ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



both sides of the railway station, dating from about 

 1 850-1900, with building to the north and south 

 mainly of 1920-39. From West Buckhurst Hill the 

 Loughton road and the Epping New Road run north, 

 the London road (via Woodford) runs south and the 

 Chingford road runs west. 



From Chigwell village Vicarage Lane runs south- 

 east to Chigwell Row. Haifa mile north of the village 

 on the High Road are Rolls Park and the site of Barring- 

 tons (see Manors). Opposite Rolls the main road is 

 joined by the road leading from Loughton via Loughton 

 Bridge. North of Rolls the main road is called Abridge 

 Road. Half a mile north-east of Rolls, immediately 

 south of the Roding, is Woolston Hall (see Manors). 

 Pudding Lane and Gravel Lane run south from 

 Abridge Road near Woolston to Chigwell Row. 



Half a mile south of Chigwell village High Road 

 joins Hainault Road which leads to Grange Hill, and 

 then via Fencepiece Road to Ilford. A mile south-west 

 of Chigwell, to the west of High Road is Great West 

 Hatch (see Manors) and near this on the opposite side 

 of the road is the Manor House (formerly the Bowling 

 Green, see Manors). Luxborough Lane, leading from 

 Great West Hatch north-west to Buckhurst Hill, takes 

 its name from an ancient manor in this area. 



High Road leaves the parish just before reaching 

 Woodford Bridge. Manor Road, leading from Wood- 

 ford Bridge to Chigwell Row enters the parish im- 

 mediately to the south of the Manor House. Between 

 Manor Road and High Road at this point there is a 

 small built-up area dating mainly from about 1900. 

 There is recent ribbon-development farther east on 

 Manor Road before the junction with Hainault Road. 

 At Grange Hill there is a housing area of 1920— 39, and 

 in Fencepiece Road there is some similar development 

 and also some houses built since 1945. To the east of 

 Grange Hill is the large Hainault housing estate built 

 since 1945 by the London County Council. Part of this 

 is m Chigwell Urban District, and part in the Boroughs 

 of Ilford and Dagenham. Other houses west of Chig- 

 well Row are mostly modern. From Chigwell Row 

 Romford Road runs south-east to Romford and 

 Dagenham. Manor Road continues east of Chigwell 

 Row to Lambourne End as Lambourne Road. 



Chigwell village, Chigwell Row, Gravel Lane, and 

 Pudding Lane contain a number of houses dating from 

 the 17th and i8th centuries, many of which are 

 described below. 



The railway from London to Epping passes through 

 Buckhurst Hill, where there is a station. A loop line 

 from Woodford to Hainault, Newbury Park, and 

 Leytonstone branches east from the Epping line. There 

 are stations at Roding Valley (South Buckhurst Hill), 

 Chigwell (J mile south of the village), and Grange Hill. 

 Hainault station, which serves the London County 

 Council estate, is just outside Chigwell parish. Both 

 these lines are now electrified and form part of the 

 Central London Line. 



Before the 17th century the repair of the parish 



roads was largely a matter of charity, and many be- 

 quests were made for this purpose, for example, those 

 of Cicely Rypton (1551)* and George Scott (1588).? 

 In 1592 the surveyors of Chigwell presented eight 

 parishioners at Quarter Sessions for refusing to do their 

 statute duty on the roads. 8 In 1682 the Woolston 

 manor court presented the surveyors themselves for 

 failing to repair a footbridge and threatened them with 

 a penalty of £5 if they failed in the future.' 



The most important road in the parish in early times 

 was the London-Abridge road, which was also the 

 main road (via Theydon Bois) to Epping. This follows 

 closely the line of an old Roman road, passing near the 

 site of a Romano-British settlement near Woolston. ■" 

 The charity founded in 1557 and 1562 by Joan 

 Sympson for the repair of this road is described below 

 (see Charities). Her endowment was regularly used 

 for this purpose in the i6th and 17th centuries," but 

 in spite of it ten rods of the road between Chigwell 

 village and Abridge were in a bad condition in 1647." 

