History of Loughton facts for kids
Loughton is a town in Essex, England. People first settled here about 2,500 years ago. The earliest records of modern Loughton are from the Anglo-Saxon era, when it was called Lukintone. After the Norman conquest, it became part of Waltham Abbey's land. It is even mentioned in the Domesday Book as Lochintuna.
Loughton started to grow a lot in the 1600s. It became a popular stop for coaches on the new main road to Cambridge and East Anglia. Because it had good transport links and was close to both London and Epping Forest, rich Londoners loved to have homes here.
Most of the big houses from the 1600s and 1700s are gone now. Much of Loughton's housing today was built in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The town grew even more in the 1930s. A big reason for Loughton's popularity was the arrival of railways in the 1850s. A direct train line to central London made it easy for city people to visit Epping Forest for day trips. This line is still part of the Central line on the London Underground today.
Loughton was a trendy place for artists and scientists in Victorian and Edwardian times. Many important residents were also social reformers. The area of Debden was built after World War II. It helped solve London's housing shortage in the 1940s.
Today, Loughton still feels like a mix of town and countryside. This means it remains a well-off area. The town became nationally known when it was shown in the 2002 TV show Essex Wives.
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Ancient Times in Loughton
Iron Age Forts: Loughton Camp
Loughton has a very long history of people living here. On a high hill in Epping Forest is Loughton Camp. This is an Iron Age fort built around 500 BC. Loughton Camp is shaped like an oval. It is protected by a single earth wall that encloses about 12 acres (49,000 m2).
Long ago, this Camp would have had a great view down the Roding valley. But by 1872, thick bushes covered it, and it was completely forgotten. A Mr. B.H. Cowper rediscovered it that year. Later digs found Iron Age pottery inside the walls. These camps were likely places of safety and strongholds, not places where people lived all the time.
Loughton Camp is near Ambresbury Banks, another Iron Age fort. These two forts were once thought to be built one after the other. But now, experts believe they faced each other across a natural boundary. This boundary was later used for the borders between different areas. It is thought that these forts were in separate territories. They likely acted as huge markers defining the border between two groups.
Roman Settlements in the Valley
There were many Roman settlements along the Roding valley. A small Roman road from London to Dunmow followed the river's path. There was a settlement at Little London on the Chigwell side of the river. Digs show this might have been a relay station. Here, official Roman travelers could change horses and rest. Little London might have been the town of Durolitum mentioned in old Roman travel guides. This name means 'the fort on the ford', which fits the area. There was also a large Roman building on the Loughton side of the Roding, probably a big farmhouse.
Anglo-Saxon Beginnings: Lukintune
In the 400s, Anglo-Saxon invaders created new territories. One of these was the Kingdom of Essex. In the Loughton area, daily life probably continued as before. The forest might have grown as fewer people lived there due to wars and sickness.
Modern Loughton began in this Saxon period. It was known as Lukintune. This Anglo-Saxon name means ‘the farm of Luhha'. People lived in scattered groups. Lukintune was in the area of the later Loughton Hall. Two other small villages were around Alderton Hall and Debden House.
In 1062, Harold Godwinson (who later became King Harold II) rebuilt Waltham Abbey. Edward the Confessor gave land to the Abbey, including Debden and Alderton Hall in Loughton. Edward the Confessor's document from 1062 is the first written proof of the settlement of Lukinton. The old borders of the Debden land are mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon document. One feature mentioned is saeteres burh - robbers' camp. This might have been the Anglo-Saxon name for Loughton Camp.
Loughton in the Middle Ages
Norman Times: Domesday Book
After the Norman conquest, the Domesday Book was created in 1087. It gives two pictures of life in the area. One is from 1066 under Edward the Confessor. The other is from 1086 under William the Conqueror. In this book, Loughton is written as Lochintuna.
The Domesday Book recorded how much tax every piece of land should pay. It is a very helpful guide to the population and their resources. Loughton was split into eight separate areas. Five were owned by Waltham Abbey. Other landowners included Robert Gernon and Peter of Valognes. The king himself also owned some land. There were 88 heads of families across both Chigwell and Loughton. The land must have had many trees. It was said to be able to support 1,870 pigs. This was a way to measure the size of the forest. There were also 76 acres (310,000 m2) of meadows, likely next to the Roding river. These meadows were fertile but often flooded. Animals included 28 cattle, 48 sheep, 48 pigs, and 15 goats.
Saving Epping Forest
Loughton has grown a lot since the Domesday Book. This growth often happened by taking land from the forest. It was hard to expand towards the Roding river because of marshy meadows. But people slowly moved into the forest to the north and west. In the past, open areas in the forest were just seen as 'waste' land. People thought this land should be used for farming.
