Medieval or post-medieval fishponds at Stable Shaw, Woodredon Farm (EHER 81439)

A complex of a medieval or post-medieval fishponds is visible as earthworks on 2023 0.25m Lidar data (commissioned by City of London Corporation). The complex comprises five ponds and associated water channels enclosed within a woodland copse immediately to the east of Woodredon Farm. The ponds were mapped as part of the 2024-2025 Epping Forest Aerial and Investigation Project carried out by Historic England.

2024-2025. Epping Forest Aerial Investigation and Mapping Project. A complex of a medieval or post-medieval fishponds is visible as earthworks on 2023 0.25m Lidar data (commissioned by City of London Corporation). The complex comprises five ponds and associated water channels enclosed within a woodland copse immediately to the east of Woodredon Farm. The ponds were likely constructed in at least two phases, distinguished by the morphology of the earthworks. An exact date for the construction of the ponds is uncertain, however, it is plausible to suggest that they were initially constructed prior to the dissolution of Waltham Abbey in 1540, during which the manor of Woodredon belonged to the abbey. Waltham Abbey was an important ecclesiastical centre during the medieval period. Maintaining a reliable source of fish would have been a priority for the abbey, which would have required large fishponds such as the ponds at Stable Shaw. They may have continued to be used and modified after the dissolution but likely fell into disuse sometime during the post-medieval period. The complex was turned over to tree-plantation, likely due to the large size of the earthworks and the amount of labour required to level and prepare the area for arable cultivation. The possible earlier phase comprises two ponds located at the north of the complex, both fed by a redirected stream flowing from the east. They are now also served by a more recent field drain that runs into the ponds from the west. The largest of the two is irregular in shape (likely affected by later modifications) and has a long sub-rectangular north-south aligned island at its centre. The smaller pond is located immediately north and is sub-circular in shape and was possibly created during modifications to the previously described pond. The three linear ponds were constructed as part of a single (possibly later) phase, perhaps to increase the capacity of the fishpond site. These ponds were laid out as a string of three NNE/SSW aligned sub-rectangular ponds (each approximately 80m x 25m) constructed to utilise the natural spring head located immediately at the south of the complex. Each pond was divided by a raised dam used to control internal water levels and would have drained into the stream to the north. There are also earthwork remains of a water channel immediately to the east which would have allowed water from the spring head to bypass the pond complex at times of high water and continue to flow into the northern stream. The ponds were mapped as part of the 2024-2025 Epping Forest Aerial and Investigation Project carried out by Historic England. <1> <2> <3>