THE LIFE of a man who played a vital part in the 19th century fight to save Epping Forest from enclosure has been captured in a new biography.

Forest for the People, written by historian Richard Morris and published by Loughton and District Historical Society, tells the story of George Burney and his fight to save the forest for the public after local landowners tried to enclose it.

Born in 1818, Burney was a water tank manufacturer from Millwall and chaired the Epping Forest Preservation Society from 1867.

He was instrumental in the implementation of the Epping Forest Act in 1878, but was so impatient to clear away the illegal enclosures already erected that in January of that year - before the leglislation came into force - he gathered 100 workmen and proceeded to destroy illegal fences in Wanstead, Buckhurst Hill and Loughton.

As gates were removed at Paul's Nursery in Loughton, Burney famously declared the woodland 'free and open to the public that day and for evermore' - a phrase taken up by Queen Victoria when she officially dedicated the forest to the public four years later.

Burney owned Tile Kiln Farm in Loughton, later developing it into the Queens Rd and Church Hill estate.

He was found dead on a Loughton train at Fenchurch Street station in 1885. Burney Drive was later named in his honour.

  • The 44-page illustrated book costs £3.50 and can be bought from local bookshops or directly from the Historical Society at Forest Villa, Staples Road, Loughton.