WORTHIES AND SOCIAL LIFE
Balthasar de Guercis, an Italian surgeon to Queen
Katherine of Aragon, became a
tenant of the manor in 1538. (fn. 62)
Early in the 17th century,
when Sir Robert Wroth and
Mary his wife lived at Loughton Hall, they were
visited by Ben Jonson and other poets. James I was
entertained at the hall in 1605 and the Prince of Wales
in 1606 (see below, Manor). Sarah Adams (1805-48)
author of 'Nearer my God to Thee' lived at Woodbury
Hill. (fn. 63) Walter Kerr Hamilton (1808-69), Bishop of
Salisbury, was the son of a Rector of Loughton and
spent his early childhood there. (fn. 64) Sarah Catherine
Martin (1768-1826) reputed author of 'Old Mother
Hubbard', in its metrical form, (fn. 65) is buried in the old
parish churchyard. She was the sister of Admiral Sir
Thomas B. Martin (1773-1854). When she was 17
Prince William (later King William IV) fell in love
with her. She and her parents handled the affair very
discreetly. (fn. 66) The Martins were connected with
Loughton through relatives, the Powells, who lived
there. (fn. 67) Sir George Carroll (d. 1860) Lord Mayor of
London 1846-7 and Contractor for State Lotteries,
was owner of Uplands, and lived there. (fn. 68) W. W.
Jacobs (1863-1943), the author, lived for many years
at the Outlook, Upper Park Road. Soon after 1910 he
moved to Feltham House, Goldings Hill. (fn. 69) Rudyard
Kipling (1865-1936) stayed when a boy at Goldings
Hill Farm, opposite Goldings Hill Pond. (fn. 70) Sir Jacob
Epstein lived at Baldwin Hill for some years after
1920. While there he carved his 'Rima' and 'Visitation'. (fn. 71)
During the late 19th and early 20th century
Loughton was strongly represented in the Essex Field
Club and the Essex Archæological Society, and it produced three local antiquaries of ability: H. W. Lewer
(1859-1949), 1. Chalkley Gould (1845-1908), and
W. C. Waller, the historian of Loughton. (fn. 72) Millican
Dalton (d. 1947), pioneer camper and mountaineer,
lived for a time at Baldwins Hill. (fn. 73)
In the late 19th century there was a fairly sharp
division in Loughton between Anglicans and the nonconformists, which coincided roughly with the political
division between Conservatives and Liberals. It gave
rise to controversy over the establishment of a school
board (fn. 74) and was shown in the duplication of some local
societies. In 1892 the president of the Loughton
Liberal and Radical Association was Julius Rohrweger,
owner of Uplands, and one of the vice-presidents was
Edward Pope, a prominent local Methodist. (fn. 75) The
rector, J. W. Maitland, was a councillor of the
Primrose League. Edward Pope was secretary of the
Temperance League; the rector was president of
the Church of England Temperance League. Julius
Rohrweger was president of the Loughton Cricket
Club; the Loughton Park Cricket Club had as its
president Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, Bt., Conservative
M.P. for West Essex. There were also the Epping
Forest Military Band (president the rector) and the
Excelsior Brass Band (president H. H. Francis). (fn. 76)
There were other clubs, for football, lawn tennis, and
a number of charitable or provident purposes.
By 1900 Loughton was quite well provided with
facilities for social intercourse and recreation. There
were two parish churches and three nonconformist
churches. The local Volunteers had a drill hall, and
the Lopping Hall provided a valuable centre for all
kinds of social activities. As already described, (fn. 77) the
Lopping Hall had been erected out of £7,000 paid by
the City of London for the extinction of lopping rights
in Epping Forest. Out of that sum £1,030 was set
aside as compensation to householders. The remainder
formed the capital of the Lopping Hall Endowment
Trust. (fn. 78) Land was bought at the corner of High
Road and Station Road and the hall was built and
furnished at a cost of £3,236. The official opening
took place in 1884. The hall contained reading and
lecture rooms and accommodation for parish meetings.
In 1902 it was enlarged at a cost of £1,330 by a new
wing of which the upper floor was let to the newly
formed urban district council for a council chamber and
offices and the lower floor to the Midland Bank Ltd.
In 1933 proposals to improve the hall and stage accommodation at the expense of the reading-room provoked a public inquiry. It was decided that although
the provision of books and a reading-room was one of
the original objects of the endowment more people
made use of the lecture and concert halls. A readingroom was retained, but it was smaller and contained
only newspapers. In 1936 the library was sold. In
1937 further alterations to the hall were made at the
cost of the Midland Bank. In 1951 the endowment
consisted of over £2,400 stock in addition to the premises. The income was mainly used on general
maintenance and improvement, wages and newspapers.
There are six trustees, elected by ratepayers.
Two bequests have supplemented the original
endowment of the Lopping Hall. In 1905 William
F. Turner left £100 to be invested for the purchase
of books. (fn. 79) When the library was closed this was
diverted to the purchase of newspapers. In 1912
Henry Lincoln left £200 to be spent for the general
purposes of the hall. (fn. 80) The hall remains a valuable
social centre. It is a red-brick building with a tower,
designed by Edmund Egan.
Opposite the Lopping Hall in Station Road is the
Men's Club, built in 1901 by the Revd. W. Dawson
and conveyed by him in 1903 to trustees for use as a
club. In 1920 two houses in Meadow Road were conveyed to the trustees. Their rents provide much of the
club's income, which in 1941 was £194 and was used
for current maintenance and expenses. (fn. 81)
Loughton now (1953) has many clubs and societies,
including at least four for amateur dramatics. (fn. 82) The
Loughton Community Association acts as a coordinating body. There are several private sports
grounds, including that of the Loughton Cricket Club
opposite the 'King's Head'. The local council has
provided about 100 acres along the Roding for playing fields and recreation grounds. (fn. 83) A branch of the
County Library was first opened in 1936. The present library, a full-time branch, was opened in 1948. (fn. 84)
During the First World War Loughton provided
accommodation and financial support for Belgian
refugees. The subscriptions totalled £420 in 1915
and £310 in 1916. (fn. 85)