LOUGHTON AND DISTRICT HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER 194 SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2012 Price 40p, free to members www.loughtonhistoricalsociety.org.uk Golden Jubilee: 50th Season Warren Pond, Epping Forest – c1900 This is a large pond just south of the Hunting Lodge. Probably a gravel pit that has been in existence since at least 1878. Our Society came into being on Tuesday, 16 50 years, and still going strong October 1962 at a meeting of a local history group (formed earlier) held at Bedford House, Westbury On 16 October, 1962, two significant events took Road, Buckhurst Hill. After a talk by John G O’Leary, place. The Cuban crisis began when John Fitzgerald FSA, FLA (Chief Librarian at Dagenham), on ‘The Kennedy became aware of nuclear missiles in Cuba, Study of Local History’, it was agreed to form the and, at a historic meeting in Buckhurst Hill, the ‘Chigwell Local History Society’, the name indicating Chigwell Local History Society came into being – in that its range should cover the whole of the then this issue Ian Strugnell describes both those early Chigwell Urban District. The founding chairman, days and the decades that followed. David Bowen, was Warden of Bedford House Now, 50 years later, in our Golden Jubilee year, (Buckhurst Hill and Knighton Community Centre); we can celebrate that the planet hasn’t blown itself Clive Osborne of Loughton was secretary. A treasurer up, and that the now renamed history society (Henry Gower) and committee of six members were thrives under the banner at the head of this appointed, and at the third meeting (13 December) Newsletter . there was a ‘Local History Quiz’; Arthur Robinson had This first issue of the new season has been produced the first ‘News Letter’ in November. expanded by four pages, covers our first 50 years, By September 1963 the Society had 49 members, 9 and includes a few articles from past numbers. meetings had been arranged up to April 1964, and in We hope all members and other readers enjoy October it was agreed to publish the News Letter the 2012/13 season. quarterly in November, February, May and August. In March 1964 the Society arranged a conference of Essex historical societies which resulted in the The L & DHS and its formation of the Essex Archaeological and Historical antecedents – 50 years Congress (publishers of The Essex Journal ). Meetings were by then held in Loughton Library (in The Drive). IAN STRUGNELL Membership had passed the 100 mark by April 1966, and the well-attended lectures given by invited This is not a detailed history, but rather a summary speakers and members held in the ensuing years of the main events and some of the people involved. covered a wide range of subjects, not all specific to this 1 area. There were also group visits to places of with David Wilkinson as editor, it changed to two interest, although support for these could be foolscap sheets, folded to produce 8 smaller pages. variable. Another change to a single A4 sheet produced on a David Bowen retired as chairman at the May word-processor and photocopied (double-sided) came 1970 Annual General Meeting and was succeeded by in December 1978, lasting until May 1981. It then David Wilkinson, who had been a committee reverted to a folded format giving 4 pages member from the start and vice-chairman. photocopied onto a single A4 sheet. In November 1990 Subsequent chairmen’s terms of office tended to be the then editor Vic Barham suffered a stroke, and only a few years for various reasons, but Chris Pond Eddie Dare took over in 1991. The format eventually has held the post since 1994. settled at four pages photocopied on a single A3 sheet The Society’s first printed publication was a 48- folded, sometimes with another A4 sheet stapled page A5 size booklet of ‘Transactions’, produced by inside to give 6 pages, and illustrations became more the Kingfisher Press of Chingford in December 1970; frequent. a second similar booklet was published in 1974. Eddie decided in 1997 that he could no longer Since then, publications have been more precisely continue and the Committee kept it going until Ted titled and sold to the public through Loughton Martin, with a lifetime of experience in the printing Bookshop and elsewhere. trade, produced the first ‘properly printed’ issue in 1981 brought a change of name to the Chigwell & 1999. By the time Ted moved away from this area in Loughton History Society, although the reasons for 2006 it had enlarged to eight pages, which has since this remain unclear. It coincided with the success of become 16 in Terry Carter’s hands. Printing the Society’s stand at the Loughton Residents technology has changed, making some colour Association 4 July ‘Loughton Day’ in the Lopping illustrations economically possible for the small print