ONGAR HUNDRED 



LAMBOURNE 



of houses on both sides of the main road at Abridge is 

 shown on a map of 1695.5 The oldest surviving build- 

 ings appear to be the house on the east side of the main 

 road, immediately north of the post-office, and Brighty's 

 shop on the opposite side just west of the bridge. Both 

 probably date from the early i6th century and in each 

 case there is an oversailing gable-end facing the road at 

 one end of the front. At Brighty's shop the plaster was 

 stripped from the gable about 30 years ago,* revealing 

 rounded joist ends, heavy closely-spaced studs, and 

 curved braces. The other house, formerly the post- 

 office, but now a butcher's shop, remains plastered but 

 is probably of similar construction. The Sycamores, on 

 the south side of the road near the east end of the village, 

 was a house possibly of similar date, but rebuilding has 

 destroyed all its old features except the brick fireplaces 

 forming the base of its central chimney. Other build- 

 ings in the village probably incorporate parts of timber 

 structures of the 17th century or earlier. 



The deeds of White Hall go back to 1729.^ It has 

 a plastered two-story Georgian front, considerably 

 altered, with a contemporary doorcase. The gabled 

 house east of it may also date from the early i8th cen- 

 tury, and the buildings flanking Brighty's shop are 

 probably of similar date. The 'Maltster's Arms' and 

 the two cottages adjoining it form an attractive 18th- 

 century group. They have weather-boarded fronts and 

 the inn has a pedimented doorcase with engaged Tuscan 

 columns. The slightly later house to the east retains a 

 small bowed shop window. The post-office, which has 

 a symmetrical weather-boarded front, is of the late 

 1 8th century. 



In 1848 it was stated that many good houses had 

 been built in Abridge in the past 30 years.* Maryon 

 Terrace is a red brick row of eight small cottages with 

 round-headed doorways. It is dated 28 January 1 841, 

 but the central cottages may be older. Gould's Cottages 

 are of gault brick and date from about 1840. They 

 form a terrace of five houses, of which the central has 

 a pedimented gable. The Parish Room, formerly a 

 Congregational chapel, was built in 1833.' Holy 

 Trinity Church, built in 1 836, is a chapel of ease to the 

 parish church.'" The 'Blue Boar' is also of mid-i9th- 

 century date; it has a gault brick symmetrical front. 

 The 'White Hart' was rebuilt on its ancient site in the 

 late 19th century. The school, at the north end of Hoe 

 Lane, dates from 1878." On the north side of the main 

 road west of Abridge there is considerable 20th-century 

 building, which includes thirteen council houses. North 

 of the school are about twenty council houses. There 

 are also four pairs on the north side of the road just east 

 of the village. The Evangelical Free Church, Maryon's 

 Chase, dates from I924.'2 Hillman's Cottages, six pairs 

 on the main road i mile east of the village, were built 

 about 1935 for employees at the neighbouring airfield. '3 

 The Pancroft estate, east Abridge, includes a group of 

 prefabricated houses and fifty post-1945 council houses. 



Hoe Lane runs from Abridge south-east to Lam- 

 bourne End, passing to the east of St. John's Farm (see 

 below, manor of St. John's) and to the west of Bishops 

 Hall (see below). In this lane are some larger houses 

 with good gardens, built after the break-up in 1929 of 

 the Bishops Hall estate. On the road J mile south of 



5 Camden's Britamia (ed. Gibson), p. " See below. Schools. 



340 (Map by Rbt. Morden). 

 ' Inf. from Mr. Bayles, owner. 

 ' Ibid. 8 H^hite's Dir. Essex (184.8). 

 ' See below, Nonconformity. 

 '<> See below, Church. 



" See below. " See below. 



'* Inf. from Mr. D. W. Hutchings. 

 'S Inf. from the caretaker. 

 ■6 See below, Manor. 

 " See below, Church. 



Bishops Hall are Augusta Cottages and Emmanuel 

 Chapel. At Lambourne End Hoe Lane is joined by 

 Manor Road, which leads to Chigwell Row, and also 

 by the road running east to Knolls Hill in Stapleford 

 Abbots. Near Blue House Farm the latter road is 

 joined by Hook Lane, which runs north-east to Staple- 

 ford Abbots church. Three farm-houses at Lambourne 

 End are timber-framed and probably date from the 

 17th century. Harmes Farm has a gabled cross-wing at 

 the south-west end. Forest Lodge Farm has two massive 

 external chimneys with diagonal shafts. Blue House 

 Farm also has diagonal shafts to its central chimney. 

 Church House, opposite Forest Lodge, dates from 

 about 1 67 1, with an extension of about 1 8 1 o (see below. 

 Charities). Lambourne Square, consisting of two rows 

 of cottages, one of mid-i9th-century date and one 

 earlier, was built for workers at the neighbouring Banks 

 Farm.'* Young's Farm was demolished about 1935 

 and some of the buildings converted into recreation 

 rooms for the Fairbairn and Mansfield House Boys' 

 Clubs.'s In the grounds are a camping site and an open- 

 air swimming-pool. The East End Mission playing- 

 fields on the opposite side of the road have a cement- 

 rendered pavilion with a flat roof, also dating from the 

 1930's. There is some scattered modern development 

 on the north side of Manor Road, opposite Hainault 

 Forest. Park Square is a three-sided court consisting of 

 ten council houses. There are also four pairs of council 

 houses on the north side of the road east of Forest Lodge. 

 The Parish Room at Lambourne End is a small wooden 

 building probably of mid-l9th-century date. 



New Farm is J mile south-east of Abridge. It is a 

 red-brick house dated 1744. Although considerably 

 altered it has brickwork detail similar to the Old Rectory 

 (see below) on a much smaller scale. Lambourne Hall"* 

 and the parish church are J mile south-east of New 

 Farm. The site of the former Dews Hall (see below) 

 adjoins Bishops Hall to the east. Bishops Moat, the 

 original site of Bishops Hall, is i mile east of Dews 

 Hall. A mile east of Abridge is Lambourne Place, for- 

 merly the rectory.'^ Pryors and Patch Park (formerly 

 Hunts) are near Lambourne Place to the east.'* 

 Arnolds, formerly Arneways (see below) is on the main 

 road in the extreme north-west corner of the parish. 

 Opposite it is a civil airfield. 



The road system in this parish has never been very 

 satisfactory. There has never been a direct road from 

 Abridge to the parish church. Until about 1800 ther 

 was no road from Lambourne End to Chigwell Row. 

 In the north and centre of the parish the roads were 

 often flooded in wet weather." The most serious flood- 

 ing occurred on the main London road, between Arnolds 

 and Abridge. About i mile west of Arnolds the Roding 

 flows beside the road and is joined by a stream which 

 rises near Lambourne Hall. It was at this junction 

 between the river and the stream that flooding was 

 worst. In 1575-6 the road from Arnolds to London 

 was 'in decay', and the parish was distrained for the 

 condition of 'Arnesway' Bridge.^o This was no doubt 

 a bridge over the stream at the junction. The same 

 road was the subject of discussion in the parish vestry 

 in 1727.2' The lord of the manor of Lambourne had 

 apparently been obliged to keep a horse- and foot- 

 's See below, Pryors, Hunts. 

 " In 1738, for example, the parish 

 suffered from severe floods: E.R.O., D/P 

 181/8/2. 

 " E.R.O., Q'/SR 60/57, cf. 62/53, 54. 

 " E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1. 



73 



