With the kind permission of Fred Brown of Coopersale Essex this is the

second of his books

FRED EYES EPPING AGAIN

by Fred Brown

25th April 1918 - 27th July 2005

Fred Brown's obituary

First published 1997

Mother Rosetta Elizabeth Hudgill

1868 - 1952

Epping Essex

One of the readers of  "EPPING THROUGH THE EYES OF FRED" has suggested that I did not expand enough on my own background, where I came from, any autobiographic memories and further knowledge of Epping and it's characters.

Well I am going to try and do just that, having done some research and burned a little midnight oil.

I commenced "Epping" by noting it's place in the County of Essex, my County, it's privileged position in being at the top of a ridge allowing it to be relatively dry and well drained in times of storms 'and heavy rains.

It is unique in it's proximity to London and it's forest area of some 6000 acres and it has it's part in local history.

You will remember, from school, the story of Boudicca (Boadicea) Queen of the Iceni tribe who fought the Romans for a very" long time. One of her Battles was against Suetonios, the Roman General, on Ambresbury Banks in the Forest.

The Bishops owned Copped Hall and had a Manor there until dispossessed by Henry V111.

Coaches to London and the provinces came through Epping and Farmers came with livestock and produce to Waltham Market. A Buttercross was here at one time and from 1896 we have had a Council governing what was known as an Urban District and the present day a much grandiose organisation with what some would describe as a white elephant town hall.

There are of course much simpler things and more in keeping with the real Epping which I now propose to write about so...........read on so.......

CHAPTER ONE

I began life at 10.30.pm. on the night of April the twenty fifth nineteen hundred and eighteen, the last of the line of the family of Henry Alfred and Rosetta Elizabeth Brown (nee Hudgill) of 71, High Street (or Barnards Cottages as they then were), situated in roughly the middle of the small line of shops near Tesco's, to be exact, where the Epping Bookshop now is. I am told that I weighed just four and a quarter pounds. My mother was just fifty years of age and my father fifty three.

My father was descended from a very well to do family whose name was Darby, Naval people, several of whose members were of high rank, one a Lieutenant Commander, they lived in Eaton Square and Cadogan Square in the capital.

The family consisted of two daughters, Caroline and Elizabeth, and a son William.

William unfortunately was a waster. Commissioned to H.M.S. Ceres he absconded twice and was struck out of his parents' will. Stealing money from one of his sisters he went to America, changed his name to Brown and after a few years returned to England where he married and had one son, Thomas, my grandfather.

Unlike his father, my grandfather was a good man who, when I knew him, sported a white moustache and a beard. A journeyman carpenter by trade he worked at one time at Gaynes Park. He and his wife, Sarah, had five sons and one daughter, my aunt Annie Clara. They lived in Tidy's Lane, and when they died they were both interred in St. Albans Churchyard, Coopersale.

My mother's parents had four daughters and three sons. My mother was the oldest and brought up the others as her mother died of TB at the age of forty. (Julia Chapman)

My father originally worked as a moulder for William Cottis at the foundry, then for James Whiffen as a builders labourer and finally for Miss Kathleen Pelly as a general handyman on the estate.

He died, aged 69 years, of heart disease brought on by having had rheumatic fever twice and pleurisy, first of all when he was eighteen years of age and then again when he was thirty six. This caused a strain on his heart that took him away on April 11th 1936. He was often unable to work so mother took in washing to help keep the family.

Of the families two children, a boy and a girl, died young, one only nine months old and the other at two and a half years of age. Two sisters emigrated to Canada, pre-war. One, Nellie, I never knew. Julia (Cissie) I met twice when she came back home to visit us.

A man can just remember was a Mr. Pusey. A jingle of the day went something like this" Vote - Vote - Vote - for Mr. Creed, Keep old Pusey from the door". The aforementioned Mr. Creed was Councillor, Justice of the Peace and Guardian of some small business peoples' affairs, and it was generally reckoned that he wasn't entirely upright.

Enough of me then, but we were typical of the average residents of Epping.

For the women there were local shops, domestic service, or if you were lucky, a job in an office in London and, of course, local hospitals.

This chapter you will see deals with aspects of Epping's life, individuals, schools, sport and what have you.

