Hatfield Forest - Woodland Management

Woodland Management

Hatfield Forest was woodland long before it became a royal forest. This has been managed by coppicing (where trees are cut down to ground level) and pollarding (where trees are cut above the browse (or grazing) height of deer or cattle). 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. The methods used remained unchanged for centuries and are described by Thomas Hardy in The Woodlanders. Some trees, rather than being coppiced, were left to grow and become ‘standards’ to be used as timber for buildings and ships. This system of woodland management is still carried on in the Forest today and can be readily seen by visitors.