Hatfield Forest is a 403.2-hectare (996-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Essex, England, 3 mi (4.8 km) east of Bishop's Stortford.

[6] Hatfield is the only remaining intact Royal Hunting Forest and dates from the time of the Norman kings.

In his book about the site, The Last Forest, botanist and rural historian Oliver Rackham argues that "Hatfield is of supreme interest in that all the elements of a medieval Forest survive: deer, cattle, coppice woods, pollards, scrub, timber trees, grassland and fen ... As such it is almost certainly unique in England and possibly in the world ...

In 1238 Henry III (while retaining hunting rights) gave the land and trees to Isobel of Huntingdon, daughter of the Earl of Chester.

After Henry's death, Edward VI granted the forest to Sir Richard Rich.

They were a wealthy family, originally from Lille, and included John Houblon who had been the first Governor of the Bank of England in 1694.

While leaving the traditional woodland management techniques little changed, the Houblons probably sought the help of Capability Brown.

[11] On 20 October 1987, a Cessna 421B Golden Eagle (G-HAST) owned by Hastingwood Hotels Ltd crashed into the forest after taking off from London Stansted Airport.

[12] On 22 December 1999, Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 crashed just outside the forest after taking off from London Stansted Airport.

In the case of coppicing, the regrowth has to be protected from browsing or grazing animals by fencing, ditches and banks.

There were a number of uses for the cut wood, including firewood, fences, thatching spars, furniture and flood defences.

Some columns survived the 1930s, when many were sold, and sections of fencing have been recreated by the Shell House car park and in Gravel Pit Coppice, near the Lake.

Parts of the Forest were used during World War II to conceal the storage of munitions for the airfield at Stansted.

There is a wide range of habitats (including coppice woodland, wood pasture, scrub, grassy plains, marsh and lake) for both animals and plants.

Around the lake, depending on the time of year, are greylag geese, Canada geese, mute swan, great crested grebe, common tern, moorhen, coot, occasional kingfisher, cormorant, and grey heron, with swallows and house martins skimming the water.

Trees are found in abundance, with the main species being oak, ash, hornbeam, hawthorn, hazel and field maple.

There are over 800 ancient trees in the wood pasture areas, some of which are over 1,200 years old, and of especial note are the huge pollarded oaks and hornbeams.