The tune dates to 1670 when it was published the 4th edition of the Dancing Master. The name Epping is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word Uppingas, meaning "the people of the upland". Epping Forest, originally called Walthamstow, was an ancient forest which once stretched from the Thames to the Wash. It contains several Iron Age and old British fortifications, and it was reputedly where the ancient rebel leader Queen Boudica fought her last battle against the Romans (and committed suicide when it was clear she had lost). Epping was long considered a royal hunting forest, although in 1226 Henry II allowed the citizens of London to hunt in it on Easter Monday, a privilege they enjoyed until 1882. The infamous highwayman Dick Turpin and his dashing partner, Tom King, had their lair in a cave in the forest and for a time robbed nearly every traveler who ventured by. It was also printed in Sharp's Country Dance Tunes (1909), and Karpeles & Schofield's A Selection of 100 English Folk Dance Airs (1951). It was recorded on The English Country Dancing Master, vol 2 by The Telemann Society.