History of Loughton - Medieval Era

Medieval Era

Loughton's growth since Domesday has largely been at the expense of the forest. Expansion towards the Roding was not possible over the marshy meadows, but there were gradual encroachments into the forest to the north and west of the village; it should be remembered that until recently, while the forest trees were themselves a valuable resource, the open spaces and scrub which are a natural part of any forest were simply regarded as 'waste', which ought to be taken into cultivation. Loughton landlords and villagers both saw fit to enclose and build upon forest 'waste', but the trickle of forest destruction threatened to turn into a flood in the 19th century, once royalty had lost interest in protecting the woodland as a hunting reserve, and more particularly after the railway arrived in Loughton in 1856. As the forest disappeared, some Loughton villagers defied landowners to practice their ancient right to lop wood, and the intelligentsia began to express alarm at the loss of such a significant natural resource. A series of court cases, one brought by the Loughton labourer, Thomas Willingale, was needed before Epping Forest was finally saved in 1878 for the enjoyment of everyone.

Loughton's High Road in the Middle Ages ran to Woodford to the south, but to the north, surrounded by Forest, it petered out, with footpaths running down to the Roding from Buckhurst Hill and to Chigwell. However, between 1611–1622, the High Road was extended via what is now Church Hill and Goldings Hill to Epping, and this quickly became the main coaching route from London to East Anglia. However, it remained a difficult route for horse-drawn traffic, because of steep hills, so in 1830-34 the Epping New Road was constructed. As early as 1404 the High Road was mentioned in a court action, when one John Lucteborough was prosecuted for throwing the rubbish from his ditch outside Richard Algor's gate on the King's highway. Richard Algor's house survived in part, concealed by much overbuilding, until 1963 near the junction of Algers Road and High Road. Many of Loughton's other roads are of ancient origin, such as Rectory Lane, Traps Hill, and Smarts Lane.

Loughton Hall has had a fascinating history. Mary Tudor was its owner two months before she became queen in 1553. In 1578 it passed to the Wroth family, who were prominent in public and court life; they held it until 1738. Lady Mary Wroth (1586-c1652) of Loughton Hall was a member of a glittering Jacobean literary circle and her book Urania was the first full-length novel to be written by an English woman. The 16th century house, visited by James I, Anne of Denmark, Ben Jonson and Sir Robert Sidney, the younger brother of Sir Philip Sidney and the father of Mary. Sir Philip died some months before Mary Wroth was born. He therefore never visited Loughton Hall. The original Loughton Hall burnt down in a spectacular fire in 1836, to be replaced by the present building, which the Reverend J. W. Maitland had built in 1878. The Maitland family held the manor for much of the 19th century, and dominated parish life. As major landowners, they were bound up with the controversy over the future of the Forest. In 1944 the house and estate were sold to the London County Council. A London County Council estate was built on the land, which surprisingly was called the Debden estate rather than the Loughton Hall estate, and the house was given over to community use. From 1948 until the early 1950s Loughton Hall was an "Infants School" catering for 5 to 8 year olds.

Agriculture and forestry were the most important local trades until well into the 20th century. There were other industries however, on a small-scale. As the place-names Tile-Kiln Farm and Potters Close testify, there were brick, tile and pottery manufacturing sites in the area from the 15th century onwards. In Loughton, these were located on Goldings Hill, Englands Lane, Nursery Road, between Albion Hill and Warren Hill, and York Hill.

Loughton's High Road was defined for centuries by the two historic inns at either end, the Crown and the King's Head. There were a few shops in between, and a cottage or two, but the bustling shopping centre we see today has only really come about since 1918.

However, the area was attractive to London merchants and business-people from the 17th century onwards as it provided the advantages both of a country retreat together with proximity to London; Loughton is less than 12 miles (19 km) from Charing Cross. But even now, this is not suburbia; the stout fences and high holly hedges of many houses recall a time not so long ago when it was necessary to keep out straying cattle and deer.

Dick Turpin (1705–1739), the notorious highwayman, made his mark in the area during his life of crime. In about 1734, the Widow Shelley, living in a farm on Traps Hill, was supposedly roasted over her own fire by Turpin until she confessed to where her money was hidden. In fact, his last spell of 'going straight' before he became a professional thief appears to have been in Buckhurst Hill, where between 1733-4 he was a butcher. The area was no doubt convenient for deer-poaching, another of his 'trades'. Fear of his ruthless style of burglary led householders in Loughton to build 'Turpin traps', heavy wooden flaps let down over the top of the stairs and jammed in place with a pole against the upstairs ceiling. Some of these survived until the middle of the 19th century.

Although in excess of 50 dwellings over 200 years old remain, most of the grand houses built in the 17th and 18th centuries have gone. These were country retreats for wealthy City merchants and courtiers, but the gradual urbanisation of the area has left few of them intact. Loughton Hall and Alderton Hall in Loughton survive. A second wave of grand Victorian edifices, built by nouveau riche industrialists and magnates, survives in better order. North Haven and Loughton Lodge are examples. Here too, though, there have been losses, such as Brooklyn in Loughton, the home of the influential Gould family, demolished to make way for Loughton Library. These houses required armies of domestic servants, which in turn attracted more people to the area.