Description
Duck Wood is ancient woodland once part of the extensive Forest of Waltham that covered much of Essex. Largely cleared by the C16th for agricultural use, pockets of woodland remain. Like other areas of woodland, Duck Wood retains its ancient name, which may refer to its many ponds or perhaps was a corruption of the word 'Duke'. Woodland paths run through the site, which has been managed as a community nature reserve since 1986.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Duck Wood Community Nature Reserve |
|---|---|
| Site location | Sheffield Drive, Harold Wood |
| Postcode | RM3 |
| What3Words | ///vital.legs.linen |
| Type of Site | Public Open Land |
| Borough | Havering |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | unrestricted |
| Public Transport | Rail: Harold Wood. Bus: 174, 374, 496. |
| Research Updated | 1 February 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Duck Wood is ancient woodland once part of the extensive Forest of Waltham that covered much of Essex. Largely cleared by the C16th for agricultural use, pockets of woodland remain. Species predominating at Duck Wood are oak and hornbeam, the latter long managed by coppicing to provide timber for a variety of uses, and coppicing has been re-introduced here. Other trees include wild service trees, and an old hawthorn hedge and bank is in the north and west. There are a series of small ponds and the wood is adjacent to Maylands Golf Course. Like other areas of woodland, Duck Wood retains its ancient name and may refer to its many ponds or to a corruption of the word 'Duke'.. Woodland paths run through the site, which has been managed as a community nature reserve by the London Wildlife Trust and LB Havering's Countryside Management Service since 1986. It is locally famous for its spring flowers and as a bluebell woodland in early May.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ555923 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 7.5 |
| Site Ownership | LB Havering |
| Site Management | London Wildlife Trust and LB Havering's Countryside Management Service |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Havering |
| In Conservation Area | No |
| Tree Preservation Order | Not known |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough Importance I |
| Green Belt | Yes |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Countryside Conservation Area; Havering Ridge Area of Special Character |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
The manor of Dagenhams and Cockerels comprised 2 adjoining tenements, which after a complex history passed to the Earl of Northumberland in the C14th. The name Dagnams or Dagnam came into use in the C18th. Sold several times over the years, the manor was purchased in 1772 by Sir Richard Neave, who rebuilt the house and sought Humphry Repton's advice on landscaping the grounds. It remained in his family until 1948 when the house and 500 acres around Dagnam Park were sold to the LCC to build the Harold Hill Estate, Dagnam Park itself retained as a public park. Dagnam house was demolished in 1948 as was Cockerels house to the south, known as Dagnam Park Farm in the C19th and standing outside a moated site, part of the moat surviving today. The public park preserves its C18th boundaries, together with some of the landscaped features, specimen trees and ponds; a curving track that crosses the park follows the line of the C18th drive. Hatters Wood, Havering's largest woodland, is now within the public park.
The area was largely farmland until the 1950s when Central Park was created in order to provide facilities for the families who were moving to the LCC's newly developed Harold Hill Estate; provision of the public park was designated in the LCC's estate layout of 1947. Central Park was provided with a cricket pitch and paddling pool, and a swimming pool was later opened in 1966 in the north west. The park is overlooked by two areas of ancient woodland, Long Wood and Sage Wood, and Paines Brook, a tributary of the Ingrebourne River, runs through the park.
Harold Hill Estate is a large LCC housing estate built from 1947 on, laid out within the Green Belt as an exception to serve the urgent post-war housing needs, and houses some 25,000 people. Its layout was characterised by areas of green space, provision of amenity open space and retention of woodland and existing trees. Once part of the extensive Forest of Waltham, by the end of the C16th 3 sub-manors covered the area: Cockerells, Gooshays and Dagenhams and much of the land was farmed. By the 1770s Dagnams was owned by Richard Neave, whose family continued to acquire land and by 1829 owned all the land on which the Harold Hill Estate now stands. The estate began to be broken up in 1919; by 1947 the land held by Sir Arundell Neave amounted to 558 acres, which he agreed to sell to the LCC for the proposed housing estate.