Place Name
An alternative spelling of the word staggard referring to a four-year-old male red deer. It comes from Middle English and dates from around the late 14thCentury. Developers chose it because of the long association between deer and the former Hainault Forest, which for centuries covered large swathes of Essex and served as a royal hunting ground. It was kept well stocked with game managed by officers of the king. Through the 18thCentury, there was a stag hunt every Easter Monday, but that practice was discontinued in 1807. Fallow deer, the descendants of those hunted by earlier monarchs, still roamed the forest during the years of the Regency. Though by 1839 poaching had significantly reduced the numbers of deer in the forest. The fences surrounding the woodland soon fell into disrepair allowing remaining deer to wander out and feed on the crops of local farmers. After the deforestation of Hainault Forest in 1851 the few remaining deer were taken to Windsor. The land was converted to farming, and eventually housing. This street was laid out in the first half of the 20thCentury.
