As part of Women’s History Month, we would like to celebrate two women in particular associated with Epping Forest.
Octavia Hill
John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Octavia Hill
Firstly Octavia Hill, an early activist in the Open Spaces Society who urged it to enlarge its scope to include “‘the acquisition and dedication to the public of open spaces in or near London’ and who helped ensure Epping Forest and other open spaces were preserved and protected.
To read more about Octavia Hill’s story, please visit Open Space Society’s website at: https://www.oss.org.uk/about-us/our-history/
Syliva Pankhurst
Sylvia Pankhurst in 1915, www.sylviapankhurst.com
And secondly Sylvia Pankhurst, the famous campaigner for the suffrage movement, who lived for many years in Woodford and erected a memorial at Woodford Green as a protest against war in the air.
The memorial is on a tiny plot of land which she purchased but it is beside #EppingForest land, opposite the Horse & Well pub at Woodford Wells.
Find out more about Sylvia Pankhurst:
- Read about Sylvia’s life in Woodford here
- More information about the memorial at Historic England’s website here