Contemporaries are getting fewer as each year passes. Boys that I grew up and attended school with, and knew in sport as an adult. There were Ron Pettit who led a band called "The Red Swingers" comprising an accordion, piano and drums, and played locally until the outbreak of war.

Ted Hammond whose father kept a sweet and tobacconist shop near the water tower. Arthur Austin my cousin, George Sharp and Francis "Ponty" Rogers, Cecil (Brother) Austin, Les Nicholls, Reg "Mokit" Flack (so named because, when as a small boy, he picked up a cigarette end and when asked his intentions said "Mokit" - smoke it, hence his nickname. He died at Salerno, Italy), Ernie West local milkman and postman, Dennis Cole, Cyril Edridge, Bill Fathers, and Bill Wood, All alas gone now.

Fred Doe looked after me like a brother when I was a lad. A good mate, he introduced me to Ballroom Dancing and his elder brother, Jim, a local postman, talked with me and furthered my political awareness. I joined the Labour Party in 1935 at seventeen years of age. I was secretary locally after the war and served on the old Epping Urban District Council as a Councillor in the fifties with Arthur Hyde, Charles Jackson and Charles Long. At present I am the longest serving party member locally, around sixty years.

 In the early days Fred North was Chairman, and Dolly Cuinn was Secretary. Jim Doe, Percy Pavitt, Eric Escott, Tich Norgate, Eddie Wall, Ernie Edridge , I also remember. Over the years Hans Iversen, Wally Cooper, Fred Newton and Jack Platten all stood for the Council, unsuccessfully. At an early General Election in the 1930's the first Labour Candidate, a Mr. Newbold, stood for election and polled just 2,000 votes and people at the count laughed when the result was declared.  Jimmy Doe said "You can laugh but one day we shall have a Labour Member for Epping" and in 1945 Mrs Leah Manning became just that, as did Stan Newens a bit later on, before he represented Harlow New Town.

On other local rounds were for Walter Cox of Forest Side Dairy, Charlie Webb and Decca Dunn., for Pegrums of Shaftesbury Farm, Fred Cakebread, Percy Pavitt, Tom Mears and for Walter Donaldson of Horns Farm (Bill Pearce and his wife). In those days most of the milk was carried in chums and cans. A few bottles were just being phased in.

CHAPTER TWO

Just prior to the 1900's the Urban District Council in Epping had been formed from the old Drainage Committee and the Council Chamber was the Town Hall, formerly a skating rink and later the Empire Cinema and, in recent times, the first Tesco Store.

The Council then had other venues until finally Hawthorn Lodge where it stayed until its move to the Armoury Sports Centre in 1972. The change in 1974 brought about today's larger authority, the current Epping Forest District Council with its expensive Town Hall.

An alternative to this could have been a combination of the old Urban District Council and the Epping and Ongar Rural District Council, who had an excellent home on the site of today's wondrous costly place. This would have made a smaller much more viable unit, which, with some alteration to the Council Chamber would have sufficed, leaving Loughton, Chigwell and Waltham Abbey as a separate entity and no necessity for the little parish type organisations such as the Town Council, giving much less costly, more effective, and more democratic local government.

Since the second World War, the sewage system has had to be altered due to the greater volume of properties being built. The previous system which existed obviously was not planned for the amount of building necessary due to the influx of people from elsewhere into Epping, and it did cause the sewer to be overloaded and obsolete, to break down and crumble and, in some cases, collapse.

Because of this a reorganisation had to be carried out which did away with the outfall and treatment works at Cobbins Brook, all the sewage and effluent being pumped to the Southern Outfall near Fiddlers Hamlet as today.

Lots of changes have taken place in Epping since the cessation of the second world war.

Returning servicemen needed housing so right away from 1945 yearly building allocations tried to put a quart into a pint pot. Building land was, and still is, scarce, as the Greenbelt surrounding us rightly should not be destroyed otherwise Epping would become a suburb of London and it's identity lost. Fortunately the forest saves us from this fate. Council estates however, - built at Lindsey Street (Beaconfield Estate), at Centre Drive and at Coopersale (Parklands), plus private building and infilling has increased the population to over 12,000.

