Why is Linder's Field LNR so special?

Since the 1940s there have been massive changes in the British countryside. This has been especially evident in a county like Essex where pressures from agricultural intensification, urban development and neglect have seen huge losses to our natural environment. The statistics are dramatic. We have lost 50% of our irreplaceable ancient woodland and nearly all of our flower rich meadows, with only 1% surviving. With a background like this, it is not perhaps hard to see why Linder’s Field with its ancient wood and grassland is regarded as so special.

We know from looking at old maps that the small wood at Linder’s Field is the remnant of a once much larger “ancient woodland” called Pluckett’s Wood. (The term ancient woodland is given to woodland that is known to be older than 400 years.) Using old maps, we have  traced the wood back 225 years. The manorial records of 1775 for a M.H Beach Esq. show one large wood named Pluckett's Wood. By 1850 Pluckett's Wood had been split in two with a large section lost probably from the construction of the railway. This can be clearly seen on the Tithe Map of Loughton for that date which shows the wood in two parts: Pluckett's Wood and Little Pluckett's Wood.

It is not known exactly when the last fragment of Little Pluckett's Wood was destroyed for the construction of housing on Little Plucketts Way, but it is believed to have occurred between 1920 and 1930. What is certain is that, apart from a few ancient trees surviving in gardens, the small fragment in Linder's Field is all that now remains of the former woodland.

Clues to the wood's great age also exist with several uncommon flowers and trees that can be found in Linder’s Field. There are two special trees, normally only found in old woods: the Wild Service Tree and the Midland Hawthorn. Of the wildflowers Wood Anemone and Bluebell are both indicators of ancient woodlands in Essex.

The area surrounding the woodland block is a mosaic of open grassland and scrub. The field is cut for hay and supports a number of interesting plants such as sneezewort, which is an indicator of unimproved grassland in Essex.

Because of the site’s special wildlife, in May 1996 it was declared a Local Wildlife Site by the Essex Wildlife Trust and in August 2000 the District Council declared the site a Local Nature Reserve.  This gives the site added protection and status, which demonstrates the Council's commitment to managing the land for the benefit of both the residents of Buckhurst Hill and the special wildlife to be found on the reserve.