ONGAR HUNDRED 



LOUGHTON 



Sclater (1706-35) and his son William Sclater (1735- 

 78). Each regularly attended the vestry and usually 

 kept the minutes. Mrs. EKzabeth Wroth of Loughton 

 Hall was also a regular attendant until her death in 

 1738, and she frequently signed the minutes first. 

 The parish clerk does not figure prominently in these 

 minutes. There is no evidence that he was paid a cash 

 salary, but there was a piece of land attached to his 

 office.35 All parish expenses except the repair of roads 

 seem to have been normally met out of a single, over- 

 seer's rate, but special church rates were sometimes 

 levied. The overseer's rate was usually dd. or ga'. in 

 the ^i ; a penny rate produced about [^\o. 



One churchwarden was elected by the rector, the 

 other by the parishioners. One usually retired each 

 year but the same man often held office more than once 

 during the period. Most of those who served as 

 churchwardens also served in other years as overseers. 

 There was only one overseer at a time. In several cases 

 a woman acted as overseer. Mrs. Wroth not only held 

 the office but also carried out her duties in person. In 

 1720 the magistrates at Epping objected to the inclu- 

 sion in her account of constables' and surveyors' bills, 

 but the vestry reiterated its support of her action. The 

 surveyors' bill, which comprised most of the money 

 involved, was re-entered in the overseer's account in 

 1722 and was then apparently passed by the magistrates. 

 There is very little other information about the sur- 

 veyors. It is not even clear how many were appointed. 

 Nominations of persons suitable for the office varied 

 between 3 and 6. No surveyors' accounts were entered 

 in the vestry book. 



Between 1720 and 1741 poverty was not a serious 

 problem, and was met mainly by out-relief in cash or 

 in kind. The poor were provided with clothing, 

 medical aid, home-help, and firewood from the forest. 

 In 1723 special allowances were made to victims of 

 smallpox. A few poor children were bound ap- 

 prentices; usually they went to masters within the 

 parish, but on one occasion (1720) the parish granted 

 {/>, to a widow to apprentice her daughter to a cook 

 in Shoreditch. 



It is doubtful whether the parish owned a poor- 

 house at this time. In 1722 it was agreed 'that the 

 overseer of the poor should pay a year's rent ending 

 next Lady Day for the house which Heath lives in, 

 being 50^., and to get it as cheap as the officers can'. 

 In the following year the vestry decided to repair 'the 

 parish house'. Accounts for this work were allowed 

 in 1724 and 1725. In 1726 it was agreed that the 

 parish officers should forthwith provide a workhouse 

 to keep the poor employed, and later in the same year 

 the vestry negotiated with widow Dimion and her son 

 William Rich for the house which she held for hfe, 

 in order to secure it as a workhouse. In 1743 it was 

 agreed that 'Riches house' should be hired as a work- 

 house, which suggests that the negotiations of 1726 had 

 not then been successful. In 1726, however, the parish 

 had acquired a copyhold cottage, formerly the tene- 

 ment of George Baldwin, for the use of the poor. It 

 is fairly certain that this became the poorhouse later 

 known as Baldwins Buildings. 3* 



35 See Charities, below. 



3* Waller, Loughton, i, 1 30. 



3' E.R.O., e/CR i/i, 1/9, 1/12. 



38 In 1844—69 the poor rates for 

 Loughton were usually 2J. in the j^i, 

 producing about ^^00 a year: Waller, 

 Loughton, i, 106. 



3« See Charities. 



♦» E.R.O., D/P 233/8/2. Cf. Waller, 

 Loughton, \, 104-9. S^^ ^'^^ Church, 

 Charities. ♦' See above. 



« E.R.O., T/P 13 i. 



<3 Waller, Loughton, i, 102-4, ii, 47. 



44 E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4. 



Later details of poor relief come from returns to 

 government inquiries.37 In 1776 the poor rate pro- 

 duced ;^28o, in 1783 ;^39i, in 1784 ;^464, and in 

 1785 /^332. Between 1801 and 1821 the sums varied 

 between ^885 and ^^491, being highest in 1804 and 

 lowest in 1802. Not all the money was spent on poor 

 relief. Administrative and legal expenses, church 

 repairs, the county rate for the maintenance of jails 

 and bridges, and allowances to the dependants of 

 militia-men on active service were all met out of these 

 rates. Mihtia allowances were heaviest in 1804 (^^63) 

 and 1 813 (^87). In 18 13-16 inclusive an annual 

 salary of j^20 was paid to the overseer. Between 1801 

 and 1 8 17 the amount actually spent on the poor varied 

 from ^785 (1805) 10^442 (1802). 



In 1836 Loughton became part of the Epping Poor 

 Law Union. 3* Baldwins Buildings became the pro- 

 perty of that union but were purchased by public sub- 

 scription for use as almshouses for the people of 

 Loughton. 3 9 



After 1836 the vestry was mainly concerned with 

 the church, the parish charities, rating assessments, and 

 roads. The vestry book for 1844-69 gives details of 

 these and a few other activities.'*" In 1865, when the 

 forest inclosures were being made, the vestry adopted 

 some of the new roads. In the same year it was stated 

 that a manor court had directed that the building 

 formerly used as the parish cage, situated on the waste, 

 should be removed, and the vestry accepted an offer 

 of ;^7 for the materials of the building. The cage stood 

 opposite the 'King's Head'. In and after 1848 the 

 vestry concerned itself with problems of drainage and 

 sanitation through the formation of a nuisance removal 

 committee.4' 



A parish council was elected for the first time in 

 1 894-5. ■♦^ It became an urban district council in 

 1900. 



There is said to have been a school in Loughton in 

 about 175 1, which had existed for many 

 SCHOOLS years. In 1761 the curate. Pierce Dod, 

 obtained subscriptions from local persons 

 and opened a school. Subscriptions soon decreased, 

 however, so that pupils remained few, only 13 in 1766, 

 and teachers were poorly paid. Gradually, with the 

 aid of an annual sermon, the school's position was 

 improved,'*^ and in 1807 it had 20 pupils. These were 

 all taught reading and writing and the girls were also 

 learning housecraft, in accordance with the original 

 rules of 1761.** By this time local interest in the school ■ 

 was increasing. In 18 10 James Powell gave ;{^io to 

 introduce the monitorial system, and a few years later 

 two new schoolrooms and two teachers' houses were 

 built at a total cost of ^^500.45 In 18 17 the school was 

 united with the National Society, and the number of 

 pupils increased rapidly to about 100.46 



The population of Loughton was growing rapidly 

 at this time and new private schools were being estab- 

 lished for children of all classes. The National School 

 also expanded. The number of boys attending it 

 increased from 48 in 1833 to 75 in 1846-7, and o'f 

 girls from 58 to 85.'" This was made possible by the 

 enlargement of the building soon after 1834,** and 



-4; Retm. Educ. 



819). «(0- 

 1828. 



45 Waller, op. cit. 102 



Poor, H.C. 224, p. 261 (i 



4' Nat. Soc. Rep. 1820, 



47 Educ. Enquiry Ahstr. 

 (1835), xli;E.R.O., D/P 

 Soc. Enquiry into Ch. Schs. 



48 E.R.'O., D/P 30/28/19. 



lOZO. 



H.C. 62, p. 282 

 30/28/19; A^a/. 

 1846-7, 12-13. 



125 



