The historic Epping Forest area of Great Britain is portrayed through "then and now" comparisons, recording the changing scene since the earliest days of photography. From Forest Gate in the south to Epping in the north; from Chigwell and Abridge in the east through Chingford to the great abbey of Waltham in the west, a wide-ranging mixture of contemporary extracts has been blended with more than 1400 photographs, drawings and maps, together with specially-taken aerial photographs, to trace the events and developments which have shaped the locality. The illustrations being combined with a text researched mainly from newspapers, magazine articles and books of the time, this work aims to provide a contemporary record that presents the local and social history of the area, setting the past beside the present.