Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Thetford Forest
Thetford Forest is the largest lowland pine forest in Britain and is located in a region straddling the north of Suffolk and the south of Norfolk in England. It covers over 19,000 ha (47,000 acres) in the form of a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Thetford Forest was created after the First World War to provide a strategic reserve of timber, since the country had lost so many oaks and other slow-growing trees as a consequence of the war's demands. It is managed by Forestry England. The creation of the forest destroyed much of the typical Breckland environment of gorse and sandy ridges, ending the frequent sand blows (where the wind picked up sand and blew it across the land reducing visibility). However, this environment was itself man-made, since the area had been denuded by flint-mining, the construction of rabbit warrens and other activities. Grime's Graves is located within the forest.
By the end of the First World War the economic position of the large landed estates in England were bleak and particularly acute in areas of poor soil like Breckland. Farms were left untenanted and land became derelict. At this time Forestry England had been established. In 1922, the first purchases of land were made with over 80% of the land in Thetford Forest acquired in the 1920s and 1930s in the form of large blocks of land from the former estates.
Since the forest's inception, decisions affecting the forest have been taken locally at the Divisional Offices at Santon Downham. At a local level, authority rested with the Divisional or District Officers. Many of these officers were recruited from affluent, land owning families who were attracted into forestry at the time when much of agriculture was in a depressed state. Foresters were the next level in the hierarchy and were often recruited from the forestry workers and by the 1940s they were trained for two years in the Commission's Forestry Schools. Beneath them were the gangers or foremen who supervised the forestry workers. The forest workers were organised into gangs of between three and thirty, their tasks included clearing ground, planting, weeding and later brashing and thinning.
Breckland of the 1920s was an area of high unemployment and the Commission had few problems recruiting staff. From the outset the Commission believed that it would help alleviate unemployment in rural Britain. Many people were keen to take up forestry work, especially as the job included a tied cottage, many with an attached small holding. By the late 1920s, unemployed people, mainly miners, from the depressed areas of the North of England were housed in the forest holdings. As the depression deepened training camps were established. From 1928 up to 1938, 21 camps and a further 10 only used in the summer months housing a total of 6000 men were scattered throughout the infant forest. The unemployment schemes and mass unemployment came to an end with the onset of World War II.
The war years saw a drastic shortage of labour as local men joined the armed forces or took up other jobs. This led to a significant number of women employed in the forest. They were employed by the Timber Production Department, and by 1943 the Women's Land Army had a training camp at Wordwell on the edge of the forest. With the end of the war women workers gradually decreased. In 1946, the Forest Workers Training Scheme was set up providing one year's training for demobbed servicemen. During the post-war years the number of people employed increased to 570 by 1950. However, with the development of the nearby town of Thetford recruitment of labour became more difficult. With the introduction of modern technology and the use of modern weedkillers these problems eased through the sixties and by the mid-1970s the numbers of workers was similar to the 1930s.
The vast quantities of trees needed for the forest in its infancy needed huge amounts of seed much of it obtained locally. Men and women were sent out into the countryside, gathering cones from existing plantations and pine hedges. As the new plantations matured it was possible to obtain seed from the forest itself. From 1925 the seed was extracted from the cones at the Seed Extraction Unit at Santon Downham, this continued to be operated until 1964. Once the seed had germinated the seedlings were transplanted after one year's growth. This was later increased to two years. After being lined out in the nursery they were grown on for one to two years before they were planted in the forest.
Planting began as soon as a property was acquired by the Commission, with most of the forest planted within the first 20 years. The Scots pine was the initial choice as the main forest tree given the adverse local conditions and seeds being readily available in the locality. However, the Corsican pine was being established at several locations from the early 1920s. Today (2013), the tree is the dominant species in the forest owing to its having greater resistance to fungal diseases and insect pests, more tolerance of the thin chalky soils and producing a higher volume of timber per acre. Many other species of conifer were planted including the Douglas fir and larch but these were less tolerant of local conditions than the pines. Substantial numbers of indigenous hardwood trees were planted in the 1920s and 1930s. Oak and beech plantings were vulnerable to spring frosts and deer proved a threat particularly to the beech saplings. Oak tended to fare better but they grew slowly compared to pines, and were considered uneconomic with numbers being planted steadily declining. However, hardwood trees have been planted to form narrow roadside belts acting as a fire control measure. Besides oak and beech a wide variety of species including lime, walnut, red oak and maple have been established.