The current Sports Centre was the home of the Royal Engineers and the 4th Battalion the Essex Regiment to which I shall return later on. Before the war dances and Flower Shows were held in the Drill Hall. A band from Loughton under Jack Shearmur provided the music for dancing for well over a hundred people from 8.pm. until midnight and a good time was usually had by all.

I often wonder if the war gave my generation a sense of urgency. You see we had lost six years of our lives due to the war time for which there was no real accounting from the living point of view. Although undoubtedly necessary the war was a complete waste of time, time which could not be replaced. Who ever made us did not suddenly reverse these years so that we carried on a before, it was not possible, so it behoved us to redress the balance by catching up if we could.

I had played cricket locally with other friends pre-war, but found it very costly to play for the Town Team at Bury Lane, so with colleagues I set about forming a Cricket Club which was within the pockets of the ordinary man.

With permission from the Corporation of London, the Allnutts Sports Club (now Epping Foresters) cut out the cricket pitch on Mill Plain, which now sits upon the top of the M25 motorway.

For the record here are the. names of those who did the work,  Arthur Youngs, Arthur Austin, Bill Fathers, Bill Wood, George and Bill Adams, Brian Parrish, Jack Day, Tom Crouch, Cyril Edridge, and your truly as Secretary. With spades, mattocks and a horse and cart we stubbed and dug up all the water grass and reeds, which was used to fill up bomb holes just off of the wicket site. The rest was dispersed about the forest edge and quickly broke down and disappeared.

Walter Nunn from Mill House Farm was a great help. Bill Wood worked in a Nursery and kept Mr. Nunn supplied with tomatoes and cucumbers. In return we had the use of a horse and cart and other equipment which enabled us to clear the area and get it ready as a pitch. Just prior to Christmas 1947 we laid a table twenty five yards square and in the following May play commenced and is happily still being played.

Much has been said by folk who think that they know about the Foresters Cricket Pitch. Just let me say that when we got permission to make the wicket and pitch no one even thought about a motorway like the M25, and the members of the club saw no reason why, when it came to it, the ground should not be put back as it was after the M25 had gone through it. They did not ask for the reinstatement to be costly, and let me add, that had it been any sort of organisation using that area they would have been equally entitled to have it made good. There are other interests besides television, videos and the like and these cricketers are enjoying their sport and, at the same time, giving enjoyment to those people who come to watch...MORE POWER TO THEIR ELBOW.

At roughly the same time I was involved in another innovation in Epping. In common with others I was a member of the Epping Floral Society, which had been a flourishing organisation at one time. With the help of the local constabulary a big yearly show was held in one of the fields at Wintry Park farm, courtesy of Jimmy Foulds, and many eminent people, Colonel Wall, Bertie Collison, Ben Hyde among them, supported it.

In my time Doug Gooday was Secretary, George Barnes the Chairman, Cyril Largen and Eddie Potter served on the Committee, and then it folded through lack of support. To fill this void I initiated and helped form the Fuchsia Society which is still going strong and I am happy to be its President. This started with an inaugural meeting of just seven people in the Mechanics Institute consisting of, apart from myself, Bob Strange as Chairman, John Maynard as Show Secretary, George Thurston as Treasurer, with Brian (Nobby) Clark, Arthur Hyde and Denny Godfrey. From this meeting in April we had our first show in August, with about twenty members, in the St. Johns Hall in St. Johns Road.

During this time Epping Town Football Club had reformed as had Epping Cricket Club and I have been fortunate in receiving help with some research as to the origins of the Cricket Club.

Cricket matches were first reported in Epping in 1768 when the town played at Ware in Hertfordshire for a sum of £50 between the teams. This game ran into two days because of rain, and runs were recorded by cutting notches on a stick.

Ware batted first. The first four players made eighty notches but the other six were bowled out for nought. The next day Epping batted and made ninety five notches, so winning the game. In 1856  Epping played on The Plain, opposite St. Margaret's Hospital (the the old Workhouse). Then in 1857 they moved to "Northlands" a the rear of Dr Watney's surgery, down Buttercross Lane and, after a few seasons, they went to Lynceley Grange in Lindsey Street.

In the early 1880's the Cable family started a Bell Common cricket club and played there. This came about through an Essex competition which left some members without a game so, back on the Plain, Epping Victoria was started.

