Epping

Epping is a small market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located north-east of Loughton, south of Harlow and north-west of Brentwood.

The town retains a rural appearance being surrounded by Epping Forest and working farmland, and has many very old buildings, many of which are Grade I and II listed buildings. The town also retains its weekly market which is held every Monday and dates back to 1253. In 2001 the parish had a population of 11,047 Although the once-famous Epping Butter, which was highly sought after in the 18th and 19th centuries, is no longer made, the equally well-known Epping sausages are still manufactured by Church's Butchers who have been trading on the same site since 1888.

History

"Epinga", a small community of a few scattered farms and a chapel on the edge of the forest, is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. However, the settlement referred to is known today as Epping Upland. It is not known for certain when the present day Epping was first settled. By the mid 12th century a settlement known as Epping Heath (later named Epping Street), had developed south of Epping Upland as a result of vigorous clearing of the forest for cultivation. In 1253 King Henry III conveyed the right to hold a weekly market in Epping Street which helped to establish the town as a centre of trade and has continued to the present day (the sale of cattle in the High Street continued until 1961) .

The linear village of Epping Heath developed slowly into a small main-road town and by the early 19th century considerable development had taken place along what is now High Street and Hemnall Street. Up to 25 stagecoaches and mailcoaches a day passed through the town from London en route to Norwich, Cambridge and Bury St. Edmunds. In the early 19th century, 26 coaching inns lined the High Street . A couple survive today as public houses, e.g. The George and Dragon and The Black Lion. The advent of the railways put an end to this traffic and the town declined, but it revived after the extension of a branch line from London in 1865 and the coming of the motor car.

A number of listed buildings, most dating from the 18th century, line both sides of the High Street although many were substantially altered internally during the 19th century. Some of the oldest buildings in the town can be found at each end of the Conservation Area, e.g. Beulah Lodge in Lindsey Street (17th century), and the attractive group of 17th and early 18th century cottages numbered 98-110 (even) High Street.

The original parish church, first mentioned in 1177, was All Saints' in Epping Upland, the nave and chancel of which dates from the 13th Century . In 1833, the 14th century chapel of St John the Baptist in the High Road was rebuilt in the gothic style. It became the parish church of Epping in 1888 and was again rebuilt. A large tower was added in 1909 .

Today

Epping, as it stands today, has grown as a favoured town of residence for those who work in London. Particularly sought after is the hamlet of Coopersale St where house prices have bucked the national trend and held their values. Its market still brings shoppers in from surrounding villages and towns every Monday. Perhaps the most prominent building in Epping these days is the District Council's office with its clock tower, designed to bring balance to the High Street with the old Gothic water tower at the southern end, built in 1872, and St John's Church tower in the centre. The centre of Epping on and around the High Street is a designated conservation area.

Epping's increasing popularity with young professionals and families, along with the Government's East of England Plan has led to the current situation, were Epping is experiencing the biggest threat to-date to its rural status, with a number of sites (the largest being St. Margaret’s Hospital) being proposed for redevelopment into new housing estates.

The various developments would see Epping’s housing stock rise by around 20% and has caused strong opposition from residents who wish to retain Epping’s rural ‘charm’, they state the town does not have the infrastructure to cope with a large influx of new residents and vehicles. Residents point to the regular traffic congestion, lack of parking spaces, low water pressure and total lack of an NHS dentist as examples. This opinion has been echoed by Epping Town Council, who have stated that Epping will not be able to cope with any new housing estates for at least 10 years.

Governance

Epping is part of the Epping Forest parliamentary constituency, represented by Conservative Shadow Minister for Justice Eleanor Laing. From 1924 to 1945, the old Epping division of Essex (which included Woodford, Chingford, Harlow and Loughton as well as Epping) was represented by Winston Churchill. It now sits in the Epping and Theydon Bois division of Essex County Council. The town is divided into two district council wards. Epping Hemnall encompasses most of the town south-east of Epping High Street (B1393) including Ivy Chimneys, Fiddlers Hamlet and Coopersale. The rest of Epping lies in Epping Lindsey and Thornwood ward, as does Thornwood in the adjacent parish of North Weald Bassett. Both wards elect three councillors each.

As well as the County and District Councils, Epping has a Town council consisting of 12 councillors, six each elected from Epping Hemnall and Epping Lindsey wards, one of which is elected Mayor of Epping and acts as Chairman of Council, as well as a civic and ceremonial head of the local community.

Epping Forest District Council’s headquarters are located in Epping High Street.

Geography

Epping lies north-east of the centre of London towards the northern end of Epping Forest on a ridge of land between the River Roding and River Lea valleys. Epping is north of the small village of Theydon Bois.

Most of the population live in the built up area centred on and around the High Street (B1393) and Station Road. About a thousand people live in the small village of Coopersale which, while physically separated from Epping by forest land, is still part of the civil parish. A few dozen households make up the hamlets of Coopersale Street and Fiddlers Hamlet. Much of the eastern part of the present parish was until 1895 in the parish of Theydon Garnon.

The Town lies north-east of junction 26 (Waltham Abbey, Loughton A121) of the M25 motorway and south-west of junction 7 (Harlow) of the M11 motorway.

