relationship between people and the Forest.