[1] At its ancient extent the forest stretched twelve miles north from the city walls at Houndsditch.
"[2] After the area was disafforested in 1218 by Henry III, ceasing to be a royal forest, the land passed into private ownership.
This led to the deforestation of the bulk of the forest and its opening for development and agriculture.
[3] The boundaries of the Forest are not clear, but Domesday returns for Middlesex as a whole indicate that it was around 30% wooded (much of it wood-pasture) in 1086, about double the English average.
Much of the loss of woodland in Middlesex appears due to wood-pasture being downgraded to heathland as a result of intensive grazing.