About this Event
London is one of the world’s great urban landscapes, but beyond its streets, buildings and suburbs, there are places of ancient forest, tidal wilderness, hidden waterways and landscapes that have resisted the advance of civilisation.
Writer LUKE TURNER explores the extraordinary and sometimes unsettling history of Epping Forest, London’s largest open space, revealing how the forest offers a fascinating insight into our ancient and complicated relationship with the natural world
London has shaped nearly every inch of the forest. Its extraordinary hornbeam pollards are the legacy of centuries of woodland management, providing wood for the bread ovens of the city. When the forest came under threat in the late 19th century, an unlikely alliance of East End working people, rural Essex communities, politicians, and the Corporation of London came together to save it, helping give birth to the modern conservation movement.
But Epping Forest has always been more than a place of trees and wildlife. Its woods and open spaces have offered shelter and freedom from the constraints of urban life: home to gypsies, hermits, riotous May Day fairs, wildlife criminals, murderers, pornographers and queer cruisers.
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Beyond the familiar riverbanks and the great industrial landscapes of London’s eastern fringe lies another world. The Thames Estuary is a vast and often overlooked wilderness of mudflats, creeks, islands, salt marshes and extraordinary wildlife, stretching towards the North Sea.
Filmmaker PABLO BEHRENS has spent years exploring this remarkable landscape, documenting its hidden ecology, its shifting tides and its strange beauty. His film London’s Last Wilderness takes us on a journey into an almost otherworldly environment, where nature continues to assert itself against the encroachment of human activity.
Pablo joins us to talk about his explorations and show short excerpts from the film.
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Luke Turner is a prolific London-based writer and editor, co-founder of influential online music and culture magazine The Quietus. His books include Out of the Woods, a reflection on sexuality, masculinity and our relationship with nature, shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize. In 2019, he co-curated The People's Forest, a programme of events around Epping Forest. His most recent book, Men At War is a critically acclaimed account of masculinity and sexuality during the Second World War
Pablo Behrens is a filmmaker, writer and producer. His films include Adrift in Soho and London’s Last Wilderness, an ambitious exploration of the natural world of the Greater Thames Estuary, drawing on his extensive experience travelling and filming in some of the world’s wildest landscapes.
Our home, , is a unique Grade II listed not-for-profit,, independent arts venue within the only existing unspoilt example of a two-floor, purpose-built stable with public access in London.
Built in 1797 by James Burton, the shell is constructed with London Stocks whilst the interior features a mock cobbled concrete floor and ramps with slats to prevent the horses from slipping. Each floor has five cast iron pillars and several original iron tethering rings.
There will be a bar to purchase drinks
Event venue & nearby stays
The Horse Hospital, Colonnade, London, United Kingdom
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.