Theydon Bois ( /ˌθeɪdən ˈbɔɪz/ or /ˈbɔɪs/) is a large residential village and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located 1.4 miles (2.2 km) south of Epping, 0.85 miles (1.3 km) northeast of Loughton and 6 miles (9.6 km) south of Harlow.
Theydon Bois is within the bounds of the M25 motorway and is situated near to its junction with the M11 motorway. It is served by Theydon Bois tube station on the Central Line and has one primary school, Theydon Bois County Primary School. It lies on the edge of Epping Forest.
Despite the French-looking word "bois", the village name is usually pronounced to rhyme with "choice" or just "boys".
The origin of the village placename comes from the family of Bois (de Bosco) which held the manor in the 12th and 13th centuries.
The second part of the village name has been 'Boys' as far back as can be traced with various spellings. When the Great Eastern Railway built its branch to Ongar, they asked the clerk of the Epping Parish Council, a Mr John Windas, how it should be spelt. As he had some knowledge of French and in view of the village's proximity to the forest, he suggested the best spelling would be 'Bois'.
A notable characteristic of the village is its complete absence of street lighting. Villagers have consistently voted against the installation of such lighting for decades, fearing that it would damage the traditional village ambience and require a rise in council tax.
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Famous quotes containing the word bois:
“This spirit it was which so early carried the French to the Great Lakes and the Mississippi on the north, and the Spaniard to the same river on the south. It was long before our frontiers reached their settlements in the West, and a voyageur or coureur de bois is still our conductor there.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)