Place Name
Commemorating Thomas Edward Lawrence (August 16, 1888 – May 19, 1935), who won fame during the World War One as Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence moved to the area following his actions in the Middle East to be close to his university friend Vyvyan Richards who started teaching history at Bancroft’s School in Woodford Green. Lawrence bought several acres of land close to Pole Hill in 1919 seven years after Richards had purchased a small hut there. The pair spent time camping in the forest with scouts and cadets. The two friends also planned to set up a printing press there in order to publish Lawrence’s book about his war adventures, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, from there. But in 1930, he sold his land to the Conservators of Epping Forest for £3,500, the price he had paid for it. From here he moved to his Dorset cottage, Clouds Hill. Richards had left two years earlier to move to South Wales.
