THEYDON MOUNT
Theydon Mount, the most easterly of the three
Theydon parishes, lies between Theydon Garnon and
Stapleford Tawney at a distance of 3 miles from Epping
and 15 miles from London. (fn. 1) The second part of its
name is derived from the hill near its centre upon
which stand the church and Hill Hall. It has also been
called in the past Theydon Paulyn, Theydon Lessington, and Theydon Briwes, from the names of former
lords of the manor. The form Theydon Parva (Little
Theydon) has also been used. (fn. 2) Theydon Mount is a
small rural parish that has been dominated for four
centuries by the great mansion of Hill Hall, formerly
the seat of the Bowyer-Smijth family, and now an
open prison for women. Although so near to London
the parish remains entirely rural, and sparsely populated.
The area was given in 1838 as 1,500 acres. (fn. 3) Later
calculations put it as 1,564 acres. (fn. 4) In 1086 there were
1 villein tenant and 17 bordars in the manor of
Theydon Mount. (fn. 5) In 1428 the parish appears to have
had a smaller population than at Domesday: it was
specially exempted from taxation because there were
less than 10 households. (fn. 6) The population was 193 in
1801. (fn. 7) It rose to a peak of 249 in 1831 and then
declined steadily to 123 in 1901. The population in
1951 was 162. (fn. 8)
The parish is long and narrow, running from north
to south for over 3 miles with an average width of less
than ½ mile. The Roding forms the southern boundary.
From there the land rises steeply to a height of over
250 ft. at Hill Hall, which stands in a large park. The
parish church, ¼ mile south-east of the Hall, adjoins
the park. Farther north the ground falls away but
rises again to 300 ft. at Mount End and over 350 ft.
near the North Weald boundary. There are several
patches of woodland in the north of which the largest
is Beechet Wood. Apart from Hill Hall with its
prisoners the main centres of population are at Mount
End, which contains the former parish school, now
used as a village hall, and on Mount Hill. A map of
1777 shows a few houses at Mount End. (fn. 9) Some of the
surviving houses there appear to date from the first half
of the 18th century.
From Mount End roads run north-east to Stanford
Rivers, east to Stapleford Tawney, south-east to the
church, south-west to Hobbs Cross in Theydon
Garnon (a farm lane), and west to Coopersale and
Epping. The approach to Hill Hall is by a drive off the
Stapleford Tawney road. (fn. 10) North Farm, at the Mount
End cross-roads, appears to date from the first half of
the 18th century. Tarlings, nearly opposite the north
lodge of Hill Hall, was formerly a smithy. (fn. 11) About ¼
mile south-east of North Farm is the site of a former
brick and tile works. The new rectory has recently
been built here. (fn. 12) Near the rectory, in the lane leading
to Beechet Wood, are two pairs of council houses.
Coleman's Farm, ¼ mile east of Hill Hall, is about 50
years old. There was a building on this site in 1777,
then called Cotes. (fn. 13) Near Coleman's, on the edge of
Hill Hall park, is Icehouse Plantation, which probably
takes its name from the former icehouse of Hill Hall.
This may have dated from the 17th or 18th century. (fn. 14)
In the extreme south of the parish is Skinners, a timberframed house to which a gabled brick front was added
late in the 19th century. In the dairy is the threecentred arch of a former oak doorway in which a
mullioned window has been inserted. This suggests
that the house dates from the 16th century or earlier.
Brook House, ½ mile west of Skinners, probably dates
from the early 18th century. (fn. 15)
The lane from Mount End to Hobbs Cross and part
of the road from Mount End to Stanford Rivers follow
the line of a Roman road. Roman remains were
found in this area in the 19th century. (fn. 16) The Hobbs
Cross road was presented at Quarter Sessions in 1582-3
as a 'noisome way'. (fn. 17) The road to Coopersale, which
now passes to the north of North Farm, is shown on
the 1777 map as farther south. (fn. 18) Between 1777 and
about 1800 Hill Hall park was extended to the east.
This involved the diversion of the road so as to bring
the church within the park, from which it was fenced
off in 1953-4. (fn. 19) About this time the old rectory near
the church was demolished (fn. 20) and (perhaps somewhat
later) the former manor house of Mount Hall was also
taken down. (fn. 21)
For transport and postal services Theydon Mount
has depended upon Epping and Romford. Piped water
is supplied by the Herts. and Essex Waterworks Co. (fn. 22)
but there is no main drainage. (fn. 23) Electricity was supplied
by the Eastern Electricity Board in 1950. (fn. 24) A branch
of the county library was opened in 1935. (fn. 25) The
village hall is the former school.
From the 15th century until the 20th most of the
and in the parish was in the hands of a single owner.
With the building of Hill Hall in the 16th century the
parish became more than ever dominated by the manor
house. In 1838 Sir John Smijth owned all but some
70 acres of the parish. (fn. 26) The Hill Hall estate had
increased in size since 1700, when three other owners
had land in the parish. (fn. 27) During its four centuries as
a private house Hill Hall must have provided substantial opportunities for local employment. Those of
the inhabitants of the parish not employed there were
mainly engaged in agriculture. There has been very
little industry in Theydon Mount. The market and
fair granted to Paulinus de Theydon in 1225 (see
below, Manor) did not survive into modern times.
One industry, brick- and tile-making, appears to have
gone on (perhaps intermittently) from the 16th century
to the 20th. The brick-works to the north of Hill Hall
was still in operation in 1914. (fn. 28) It was perhaps the
successor of the works from which bricks were provided about 1580 for the completion of Hill Hall
itself, (fn. 29) and of the brick kiln 'on the top of Mount
Hill' in 1655. (fn. 30)