Eventually a Public Meeting was called by the Epping Cricket Club which amalgamated all the teams and players and in 1896 the Bury Lane ground was opened. Incidentally in the Lynceley Grange days our friend Dr Clegg, the man associated with ensuring a proper water supply in Epping, played. The Rev Buckmaster donated the Pavilion and the Cable family erected it and also helped with the finance. At it's opening a supporter offered £5 for the first man to score one hundred runs, A J Cable got to ninety nine before being caught at point. Nobody scored a "ton" that year so the offer was withdrawn.

At the end of the first world war play was started up again and, up until the second world war started, it was a formidable side and was recognised as one of the best teams in the area. Players in the early days at Bury Lane were Alf Cable, Frank Cable, Walter Cable, a Mr. Allthorn, Messrs Rivington, Manfield, Mann, MacAndrews, Tavener, AG Sworder and A E Piper (Schoolmaster).

Today's players, and with no disrespect, are not as strong. Teams can only be as good as the players belonging and performing, but the Club is still going strong, that is the main thing when you consider the demise of the Football Club in 1988. The Pavilion has just had a face lift and other facilities are all there for local sportsmen to take advantage of, if they choose.

Since the second war other well known people have played, Harry Mead (the Council's Surveyor), Billy Osborne, Fred and George Mansfield, Albert' Sanderson, Fred Whiting, Charlie Chambers, Peter Randall, Frank Debnam, Freddie Silcock, Dick Walker, Bill Johnson, Fred Day, Bill Stock, Eric Wood, Jerry  Willett, John Bird, yours truly, and my nephew Tom Brown, Ron and Nobby Emery and lots more, plus, I almost forgot, Bobby Rolfe, a more than useful player.

Quite a few of the above mentioned players also played football, either down Bury Lane or on the playing fields at Stonards Hill. But now, unfortunately, no Epping Town team but several smaller clubs so there is a fair smattering of sports facilities available as well as a Sports Centre, where the local Town Council is now based, where lots of useful activities are carried on.

I shall come back to some pre-war facilities again in another chapter.

CHAPTER THREE

 Every town and village had it's eccentrics; people who, through infirmity of some kind, or poor social upbringing, were quite intelligent but had some quirky ways.

In my previous Epping Book I gave you some eccentrics like Albert "Tax" Courtney, and Arthur "Titty" Styles, so here are some more. I do not propose to humiliate or to be condescending but to show some of their activities.

Jack Chapman known as "Ruddles" lived in Ivy Chimneys. A big strong man and when at labouring work on road schemes or building was known to carry two half hundredweights of cement at one time, to the normal labourers one. He had a brother, unfortunately a simpleton, known as "Puss Pelly" who once attempted to make a steamed pudding in a kettle and wondered why it would not pour from the spout.

Arthur "Titty" Styles, it is said, went to the Theydon Garnon Church on his wedding day and when asked by the Vicar if "He would take this women to be his wedded wife" said 'I come a puppas (purpose)'.

Tippeny Marsh had a hair lip and a squeaky voice and lived with his sister Sally in a cottage down behind the current Co-op Stores in the High Street. A little simple he tried to do simple jobs. One Joe Stace, a local tradesman, got him to take a horse and cart down Bower Hill to deliver something. Tippeny left the horse unattended, something frightened it and it bolted.

Charlie "Charcoal" Porter had a stammer, he worked down Bower Hill at the local gas works and invariably looked as black as coal. On one occasion, at a local football match, "Charcoal" was on the line and an Epping man was tripped up by an opposing player. Our friend said "H-h-h hey mate, th-th-thats not football, kicking a man when he's down." The player turned to Charcoal and said "Why don't you go and have a wash".

Two local worthies Ralph Hyde and Kitch Lucking, one a good carpenter and the other an electrician, stood one evening under Twankhams Alley eating fish and chips from nearby "Ossies" and, on finishing, threw the paper down into the street just as a policeman came along. The result, both fined 10/-. It served them right because a waste paper bin was only about four yards away.

George Doe, (Provost Sgt. Essex Regt Police), the same Police Sergeant you will meet in the next chapter, approached Coopersale Institute one evening in thick snow to attend a dance and found Freddy Chase being snowballed by several men. George decided to help Freddy but unfortunately scooped up a stone with the snow. A direct hit splitting open' one chaps ear resulted in George and Freddy making themselves scarce.

