Thomas Willingale - the man who saved Epping Forest

Without Thomas Willingale, it is likely that Epping Forest near London would not be the rich surviving landscape it remains today. Willingale dared to defy powerful local landowners, and fought long enough to save the forest from development by attracting the attention of the great and the good, which led to its preservation under the auspices of the City of London Corporation.

Thomas Willingale was born in 1799, and lived in the village of Loughton in Essex, which is near Epping Forest. He exercised the traditional right of commoners to lop branches from the trees in the forest for use as winter fuel.

Enclosure accelerated in England from 1760-1870, and the forest was one of the many areas of common land being fenced off by wealthy citizens for their own further enrichment. Reverend Maitland, Lord of the Manor in the Loughton area, had fenced off 1,316 acres of forest and had started construction of buildings and roads.

For 16 years, Willingale defied Maitland, ignored the fences and continued to lop the tree. This had to occur every year on November 11th, or the rights of the commoners were in danger of lapsing. He gained the support of his fellow commoners, but was initially mocked and vilified by people of influence, and his son and other relatives and supporters were thrown in jail. Willingale's opponent Maitland was also the local magistrate, and used his privileged position to harry Willingale, buying his house from his landlord and evicting him from it, and making sure his friends deprived him of employment.

In time, however, Willingale's David and Goliath struggle gained the sympathy of some rich socialists of the time like William Morris, who helped fund a court battle which ultimately saw the remains of Epping Forest preserved for public enjoyment. Sadly, Willingale did not live to see this, having died eight years previously in 1870.

The remains of the once great Epping Forest are still a much-loved source of pleasure and recreation to East Londoners to this day and under the responsibility of the City of London Corporation as London’s largest open space.

The image shows traditional November 11th lopping at Staples Hill.