Hub AI
Thetford Forest AI simulator
(@Thetford Forest_simulator)
Thetford Forest
Thetford Forest is the largest lowland pine forest in Britain and is located in a region straddling the north of Suffolk and the south of Norfolk in England. It covers over 19,000 ha (47,000 acres) in the form of a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Thetford Forest was created after the First World War to provide a strategic reserve of timber, since the country had lost so many oaks and other slow-growing trees as a consequence of the war's demands. It is managed by Forestry England. The creation of the forest destroyed much of the typical Breckland environment of gorse and sandy ridges, ending the frequent sand blows (where the wind picked up sand and blew it across the land reducing visibility). However, this environment was itself man-made, since the area had been denuded by flint-mining, the construction of rabbit warrens and other activities. Grime's Graves is located within the forest.
By the end of the First World War the economic position of the large landed estates in England were bleak and particularly acute in areas of poor soil like Breckland. Farms were left untenanted and land became derelict. At this time Forestry England had been established. In 1922, the first purchases of land were made with over 80% of the land in Thetford Forest acquired in the 1920s and 1930s in the form of large blocks of land from the former estates.
Since the forest's inception, decisions affecting the forest have been taken locally at the Divisional Offices at Santon Downham. At a local level, authority rested with the Divisional or District Officers. Many of these officers were recruited from affluent, land owning families who were attracted into forestry at the time when much of agriculture was in a depressed state. Foresters were the next level in the hierarchy and were often recruited from the forestry workers and by the 1940s they were trained for two years in the Commission's Forestry Schools. Beneath them were the gangers or foremen who supervised the forestry workers. The forest workers were organised into gangs of between three and thirty, their tasks included clearing ground, planting, weeding and later brashing and thinning.
Breckland of the 1920s was an area of high unemployment and the Commission had few problems recruiting staff. From the outset the Commission believed that it would help alleviate unemployment in rural Britain. Many people were keen to take up forestry work, especially as the job included a tied cottage, many with an attached small holding. By the late 1920s, unemployed people, mainly miners, from the depressed areas of the North of England were housed in the forest holdings. As the depression deepened training camps were established. From 1928 up to 1938, 21 camps and a further 10 only used in the summer months housing a total of 6000 men were scattered throughout the infant forest. The unemployment schemes and mass unemployment came to an end with the onset of World War II.
The war years saw a drastic shortage of labour as local men joined the armed forces or took up other jobs. This led to a significant number of women employed in the forest. They were employed by the Timber Production Department, and by 1943 the Women's Land Army had a training camp at Wordwell on the edge of the forest. With the end of the war women workers gradually decreased. In 1946, the Forest Workers Training Scheme was set up providing one year's training for demobbed servicemen. During the post-war years the number of people employed increased to 570 by 1950. However, with the development of the nearby town of Thetford recruitment of labour became more difficult. With the introduction of modern technology and the use of modern weedkillers these problems eased through the sixties and by the mid-1970s the numbers of workers was similar to the 1930s.
The vast quantities of trees needed for the forest in its infancy needed huge amounts of seed much of it obtained locally. Men and women were sent out into the countryside, gathering cones from existing plantations and pine hedges. As the new plantations matured it was possible to obtain seed from the forest itself. From 1925 the seed was extracted from the cones at the Seed Extraction Unit at Santon Downham, this continued to be operated until 1964. Once the seed had germinated the seedlings were transplanted after one year's growth. This was later increased to two years. After being lined out in the nursery they were grown on for one to two years before they were planted in the forest.
Planting began as soon as a property was acquired by the Commission, with most of the forest planted within the first 20 years. The Scots pine was the initial choice as the main forest tree given the adverse local conditions and seeds being readily available in the locality. However, the Corsican pine was being established at several locations from the early 1920s. Today (2013), the tree is the dominant species in the forest owing to its having greater resistance to fungal diseases and insect pests, more tolerance of the thin chalky soils and producing a higher volume of timber per acre. Many other species of conifer were planted including the Douglas fir and larch but these were less tolerant of local conditions than the pines. Substantial numbers of indigenous hardwood trees were planted in the 1920s and 1930s. Oak and beech plantings were vulnerable to spring frosts and deer proved a threat particularly to the beech saplings. Oak tended to fare better but they grew slowly compared to pines, and were considered uneconomic with numbers being planted steadily declining. However, hardwood trees have been planted to form narrow roadside belts acting as a fire control measure. Besides oak and beech a wide variety of species including lime, walnut, red oak and maple have been established.