Another lovely man who should not be forgotten; I wonder if there is still anyone around who had a ride on Douglas Penrose three wheeled invalid chair. Douglas was a crippled organist who lived in Nicholl Road.. He was always seen about somewhere in the town, down Bower Hill, in Lindsey Street or on the Plain, and was always helped uphill by the boys who cadged a lift when they reached level ground, which was freely given.

Douglas played the organ in St. John's Church, as his father had done before him, also at Theydon Garnon Church and possibly other churches on occasions. Despite his obvious problems he was never out of countenance at any time and was much liked and missed when he passed on.

A story now about a good friend of mine Fred Doe, brother of George who, like me, lived opposite the old Co-op where a small parade of shops now stands. I, where the Epping Bookshop stands and Fred where the Indian Restaurant now is. Fred's mother, who incidentally made the best bread pudding that you have ever tasted, began to notice how quickly her tins of condensed milk began to get depleted. So, in order to find out the reason, she filled, up a half empty tin with California Syrup of Figs, shook it up and sat back to await results. Within a day or so Fred suddenly developed a strong desire to have frequent visits to the "Loo".  When I confronted by his mother he admitted sucking milk out of one of the holes made in the top whenever his mother went over to the shop or next door. He learned his lesson the hard way.

Bill "Stumpy" Starmar had a one and a half stroke motorbike, or should I say horse-power, a Francis Barnet or DOT or similar, on the back of which he put a notice which said "Speed on Big Boy - Hell aint half full yet". He courted Annie Holgate. Her father disliked Bill and many's the time, when father came home from work a little early, Bill was seen to emerge from the front door making himself scarce. Not deterred Bill eventually married his Annie. Her sister Florrie married another old friend, Ben Peacock from Kelvedon Hatch, a member of the local branch of the Essex' Regiment, we shall meet him again later.

Billy Hills, (from the shop now called Table Talk) of dubious  sexual habits, invariably had a monkey on his shoulder. He entertained motor cyclists in his cafe and over the door on the inside had an inscription thus "W.Y.B.M.A.D.I.I.T.Y." which! translated read "Will you buy me a drink if I tell you" which earned  Billy many a drink. Hawley's Cafe, nearby, catered for pedal cyclists and the Roof Garden, next door, for both and any local trade.

Two local hay carters, Arthur Sharp from Creeds Farm in Bury Lane, and Jack Nicholls, who lived up a small entrance road next to the Co-op and Mr. Holgate and Charlie Ladhams home, took hay and straw into London and often came back late at night, in the dark. The drivers being a little worse for wear through too much elbow lifting, it seems that the horse, having been pointed towards home, knew where to come, and did.

CHAPTER FOUR

As I said in the previous chapter times change and not always for the better. For sometime now discipline and caning in schools have become dirty words. My contemporaries will, I am sure, agree with me that the cane did them no harm. One was taught respect. Mr Piper the old martinet at School said learn to respect yourself and then you will respect others. Just imagine an army without discipline and a sense of purpose, they would not survive five minutes. Without being controversial, watch a cat with kittens or a dog with puppies who step out of line, they are soon let know who is master. One does not have to be brutal or like Mr. Squeers of Dotheboys Hall, but the cane on the hand only stings for a while and the master was not thought any the less of, quite the reverse. Who knows, time may reverse the present arrangements.

The local religious establishments were many and varied pre war. I was given the option by my father, when I was five years old, of attending some place of worship on Sundays or to stay indoors. I tried St. John's Church but did not like it. It was, I suppose too establishment for me so I opted for the Methodist Sunday School. Most of my mates went there and they seemed to have more time for children.

Another local barber, Harry Moore, lost his first wife, Hetty, leaving him with five small daughters. The lady who came to his rescue and whom became the second Mrs Moore not only brought up his attractive daughters but assisted him in the shop, using a pair of electric clippers with some dexterity. When small boys did not keep their heads still they were in danger of having their heads twisted and, if she knew the parents, the boy got a clip round the ears, which concentrated the mind wonderfully, a lovely lady.