 From 1763 the road was maintained by the Middlesex 

 and Essex Highway Trust.'^ In 1866 the parish 

 resumed responsibility for the road.'* In 1668 part of 

 the road between Chigwell and Abridge was diverted 

 near Rolls to enable the owner of that house. Sir Eliab 

 Harvey, to extend his grounds." 



It is remarkable that until 1 890 there was no proper 

 road between Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill. Before 

 that there was only a track running from Luxborough 

 Lane, through the Roding and along Squirrels Lane, 

 which lay approximately on the line of the present 

 Lower Queen's Road, Buckhurst Hill. This track was 

 often obstructed.'^ A 'church way' from Buckhurst 

 Hill to the parish church at Chigwell existed in 1 586. 

 As it included three stiles it was presumably a foot- 

 path." The construction of a new road across the 

 Roding from Buckhurst Hill to Chigwell was discussed 

 by the parish vestry in 1855 and 1 864. Nothing, how- 

 ever, was achieved until in 1 890 the present Roding 

 Lane was opened.'* Before this the people of Buck- 

 hurst Hill could only reach Chigwell, without fording 

 the river, by way of Woodford or by Loughton 

 Bridge. 



Gravel Lane," Pudding (formerly Patsalls) Lane,^" 

 Vicarage Lane,^' and Hainault Road (formerly Fortey 

 or Horn Lane)^^ all figure in records from early times. 

 They were all gated at the forest end to keep out stray 

 animals.23 The gate house at the upper end of Hainault 

 Road still exists. 



The road from Grange Hill to Ilford was not made 

 until 1833, and that from Chigwell Row to Romford 

 about 30 years earher; both were paid for by public 

 subscription.^* In the former case, however, a track 

 must previously have existed, for in 1662 Fortey 

 Lane was described as the road from Chigwell to 

 Barking.25 



Manor Road undoubtedly replaced an ancient 

 track.2* As late as 18 17, however, it was held that it 

 was not a public highway because it was only a 'fair 



' Archd. Essex 1 1 3 Thonder. 

 ' P.C.C. 98 Leicester. 

 » E.R.O., Q/SR 119/29. 

 ' E.R.O., D/DEs M102. 

 ■» E.A.T. N.s. xvii, 188; Notes on a 

 Romano-British Settlement at Ckigivell 

 (Essex Field Club, 1903). 



" E.R. xix, 1—7, 70—77. For the later 

 history of the endowment see Charities. 

 ■2 E.R.O.,Q/SR 332/51. 

 " Essex Highways Repairs Act, 3 Geo. 



Ill, C.58, estabUshed this responsibility. 



14 E.R.O., D/P 1 66/8/1 1. 



'5 Cat. S.P. Dom. 1667-8, 72. The 

 Crown granted Harvey licence to alter the 

 course of Loughton Lane; this must also 

 have involved the alteration of the main 

 road. '<• E.R.O., D/DDa Mi-ii. 



■7 E.R.O., <2/SR 97/24. 



■s E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11. 



■9 Gravelly Lane, 1650: E.R.O., D/DEs 

 Mioi. 



2» P.Af.£'j«x(E.P.N.S.), 55; also Pater- 

 sall Lane, 1447: E.R.O., D/DEs M94.. 



2* Wycaryes Lane, 1492: will of John 

 Hewyt, Archd. Essex 141 Winterborne. 



22 Robert atte Forteye lived at Chigwell 

 1293: E326/885. 



2J Chapman and Andre, Maf of Essex, 

 lyyy, sheet xvi. 



^•t Kent and Essex Mercury, I Sept. 1833. 



" E.R.O., e/SR 392/12. 



2<> E.A.T. N.s. xvii, 233-5. 



19 