Transport

Epping is served by a number of bus routes, serving many surrounding towns and villages including Harlow, Thornwood Common, Abridge, Waltham Abbey, and Brentwood. The number 620 bus, operated by First Group, travels daily from Epping to the Anglo European School, Ingatestone.

Epping is served by Transport for London rail services, and is the eastern terminus of the Central Line of the London Underground. The Central Line now terminates at Epping. However prior to 1994, it used to serve stations at North Weald, Blake Hall and Ongar where services terminated. The station has a car park with 508 spaces and is the second largest car park on the London Underground network, a toilet, a ticket machine, a pay phone as well as seats for sitting outside of the station.

Main Line train services are available from a number of neighbouring towns, with the closest stations to Epping being Roydon, Harlow and Chingford, these are served by the West Anglia Main Line and are operated by National Express East Anglia. However there is no direct public transport to Roydon and Chingford stations from Epping, making Harlow station the most accessible.

Bus

{| class="wikitable" |- !Route Number !Route !Via !Operation !Operator |- |7/7A/7B |Ivy Chimneys Spotted Dog / Epping Station to Chelmsford Bus Station |North Weald, Ongar |Mon-Fri. Times |Regal Busways |- |19
20 |Ongar Two Brewers
Epping Station to Harlow Bus Station |North Weald, Epping, Potter Street |Mon-Sat. Route 19 operates Epping-Harlow, route 20 operates Ongar-Epping-Harlow. Also see routes 500/501. |SM Coaches |- |213 |Epping St Margarets Hospital to Waltham Cross Bus Station |Upshire, Waltham Abbey |Mon-Sat. Times. Also see route C3. |Regal Busways |- |381
382 |Toot Hill / Coopersale to Harlow Bus Station |Epping Green, Roydon |Mon-Sat. Also includes service 380 (1 morning journey Ongar-Harlow) and schooldays 383. Times |Regal Busways |- |500
501 |Harlow Bus Station to Epping Station / Brentwood Warley Old Ford |North Weald, Ongar |Mon-Sat (500) Daily (501). Also see routes 19/20. 500 times. 501 times |Arriva Shires & Essex |- |541 |Loughton Station to Epping Hospital (Daily) / Harlow Bus Station (Evenings and Sundays only) |Abridge, Theydon Bois |Daily. Times |Arriva Shires & Essex |- |575 |Epping High Street to Lakeside Shopping Centre |Debden, Romford |Mon-Fri. Times |Blue Triangle |- |C3 |Epping Hospital to Hoddesdon Rye Road |Upshire, Waltham Abbey, Waltham Cross. |Mon-Sat. Also see route 213. Times |- |H1 |Loughton Station to Harlow Bus Station |Debden, North Weald |Saturday. Times |Regal Busways |-

Also see List of bus routes in Essex

Train

{| class="wikitable" |- |Service |Route |- |Central Line |Epping to West Ruislip via Central London |- |Central Line |Epping to Ealing Broadway via Central London

Education

St John's CE Secondary School, the only secondary school in Epping, is now designated as a specialist Engineering College. The school has an active charity fundraising group led by a Student Executive team. In 2006 two students were awarded the Rotary Prize for 'Service to School' by the local Epping Rotary Club.

Coopersale Hall School, a private primary school at the end of Flux's Lane, Epping.

Ivy Chimneys Primary School, a primary school located in Ivy Chimneys, Epping.

Epping Junior School, a primary school located in the heart of Epping's town centre in St John's Road.

Notable residents

Singer Rod Stewart

Ex-professional football player and manager Glenn Hoddle

Actor and television presenter Bradley Walsh

Actor Nick Berry

Ex-professional footballer Dennis Rofe

Lead singer of Depeche Mode Dave Gahan

Former lead singer of rock band Uriah Heep, David Byron

TV presenter and comedian Griff Rhys Jones

Television presenter Ben Shephard

Screenwriter and novelist Julian Mitchell

Writer and illustrator Jill Barklem

Politician Philip Hammond

Supermodel Lisa Snowdon

Comedian Alan Davies

Actress Jessie Wallace

Flautist, Jane Pembleton

Band CRASS

Trivia

Epping's famous weekly market changed form being held every Monday to every Friday from 1575 up until just after the First World War, at which point it returned back to being held on Monday.

* Epping is the starting point for the Essex Way, which is a long distance path between Epping and Harwich.

* Epping is home to the first ever Clinton Cards shop which was opened in 1968.

Twin town

Epping is twinned with:

Eppingen, Germany

Location grid

References

Parish Profile: Epping - information about Epping from the 2001 census (PDF file)

Notes

External links

Epping Forest District Council

Essex County Council

Epping Forest - Information about Epping Forest, which is owned and managed by the City of London Corporation.

Epping Weather - Weather records from the Epping Weather station.

Epping to Ongar - Chronicles the history of the now defunct Ongar branch line.

Epping Forum - Website for Epping residents to discuss local issues.

Plainly Say No - The official website of the campaign against Bellway Homes' purposed development of 351 homes on part of the St. Margaret’s Hospital site.

Photos of Epping and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk

Category:Epping Forest Category:Market towns in Essex Category:Towns in Essex Category:Rod Stewart