Landowners and villagers in Loughton both took over and built on forest 'waste'. But this slow destruction of the forest became a big problem in the 1800s. This was especially true after the railway came to Loughton in 1856. As the forest disappeared, some Loughton villagers fought against landowners. They wanted to keep their old right to cut wood. People also started to worry about losing such an important natural area.
Several court cases were needed to save Epping Forest. One was started by a Loughton worker named Thomas Willingale. Finally, in 1878, Epping Forest was saved for everyone to enjoy.
Loughton's Roads and Inns
In the Middle Ages, Loughton's High Road went south to Woodford. But to the north, it ended in the forest. Footpaths led down to the Roding river. However, between 1611 and 1622, the High Road was extended to Epping. This quickly became the main coach route from London to East Anglia.
It was still a hard road for horse-drawn vehicles because of steep hills. So, a new road, the Epping New Road, was built between 1830 and 1834. As early as 1404, the High Road was mentioned in a court case. Someone was punished for throwing rubbish onto the King's highway. Many of Loughton's other roads are very old, like Rectory Lane and Traps Hill.
Loughton Hall: A Historic Home
Loughton Hall has a very interesting past. Mary Tudor owned it just two months before she became queen in 1553. In 1578, it went to the Wroth family. They were important in public life and at court. They owned it until 1738. Lady Mary Wroth (born 1586) of Loughton Hall was a famous writer in the Jacobean period. Her book Urania was the first full-length novel written by an English woman.
The original Loughton Hall from the 1500s burned down in 1836. The current building was built in 1878. The Maitland family owned the manor for much of the 1800s. They were very important in the local area. In 1944, the house and land were sold to the London County Council. A new housing estate was built on the land, called the Debden estate. Loughton Hall itself was used for community activities. From 1948 to the early 1950s, Loughton Hall was an Infants School for children aged 5 to 8.
Old Industries and Famous Visitors
Farming and forestry were the most important local jobs until the 1900s. But there were other small industries. Place names like Tile-Kiln Farm show that bricks, tiles, and pottery were made here from the 1400s. These sites were in areas like Goldings Hill and York Hill.
For centuries, Loughton's High Road was marked by two old inns: the Crown and the King's Head. There were only a few shops and cottages in between. The busy shopping center we see today has really only grown since 1918.
Loughton was attractive to London merchants and business people from the 1600s. It offered the benefits of a country escape but was still close to London. Loughton is less than 12 miles (19 km) from Charing Cross. Even now, the strong fences and tall holly hedges of many houses remind us of a time when people needed to keep out wandering cattle and deer.
Dick Turpin (1705–1739), the famous highwayman, was known in this area. Around 1734, he supposedly tortured a woman living on Traps Hill to find her hidden money. In fact, he worked as a butcher in Buckhurst Hill before becoming a full-time thief. The area was good for deer-poaching, another of his activities. People in Loughton were so afraid of his robberies that they built 'Turpin traps'. These were heavy wooden flaps that could be lowered over stairs to block them. Some of these traps lasted until the mid-1900s.
Many grand houses built in the 1600s and 1700s are now gone. These were country homes for rich London merchants. But as the area became more urban, few remained. Loughton Hall and Alderton Hall still survive. A second group of grand Victorian houses, built by new rich industrialists, are still in better condition. These houses needed many servants, which brought more people to the area.
Loughton in the Victorian Era
A Beautiful Place to Live
In Wright's History of Essex, published in 1835, Loughton is described as 'distinguished by its numerous genteel houses and beautiful and picturesque scenery'. This means it was known for its nice houses and lovely views.
Loughton also had a strong tradition of nonconformism. This means many people followed different Protestant Christian traditions, not just the main Church of England. The Baptists started their chapel in Loughton in 1813. Methodism came later to the area, with a chapel built in 1873. The red-brick Gothic-style Methodist church built in 1903 was replaced in 1987 by a modern building that is a Loughton landmark.
The Arrival of the Railway
Before railways, regular stagecoaches linked Loughton to London. The main road through Loughton was an important route for coaches going to Cambridge, Norwich, and other towns.
The arrival of the railway in 1856 greatly helped the town grow. Loughton's growth was mostly about filling in and expanding the old village. This was a slow process. The west side of the High Road was developed from about 1881 until World War I. The east side was mostly built up in the Edwardian and between-wars periods.
