Pulpit Oak

I walked to Buckhurst Hill for a hair cut today, and on my way home made a brief detour to take in the corner of Knighton Wood and Lord’s Bushes. I was quite dismayed to see the state of this ancient oak tree – estimated to be well over 400 years old, with a girth of over 4.5 metres – which is known locally as the Pulpit Oak. It acts as a boundary marker for the ancient boundaries of Chigwell and Woodford (now the modern boundaries of Essex and Greater London).

It was so named because local people would sit around the base of the tree, listening to preachers declaiming their sermons from the vantage point of the huge hollow of the trunk which, at that time, would have been surrounded by many mighty branches. It’s sad to see this ancient tree looking so frail now, compared to photos of it in the early 20th century.

Edward North Buxton, Liberal MP for Walthamstow, played a major part in the campaign to save Epping Forest for public use. He lived at Knighton House, and what we now know as Knighton Wood was originally part of the Buxton Estate. It still has the remnants of ornamental ponds, huge rhododendrons and clumps of bamboo. The thatched cottage, which I blipped here https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/3033811725913686694, was originally the lodge to the big house.

I took a panorama of the scene to show the tree’s location in the forest, which you can see in extras.