Epping

23. EPPING. (C.c.)

(O.S. 6 in. 1. S.W.)

Epping is a parish and small town 6 m. W. of Chipping Ongar. The only monument of importance is Coopersale House.

Roman

(1). Between the main road and the railway, near the brickworks 1 m. N.E. of the parish church, two parallel walls about 20 ft. long, 2 ft. high and the same distance apart, returning at one end, are recorded to have been found (Essex Arch. Soc. Trans., N.S., IV., 222). Inside the angle was a quantity of charcoal above a layer of flint stones, and further up the channel was a bed of very hard concrete-like substance. The walls incorporated roofing-tiles, broken flue-pipes and paving bricks. This may have been the flue of a kiln or may have belonged to a dwelling-house (see Sectional Preface, p. xxix).

Secular

(2). Coopersale House, nearly 1 m. E. of the church, is of three storeys; the walls are partly of brick and the whole house is plastered; the roofs are tiled. The N.E. wing was built c. 1670–80 as an addition to an earlier house which was entirely remodelled early in the 18th century. At the same time the N.E. wing was altered to conform with the later work. Two large bays on the S. side and some additions on the W. side are modern. The N.E. wing has late 17th-century mullioned and transomed windows, but the rest of the building has 18th-century sash-windows. The whole house has a modillioned eaves-cornice with a pediment on the E. side of the main block.

Interior—On the ground floor, a room used as a Chapel has a late 17th-century painted plaster ceiling representing William III. casting out Popery, and various allegorical figures, cherubs, urns, etc. On the first floor, a room over the entrance hall has a 17th-century overmantel with two enriched panels formerly divided by pilasters, of which the middle one remains and is carved with a terminal figure supporting an Ionic capital and having a shield of Archer on the pedestal; flanking the fireplace are diminishing pilasters, fluted horizontally and standing on panelled pedestals. A room in the N.E. wing is lined with late 16th or early 17th-century panelling and has a fireplace (Plate p. 247) flanked by fluted Ionic pilasters with a richly carved shelf and an overmantel of two bays divided by carved diminishing pilasters and supporting a rich entablature; the bays have each two arched heads with a pendant between them. On the second floor a room has panelling of c. 1600 and a mid 17th-century overmantel (Plate p. 247) with enriched strapwork and a cartouche carved with a figure-subject, possibly the Judgment of Paris. Another room has a 17th-century ceiling-beam carved with arabesque ornament. A staircase is of early 17th-century date with turned balusters.

Condition—Good, much altered. The N.E. wing now being destroyed and fittings removed.

Monuments (3–18).

The following monuments, unless otherwise described, are of the 17th-century and of two storeys, timber-framed and plastered or weather-boarded; the roofs are tiled. Several buildings have original chimney-stacks and exposed ceiling-beams.

Condition—Good, or fairly good, unless noted.

(3). House and post office at Coopersale Street 320 yards S. of (2), was built late in the 16th century and has an early 17th-century addition at the S.W. corner. The upper storey projects at the E. end and the original chimney-stack has attached diagonal shafts.

(4). House, two tenements, 160 yards W.N.W. of (3).

High Street, N.W. side

(5). House, nearly ¾ m. S.W. of the church, was built probably early in the 16th century with a cross-wing at the N.E. end. The upper storey projects at the S. end of the cross-wing.

(6). House, 180 yards N.E. of (5), has an original chimney-stack with diagonal shafts. Inside the building, the staircase has late 17th-century turned balusters.

(7). Duke of York Inn and shop, 50 yards N.E. of the church.

(8). House and shop, 230 yards N.E. of (7). Condition—Poor.

(9). Black Lion Inn, 60 yards N.E. of (8).

S.E. side

(10). Sun Inn and shops, nearly opposite (9), has an original chimney-stack with grouped diagonal shafts.

(11). House and shops, 150 yards S.W. of (10), was built probably in the 16th century and has a cross-wing at the E. end.

(12). White Swan Inn, 20 yards S.W. of (11), has a modern front and an original chimney-stack with grouped diagonal shafts.

(13). White Lion Inn, 50 yards S.W. of (12), was built in the 16th century. The upper storey projects at the W. end of the N. front. Inside the building are two original fireplaces with moulded jambs, four-centred arches and sunk spandrels; there is also an original doorway with a four-centred head and a moulded beam. Two rooms have 17th-century panelling, with some arabesque ornament.

(14). House, now three tenements, 220 yards S.W. of (13), has an original chimney-stack with grouped diagonal shafts.

(15). Duke of Wellington Inn, 220 yards S.W. of (14).

(16). Cottage, two tenements, 170 yards S.W. of (15), is of L-shaped plan with the wings extending towards the E. and S.

(17). Battles Hoppit, three tenements, 100 yards E.S.E. of (15), has an original chimney-stack with grouped diagonal shafts.

Condition—Poor.

(18). House on the S.W. side of Lindsey Street, ½ m. N.E. of the church. The upper storey projects at the S. end.

(19). Mounds, possibly tumuli, S. of Eppingbury and about 1 m. N.W. of the church. A bowl-shaped mound with a slight ditch and a second mound S.W. of it.

Condition—Fairly good.