The railway first came to Loughton in 1856. The Eastern Counties Railway opened a line through Woodford. This line was extended to Ongar in 1865. A loop line, which includes stations like Hainault and Chigwell, opened in 1903. After World War II, these services were changed to electric trains and became part of the London Transport's Central line. The electric line reached Loughton in 1948. The last part of this line, from Epping to Ongar, closed in 1994. The railway was key to the area's growth. It also made it easy and cheap for visitors to reach Epping Forest. This turned the forest into the "East Enders' Playground".
Tourism and Its Challenges
The railways brought many tourists to the forest. Loughton's streets were filled with the sounds of Cockneys heading to the forest. Tea rooms opened everywhere to serve the thirsty trippers. On weekends, many cyclists came from London looking for the forest's peace and beauty.
Not everyone welcomed the tourists. Some people criticized the visitors as being messy and disruptive. Loughton was even nicknamed 'Lousy Loughton' because of the lice and fleas supposedly left behind by East Enders.
The Ragged School Union started organizing trips to the Forest for poor East End children in 1891. Loughton became a main focus for these trips. Thousands of children came every summer on special trains. They had metal identity tags and were locked into carriages. They were marched up Station Road to the Shaftesbury Retreat. The trains were paid for by Pearson's Fresh Air Fund, a charity. The Retreat offered pony rides, funfair games, tea, and time to play in the forest. Some local residents saw these trips, which continued into the 1930s, as a bother. Local streets and parts of the forest were even sprayed with disinfectant after the children had passed through!
Loughton in the 1900s
Bus Services and Wartime Events
Direct omnibus services linked Loughton to London from 1915. The old No. 10 route from Victoria to Abridge via Loughton lasted until 1976. The No. 20 service from Leyton to Epping still runs, though it now ends in Debden. The No. 167 route goes from Loughton to Ilford.
During the First World War, anti-aircraft guns were placed in Epping Forest to defend London. But there was not much action compared to the Second World War.
On the very first day of the Blitz, September 7, 1940, a Hurricane plane crashed onto an air-raid shelter in Roding Road. Three people inside were killed. The Polish pilot parachuted out. He was quickly arrested because he could barely speak English. Also killed by "friendly fire" (meaning from their own side) was PC Albert Hinds. He was blown up outside Loughton Police Station by a shell from an anti-aircraft battery. Two A.R.P. men nearby died later from their injuries. A memorial plaque was placed on the police station in 2005. It remembers all of Loughton's civilian war dead. This is one of the few civilian war memorials in the UK.
Even before the Blitz began, there was some German bombing. Two people were killed in The Drive on July 26, 1940. These were the first deaths of the war in the London Civil Defence Region. In a 1941 raid, farms in Loughton and Debden were damaged. A gun battery at Loughton Hall was hit, killing a soldier. At Staples Road Schools, the white-painted air-raid shelter directions are still visible.
Post-War Changes and Modern Developments
There has been much rebuilding and new construction since the war. The church of St. Edmund of Canterbury, built in 1958, is an example of modern church design. Another notable modern church is Loughton Methodist Church, opened in 1987. The Victorian St Mary's Church was updated in 2008. The police station was rebuilt in 1963-64.
Some High Road shops were also rebuilt after the war. Centric Parade, from 1983, is a new front built onto a former supermarket. The M11 motorway linking London to Cambridge passes very close to Loughton. This part of the motorway opened in 1977. Small factories and businesses grew along the Roding valley between 1975 and 2000. This includes Langston Road, where the Bank of England printing works is located. This factory prints UK banknotes. The main office of the UK greeting cards company Clinton Cards is also on Langston Road.
From 1900 to 1933, Loughton was governed by its own council. From 1933 to 1974, it was part of the Chigwell Urban District with Buckhurst Hill and Chigwell. Since 1996, Loughton has had its own town council.
Loughton in the 2000s
The headquarters of the Higgins Group plc construction company on Langston Road added a significant building to the town in 2005.
After the 2002 ITV1 TV series Essex Wives, journalists started using the phrase "golden triangle". This described the three towns of Loughton, Chigwell, and Buckhurst Hill. It referred to their general wealth and the showy lifestyle of some residents.
When German bombs landed in The Drive on July 26, 1940, killing two people, the German air force was not aiming for The Drive. Their target was Loughton Station and its train tracks. The station was damaged, probably by the same bombs. A bomb hit the station, damaging part of the track, platform, and some seating. The enamel 'Loughton' signs above these seats were affected. The sign on the side hit by the blast was destroyed. But the sign on the other side survived with minor damage. The station master saved this sign from being thrown away. This information came from the station master's son in 1985.