Hall, which brought more members, and the start of run involved. The content has always been wide- a project to record the grave inscriptions in Chigwell ranging, reflecting members’ interests, although the (St Mary’s) churchyard. Forest is an almost perennial subject. David Wilkinson became secretary during the Although the Society has never had any official Society’s twenty-first year (1983–84) in succession to standing with local government, over the years Clive Osborne; his reports to Annual General members have made representations about, or Meetings noted how few members engaged in brought public attention to, development proposals sustained research, but he was rather modest about which would affect buildings or other aspects of this his own achievements. The Society was granted area. A notable success was Alderton Hall in the mid- ‘Charity Status’ on 28 June 1983. 1960s, but some other ‘vandalism’ could not be Henry Gower retired as treasurer in 1988, surely stopped. From its very beginnings, the Society’s the longest serving holder of that important post. objects have included the promotion of interest in local The 1993–94 season saw the return after many history and it is gratifying when efforts in this years’ gap of serving refreshments at meetings (by direction are rewarded. then settled in the Wesley Hall for two years), and with increasing numbers attending there was more A nostalgic, even poignant, past item selected by Ian: work in setting out and putting away the chairs. The move to the Methodist Church in 1996 was a great From Chigwell Local History relief in this and other matters; the Society adopted its present name in that year ‘to better reflect the Society News Letter No 15, May actual membership’. 1966 Although John Howes had taken over as (acting) secretary at short notice in 1994 following David It is often said that the older one grows the more one tends Wilkinson’s serious road accident, he soon made his to look back, comparing the present with the past, generally mark by introducing the programme leaflet in its unfavourably. It is natural for memory to gloss over present folded format (from 1998 incorporating the unpleasantries and recall only the pleasant things. membership application/renewal form) which Perhaps therefore, I may be forgiven if, in this brief suited the leaflet racks then available in local ‘flash-back’ to the days of my youth in Buckhurst Hill, I give libraries. It therefore also served as publicity and the impression that everything was just fine. probably helped in maintaining membership Gradually the face of our locality is undergoing change. numbers. John was able to hand over to Richard The fields, where once I delighted to roam, are now housing Morris in a more orderly way in 2002. estates. Walking was one of my favourite pastimes, cycling In late 2003 the Society acquired its own internet coming a near second. From Buckhurst Hill I would trudge across country to Hainault Forest and Abridge and beyond. presence through an existing Theydon Bois website, There were few buildings other than farmhouses. I was with much technical assistance from there. It has frequently guilty of trespass. Farmers would sometimes greatly expanded the ‘& District’ part of our name strongly object, but I soon found that a ‘soft answer turneth inasmuch as Newsletter contributions have come away wrath’. from as far away as Australia. A long walk produces a healthy appetite and a visit to a The Newsletter itself has also seen several wayside tea-shop would become a need. For a shilling I changes (and editors) since it started as a stencil could regale myself on a pot of tea, an egg with plenty of duplicated quarto sheet (both sides, soon increased new bread and butter, watercress, jam, and home-made to four sides on two sheets for most issues). In 1975, 2 cakes. Truly, a meal in which even Lucullus would have linked the six places (except, perhaps, market gardening, but rejoiced. there were plenty of other places that supplied London with As now, I could wander at will in the Forest, but, such produce). One at least of the early directors, Robert unlike the present, it was a quiet place to be in. One’s ears Diggles, lived in the area, at Cheshunt, but it is not easy to were not assailed by the ubiquitous cacophony of sounds see this as a valid reason for opening branches. The Imperial produced by a seemingly endless stream of internal were certainly breaking new ground, for every one of their combustion engines. Over the years I have explored the country agencies was the first bank in its locality. Forest from end to end and have never tired of it, but it In 1893 the Imperial Bank Limited merged with the seems to have lost that sublime feeling of ‘awayness’ it London Joint-Stock Bank Limited who up to then had had once had.