A cousin of mine George "China" Hudgill, worked on the local refuse collection lorry and could imitate a Cuckoo very well. You would be surprised when the Cuckoo was heard at various months of the year. He fooled a good many people.

Charlie "Waggie" Ladhams went to a party where he was invited to participate in a game "Sing, Say or pay a forfeit ". Choosing to "Say" he came out with the following, "Here's to the bird who sat on a thistle, pricked his arse which made him whistle".

Bertie Smith lived in a caravan on the Bell Field, behind the buildings used by the town football team as ablutions and dressings rooms. He kept donkeys which he used, on Theydon Plains by Yates Retreat, to give rides to children. One of his donkeys he called "Five Legs" for, at times, obvious reasons.

At the bottom of Sunnyside Road "Porky" Lawrence had a slaughterhouse where he killed pigs and sold the pork and sausages on his round. His wife Phoebe grew some wonderful: roses which she mulched with pig manure and pruned with a bagging hook. Slashing the growth down each year to ground level the subsequent growth seeming not to mind the rough treatment.

Finally, where the Veterinary Practice stands today in Hemnall Street, used to stand a property the Rookery but more generously "The Gant". Here lived Mr Pickman with his family Rose (Moggy) , Bill, Queenie and Sammy, who died aged about thirteen years.

Old Picky, as he was known, kept pigs down Bower Hill across the fields leading to four houses on Stewards Green. He was a bad tempered man generally and I recount a funny story concerning him and our friend "Muddler" Collop.

One evening the Collop family where at tea when all of a sudden a voice shouted out "Collop come out and fight". This went on for some time then Muddler said to his son Albert (you may know him as big Ted from the carpet shop) "Get my gun down off the wall" Apparently Muddler possessed a 410 shotgun which hung on the wall in the kitchen. Having got the gun he opened the front door and there, out on the path, stood Picky, a little worse for wear. Muddler said "If you don't bugger-off I'll shoot you, at which Picky immediately took to his heels.

CHAPTER FIVE

A little more now on the history of Epping and other shop keepers in the High Street of later years.

I have spoken before about the unique position of Epping in times past when farmers and drovers from out in the country used tracks etc., to come to Epping, Waltham Market and into London.

Looking at an Ordnance Survey map I was interested what is termed ..a green road.. known as Bolt Cellar, in Bury Lane, which runs from the Thatch Cottage and terminates at Shaftesbury Farm in Lindsey Street.

The area around the cottage was known as Forty Green and I wondered if it could have been the only existing piece of a track perhaps from beyond Thornwood across the fields and continuing from Bury Lane across and through Copped Hall to Waltham Abbey. I had it intimated to me that possibly Forty Green was a small hamlet of which only the Thatch Cottage remains today.

However research of maps back from 1777 do not show any difference from today. Two ponds adjacent are now gone, one had a well at the side which could have been used for drinking water. The fields around, including where St. John's Secondary School now stands, up to the side of Lower Bury Lane and the fields opposite the cottage, towards Copped Hall, and the fields of New Farm were used by Mr George Pegrum of Shaftesbury Farm so Bolt Cellar probably was just an access road for farm vehicles. The Thatch Cottage went with Bury Farm at one time and was used by a farm worker.

CHAPTER SIX

Now we come to the Second World War and the part played in it by the, residents of Epping.

When war was declared in September 1939, those of us of military age had to join the services, work in the mines or in other essential services.

I wonder how many people can remember swimming in the lake on the plain? My own father skated on it at one time, and I can remember bathing huts and a diving board being there. Mind you the plain was virtually free from trees before the second world war. As I have said cricket was played on it and, regularly on Boxing Day, the hounds used to meet for a fox hunt. But all of this died the death either before the first world war or after this last one.

A certain Captain Ball lived on the Thornwood Road side of the plain and regularly walked two large Deerhounds on the common ground, and the afore station that has taken place over several years it has been attributed to him. It is said that he planted acorns each time he took his dogs for a walk, so now there is very little common left.

Another brickfield was worked along the Thornwood Road where Savill's Tractors is. Strange how there seems to be brick clay only in small areas. There, in the Woodyard in the forest on the North Weald Road, at Brickfield Road in Coopersale and at Cottis's in Centre Drive It is obvious that, although Essex is renowned for it's clay soil, not all of it was suitable for brick making.