It is probably safe to say that within the UK no single woodland has remained uninfluenced by human activities as long as humans have been around

Woodlands were always of great economic importance and no management was ever really an option.
In pasture-type woodland, sheep and cattle would also be grazed; pigs would be turned out to eat acorns and beech mast in the autumn.

It can be argued that some of the oldest trees and species which inhabit Britain's woods are there, in many cases, not so much as despite of but because of past activities such as coppicing
This had the side effect of continually creating new glades in woodlands to replace those which had grown over with time.
In turn this encouraged wildflowers, grasses and brambles to progressively colonize each new glade as the tree canopy was opened up. The animal species associated with these plants would also then follow.

"Removal of all human activity within a woodland will usually result in the development of dark, dense woods.
This will favour a relatively small number of species which prefer this type of habitat.
However, it will also result in the elimination of all those species which either require higher light levels, or which are dependent on other species with this requirement.
If high biodiversity and a wide range of woodland species is the goal, then management will be necessary to create structural diversity within the woodland."

- An Introduction to the Management of Small Native British Woodlands