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This article is about the British town. For the American author, see Randy Charles Epping. For other places with the same name, see Epping (disambiguation). Coordinates: 51°42′01″N 0°06′31″E / 51.7004°N 0.1087°E
Epping is a small market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north-east of Loughton, 4.6 miles (7.4 km) south of Harlow and 10.9 miles (17.5 km) north-west of Brentwood. The town retains a rural appearance being surrounded by Epping Forest and working farmland, and has many very old buildings, many of which are Grade I and II listed buildings. The town also retains its weekly market which is held every Monday and dates back to 1253[2]. In 2001 the parish had a population of 11,047[1] although this has increased marginally since then. Epping has been twinned with the German town of Eppingen in north-west Baden-Württemberg since 1981[3]. Although the once-famous Epping Butter, which was highly sought after in the 18th and 19th centuries, is no longer made, the equally well-known Epping sausages are still manufactured by Church's Butchers who have been trading on the same site since 1888.
[edit] History"Epinga", a small community of a few scattered farms and a chapel on the edge of the forest, is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. However, the settlement referred to is known today as Epping Upland. It is not known for certain when the present day Epping was first settled. By the mid 12th century a settlement known as Epping Heath (later named Epping Street), had developed south of Epping Upland as a result of vigorous clearing of the forest for cultivation. In 1253 King Henry III conveyed the right to hold a weekly market in Epping Street[citation needed] which helped to establish the town as a centre of trade and has continued to the present day. The linear village of Epping Heath developed slowly into a small main-road town and by the early 19th century considerable development had taken place along what is now High Street and Hemnall Street. Up to 25 stagecoaches and mailcoaches a day passed through the town from London en route to Norwich[citation needed] Cambridge and Bury St. Edmunds. By the end of the 19th century 26 coaching inns lined the High Street[citation needed] A couple survive today as public houses, e.g. The George and Dragon and The Black Lion. The advent of the railways put an end to this traffic and the town declined, but it revived after the extension of a branch line from London in 1865 and the coming of the motor car. A number of listed buildings, most dating from the 18th century, line both sides of the High Street although many were substantially altered internally during the 19th century. Some of the oldest buildings in the town can be found at each end of the Conservation Area, e.g. Beulah Lodge in Lindsey Street (17th century), and the attractive group of 17th and early 18th century cottages numbered 98-110 (even) High Street.[4] [edit] TodayEpping, as it stands today, has grown as a favoured town of residence for those who work in London. Particularly sought after is the hamlet of Coopersale St where house prices have bucked the national trend and held their values. Its market still brings shoppers in from surrounding villages and towns every Monday. Perhaps the most prominent building in Epping these days is the District Council's office with its clock tower, designed to bring balance to the High Street with the old Gothic water tower at the southern end, built in 1872, and St John's Church tower in the centre. The centre of Epping on and around the High Street is a designated conservation area.[5] Epping's increasing popularity with young professionals and families, along with the Government's East of England Plan has led to the current situation, were Epping is experiencing the biggest threat to-date to its rural status, with a number of sites (the largest being St. Margaret’s Hospital) being proposed for redevelopment into new housing estates. The various developments would see Epping’s housing stock rise by around 20% and has caused strong opposition from residents who wish to retain Epping’s rural ‘charm’, they state the town does not have the infrastructure to cope with a large influx of new residents and vehicles. Residents point to the regular traffic congestion, lack of parking spaces, low water pressure and total lack of an NHS dentist as examples. This opinion has been echoed by Epping Town Council, who have stated that Epping will not be able to cope with any new housing estates for at least 10 years.[6] Further to the threat that new housing developments bring to the town, a new threat has arisen recently. Local government plans have been announced to locate a large number of gypsy camp sites in and around Epping.[7][8] [edit] GovernanceEpping is part of the Epping Forest parliamentary constituency, represented by Conservative Shadow Minister for Justice Eleanor Laing. From 1924 to 1945, the old Essex Epping division (which included Woodford, Chingford, Harlow and Loughton as well as Epping) was represented by Winston Churchill. It now sits in the Epping and Theydon Bois division of Essex County Council. The town is divided into two district council wards. Epping Hemnall encompasses most of the town south-east of Epping High Street (B1393) including Ivy Chimneys, Fiddlers Hamlet and Coopersale. The rest of Epping lies in Epping Lindsey and Thornwood ward, as does Thornwood in the adjacent parish of North Weald Bassett. Both wards elect three councillors each. As well as the County and District Councils, Epping has a Town council consisting of 12 councillors, six each elected from Epping Hemnall and Epping Lindsey wards, one of which is elected Mayor of Epping and acts as Chairman of Council, as well as a civic and ceremonial head of the local community. The current Mayor of Epping, Councillor Ben Murphy, is thought to be the youngest Mayor-elect in the UK at just 24 years old [9]. Epping Forest District Council’s headquarters are located in Epping High Street.[10] [edit] GeographyEpping lies 17 miles (27.4 km) north-east of the centre of London towards the northern end of Epping Forest on a ridge of land between the River Roding and River Lea valleys. Epping is north of the small village of Theydon Bois. Most of the population live in the built up area centred on and around the High Street (B1393) and Station Road. About a thousand people live in the small village of Coopersale which, while physically separated from Epping by forest land, is still part of the civil parish. A few dozen households make up the hamlets of Coopersale Street and Fiddlers Hamlet. Much of the eastern part of the present parish was until 1895 in the parish of Theydon Garnon. The Town lies north-east of junction 26 (Waltham Abbey, Loughton A121) of the M25 motorway and south-west of junction 7 (Harlow) of the M11 motorway. [edit] Transport Epping is served by a number of bus routes, serving many surrounding towns and villages including Harlow, Thornwood Common, Abridge, Waltham Abbey, and Brentwood. The number 620 bus, operated by First Group, travels daily from Epping to the Anglo European School, Ingatestone. Epping is served by London Transport rail services, and is the eastern terminus of the Central Line of the London Underground. The Central Line now terminates at Epping. However prior to 1994, it used to serve stations at North Weald, Blake Hall and Ongar where services terminated. The station has a car park with 508 spaces and is the second largest car park on the London Underground network[11], a toilet, a ticket machine, a pay phone as well as seats for sitting outside of the station. Main Line train services are available from a number of neighbouring towns, with the closest stations to Epping being Roydon, Harlow and Chingford, these are served by the West Anglia Main Line and are operated by National Express East Anglia. However there is no direct public transport to Roydon and Chingford stations from Epping, making Harlow station the most accessible. [edit] Bus
Also see List of bus routes in Essex [edit] Train
[edit] Education
[edit] Notable residents
[edit] Trivia
[edit] Twin town[edit] Location grid
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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