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Epping, Essex

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For other places with the same name, see Epping, Essex (disambiguation).
Epping
PopulationExpression error: "11,047[1]" must be numeric
OS grid referenceTL455025
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townEPPING
Postcode districtCM16
Dialling code01992
PoliceEssex
FireEssex
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Essex

Epping is a small market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located 4.6 miles (7.4 km) south of Harlow, 10.9 miles (17.5 km) north-west of Brentwood and 16.6 miles (26.7 km) north-east of Charing Cross.

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[3] although this has increased marginally since then.

Epping is widely known in Germany for being the home of Peter, David, Betty and Helga, featured in many textbooks used to teach English to German children. It has been twinned with the German town of Eppingen in north-west Baden-Württemberg since 1981[4]. 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.


Geography

Epping 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.

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.

Changing face of Epping

Epping is currently 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 in to 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.

Transport

High Street in Epping, with Saint John the Baptist Church in the background.

Epping is served by a number of bus routes, serving many surrounding towns and villages including Harlow, Thornwood Common, Abridge, Waltham Abbey, Romford 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 were services terminated. The station has a car park with 508 spaces and is the second largest car park on the London Underground network[5], a toilet, a ticket machine, a pay phone as well as seats for sitting outside the station when waiting for a bus.

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.

Bus

Route Number Route Operational Details
7 Ivy Chimneys to Chelmsford Monday to Friday, 1 journey
213 Epping to Waltham Cross via Upshire Mon-Sat every 60 minutes
333 Epping to Stansted Airport via Harlow Mon-Sat every 30 minutes (only serves Epping during peak hours)
381/382 Toot Hill to Harlow Bus Station via Epping Green Mon-Sat, few journeys
500 Old Harlow to Romford Station via Ongar Mon-Sat every 60 minutes
501 Old Harlow to Brentwood High Street via Ongar Mon-Sat every 60 mins, Sunday every 2 hours (Not extended to Brentwood on Sundays)
502 Epping to Ongar via Epping Green Mon-Fri 2 journeys
523 Loughton to North Weald Market via Waltham Abbey Saturday, 1 return journey
541 Loughton to Epping St Margarets Hospital/Harlow Mon-Sat every 60 minutes, Sunday every 2 hours (extended to Harlow on Sundays)
620 Epping to Ingatestone Schooldays
H1 Loughton to Harlow Mon-Fri every 60 minutes, Saturday 4 journeys

Train

Service Route
Central Line Epping to West Ruislip via Central London
Central Line Epping to Ealing Broadway via Central London


Government

Epping is part of the Epping Forest parliamentary constituency, represented by Conservative front bench spokesperson 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.

Epping Forest District Council’s headquarters are located in Epping High Street.

Schools

  • St John's School, the only secondary school in Epping, is now designated as a specialist Engineering College. The school has an active charity fundraising group led by a Student Executive team. In 2006 two students were awarded the Rotary Prize for 'Service to School' by the local Epping Rotary Club.
  • Epping Junior School, a primary school located in the heart of Epping's town centre in St John's Road.

Famous inhabitants

Notable residents of Epping include singer Rod Stewart[6], football player and manager Glenn Hoddle, actor and television presenter Bradley Walsh[7] and actor Nick Berry[8].

Dave Gahan, lead singer of Depeche Mode, was born in Epping.[9]

TV presenter and comedian Griff Rhys Jones lived in Epping as a child, where his father was a doctor.[10]

Television presenter Ben Shephard lived and attended nursery school in Epping.[11]

David Byron, former lead singer of rock band Uriah Heep, was born in Epping.[12]

Twin towns

Trivia

  • Epping's famous weekly market changed form being held every Monday to every Friday from 1575 up until just after the First World War, at which point it returned back to being held on Monday.[14]
  • Epping is the starting point for the Essex Way, which is a long distance path between Epping and Harwich.[15]
  • Epping is known to be home to a large concentration of Greater Crested Newts, which are a protected species.
  • Epping is home to the annual 'Epping Family Fun Run', which is held to raise money for the Rhys Daniels Trust charity.

References

  • Epping Forest District Council (2005). Key Facts: 2001 Census (PDF).
  • Epping Town Guide. Plus Publishing Services (on behalf of Epping Town Council. 2002.
  • Jenkins (2001). Churchill. Macmillan. pp. 391–392. ISBN 0-330-48805-8. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |Roy= (help)
  1. ^ Parish Profile : Epping
  2. ^ http://www.eppingtowncouncil.gov.uk/Epping%20Town%20Information/Guide%2007-08.pdf
  3. ^ Parish Profile : Epping
  4. ^ Epping Town Guide
  5. ^ Epping station to be refurbished and improved | Transport for London
  6. ^ Rod Stewart: A Man of Wealth and Taste : Rolling Stone
  7. ^ bradley walsh | Sunday Herald, The | Find Articles at BNET.com
  8. ^ You've got m@il: Nick Berry Answers your e-mails - Daily Mirror - HighBeam Research
  9. ^ David Gahan - AOL Music
  10. ^ Camden New Journal - Books: Griff Rhys Jones - Semi Detached: Pulling Up Roots in Surburbia
  11. ^ http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://www.kinopoisk.ru/level/4/people/1282783/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=9&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DBen%2BShephard%2BGMTV%2BEPPING%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
  12. ^ http://www.sleazeroxx.com/rip/davidbyron.shtml
  13. ^ http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/newsandgallery/news/hrh_visits_the_copped_hall_in_epping_essex_403.html
  14. ^ http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42715
  15. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2006/03/03/essex_way_day_one_walk.shtml
  16. ^ http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/search/display.var.2255796.0.epping_ms_to_take_over_coop.php
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