Fairlop

The district took its name from a famous old oak tree, the Fairlop Oak, that stood in Hainault Forest; most of the forest was destroyed in the mid-nineteenth century. Similarly, the Romany name for the district Boro-rukenesky gav means 'Great Tree Town'.[2]

The first certain known use of the name is recorded in 1738 as Fair Lop Tree. This disproves the tradition that the name arose after the burial of Daniel Day at Barking Church (Ilford and with it Hainault Forest were part of the ancient parish of Barking at this time) in 1767. Day is believed to have been buried in a coffin made from a large bough that fell from the tree - so according to the story it was a 'fair lop (cut)' as the tree wasn't harmed.[3]

The oak, which stood in an open part of the forest known as Fairlop Plain, is said to have had a trunk sixty-six feet in circumference, from which seventeen branches issued, most of them measuring not less than twelve feet in girth.[4]

A legend has it that Queen Anne (reigned 1702-1714) visited Hainault Forest and was greatly impressed by the oak. One of the songs sung at the fair (which started in 1725) was called "Come, come, my boys", in which one verse states:[5]

To Hainault Forest Queen Anne did ride,
And saw the old oak standing by her side,
And as she looked at it from bottom to top,
She said to her Court, it should be at Fairlop.

In the late 18th century, a society of archers - The Hainault Foresters - under the patronage of the Earl Tylney of Wanstead House met under the Fairlop Oak.[5]

In June 1805, the oak tree caught fire, and by 1820 it was finally blown down.[4] Its site is marked roughly at the boat house by the lake at Fairlop Waters.[5] In nearby Fullwell Cross is a pub called the New Fairlop Oak.

The tree's great fame meant it's timber was much sought after. A large reading desk and pulpit (once taller) can be found at St Pancras New Church, central London, which was built in 1820. Closer to home, the sounding board at Wanstead church is said to be made from the oak, and some smaller items made from the tree are found in the Redbridge Museum.[6]

The fair was started in July 1725, by Daniel Day (1683-1767), an eccentric and philanthropic pump and block maker (marine engineer) from Wapping. Day had some cottages near Fairlop and collected the rent on the first Friday of July. He wished to make the day a pleasant one for his tenants, friends and employees at Wapping so organised a trip to the Fairlop Oak, where a meal of beans and bacon was served. This may be the origin of the English words bean-feast and beano.[7][5]

Soon other employers began to take their employees to Fairlop on the same Friday, and the event so grew rapidly in size with entertainments laid on and soon the fair gained a life of its own with very large umbers attending what had become a huge social event. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the annual excursion to Fairlop had become one of London's most popular entertainments, and as many as a hundred thousand people being drawn through Ilford to the fair in the forest.[4]

In 1851, there was an Act of Parliament permitting the enclosure of Hainault Forest, the large majority of which was quickly destroyed and turned into farmland.[8]

After the destruction of the forest, the fair continued on a smaller scale at Barkingside, with the last event of any size held in 1900.

Daniel Day would always attend the fair, but became nervous of travelling by road following an accident. To avoid the roads as far as possible he had a boat built - nicknamed the Fairlop Frigate - on which he travelled on the Thames downstream from Wapping, and then up the River Roding to Ilford. At Ilford the boat would be taken out of the water, wheels attached, and the boat would then be drawn by six horses and follow a marching band to the fair in the forest.

The Fairlop Fair Song is a folk ballad which refers to the presence of the frigates at the fair:[9]

Let music sound as the boat goes round,
If we tumble on the ground, we'll be merry I'll be bound;
We will booze it away, dull care we will defy,
And be happy in the first Friday in July.

A tradition of wheeled Fairlop Frigates would continue long after Day's death, to the last Fairlop Fair in 1900.[10]