During the middle of the nineteenth century, a number of initiatives were started to protect the rights of the public to use open spaces and for the areas to be conserved for their specific environmental features.

The local people of Loughton were also, by tradition, taking a limited quantity of wood from the forest under what was termed their 'lopping rights'.

Following the intervention of a number of bodies and interested parties, some Acts of Parliament were enacted gradually bringing about the desired protections.

[1] A local Act of the United Kingdom parliament for the disafforestation of Epping Forest and the preservation and management of unenclosed parts thereof as an open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the public.

The Act removed the rights of Loughton householders to lop wood within the forest for which, in substitution, a public hall was constructed in the town.