Although some distance from the High Country situated to the north west of Epping, Copped Hall stands on a ridge to the other side of the town. It is also situated on the second highest point in Essex and is part of a large area of unspoilt land not bisected by any through road or other thoroughfare.
In early days, when the great Forest of Waltham covered most of the south-west of Essex, it is probable that primitive man established himself on this extension of the Epping ridge and to the south of a stream (now Cobbin’s Brook); the access drive to Copped Hall has been carbon dated to as early as 2300 BC. A much later resident could have been Queen Boudicca of the Iceni who is reputed to have made her last stand against the Romans at nearby Ambresbury Banks and who is thought to be buried a little to the west of this ridge. The earliest known reference to an actual dwelling is in 1150 when a Copped Hall was owned by the Fitzhaucher family.
The name “Copped Hall” could be derived from the term “cop” meaning a house with a cap, a top of a hill or from simple association with the nearby Cobbin Brook. There have been three Copped Halls on this site; medieval, Tudor and the current Georgian mansion,
In 1537 the medieval Hall passed into the hands of the last Abbot of Waltham who in turn surrendered the property to King Henry the Eighth in a vain attempt to save the priory of Waltham during the dissolution of the monasteries. Although never a resident, the King was reputed to be at the Hall during the execution of Anne Boleyn, and his son Edward Sixth passed on the Hall to his sister Mary Tudor. While resident there, Mary was the centre of religious controversy in England by celebrating the Catholic Mass in defiance of the Royal Command. Also resident was her sister who, after succeeding to the throne as Elizabeth the First, granted the Hall in 1564 to Sir Thomas Heneage who rebuilt it as a large Tudor mansion with a central courtyard.
John Conyers built the current and Georgian mansion in 1758, a short distance to the south, in the “Palladian Style” and a later owner, Ernest Wythes added an extensive wing and large conservatory from 1895 onwards. He also laid out the great formal gardens for which the Hall was renowned in its heyday (about 1900) and which rivalled those at the Palace of Versailles in France. About this time it was rumoured that the then British Royal Family was considering acquiring the property as a royal country residence but Sandringham was possibly purchased instead.
An electrical fault was the probable cause of the fire, which gutted the Hall in 1917. During subsequent years the burnt out shell was progressively vandalised although the gardens were kept in good condition until 1952 after which they were asset stripped. The mansion was used as a piggery and also a mushroom farm before becoming derelict and a centre for undesirables who committed wanton damage in many areas.
In the 1980s and early 1990s the Hall was the subject of proposals for several developments including a golf course, hotel, extensive housing estate etc., but all were successfully rejected. In 1992 the Corporation of the City of London purchased part of the estate to the south to act as a buffer zone for Epping Forest and the bulk of the estate to the north was retained by the Talbot Trust. In 1993, a Copped Hall Trust was set up for the purpose of acquiring the Hall, its outbuildings and gardens, 785 acres in all, for the purpose of restoration; this acquisition was finally achieved in 1995, The current Trustees are Dennis Farve (chairman), Alan Cox (architect), John Padfield, Bob Perdeaux (treasurer), Gordon Brown and Duncan Lowther; Paul Bostock sits as the representative for the Epping Forest District Council. An Educational Sub committee of the Trust exists to arrange lectures and educational courses relating to the Hall generally.
On 26 April 1998, an inaugural meeting of the Friends of the Copped Hall Trust (now known as the “Friends”) was held at the Hall in the restored Racquets Court; a committee was elected whose function is to support the Trust in its task of restoration by raising funds and providing practical help. The Friends Committee currently comprises Sylvia Keith (chairman), Nicola Munday (vice chairman), Trevor Roberts (past chairman), Pauline Dalton (secretary), Bob Perdeaux (treasurer and membership secretary), Margaret Gervis, Adelaide Karaskas, Iris Newbery, Howard Styles and Arnold Verral. The current membership stands at 420 and is steadily increasing.
Financial support for the project stems mainly from the leasing of the apartments and other outbuildings, from grants made by various organisations including the Essex Historical Society and the Epping Society and the fund-raising activities of the Friends; some £40.000 has been raised by the Friends in the last three years derived mainly from membership fees, donations and open days.
A working party of Friends spends each Sunday and some weekdays at the Hall and to date has carried out extensive work including clearance of the gardens, the creation of new lawns and the restoration of the Priory Garden. An early major milestone of achievement was the reopening, on the 22 Nov 98, of the main entrance of the Hall on the East Side, possibly for the first time since the fire, to facilitate the clearance of the adjacent rooms and the cellars
The outbuildings to the Hall have now been restored, converted into apartments and sold with covenanted leaseholds as residences. Part of the stables have also been restored including the turrets, the clock faces of which been regilded. Repairs to the centre structure to stabilise the chimneys, restore the immediate interior. and provide a temporary roof are almost complete. A complete restoration of the roof is planned.
A further milestone was the return, on 10 Nov 98, from the HM Prison at Bullwood Hall of some original stone work previously removed from the garden of the Hall. Further recoveries of this nature have been made and are directly due to the tireless efforts of the Project Architect, Alan Cox, who is tracking down the many items, which had been “lost” since the fire.
Other milestones included the important acquisition in early 1999 of the four acre Walled Garden, which has great potential, and also the restoration of the Priory Garden at the end of the same year. The latter now provides direct access to the grounds via two new, impressive iron gates.
An archaeological survey of the site of the Tudor mansion was carried out in 2001 followed by an actual excavation this year. The location of several rooms was established including some drains, all of which provide information for further research. An historical time line in the Racquets Court, which depicts events associated with the Hall over some 1,000 years, provides further historical reference.
Copped Hall is now well-known in historical circles and the Trust has given advice and help to other similar organisations wishing to acquire and restore historical houses for the benefit of the community; Valentines Mansion in Ilford is one such example. The M25 motorway, which cuts through part of the estate, has brought the Hall into prominence and prompted many enquiries regarding its past and future; the increased use of the footpath at the front has helped similarly. The Hall is not open to the public but private visits can be made by prior arrangement.
The Hall has been featured on TV on several occasions, only recently in the Simon Schama Presentation of the History of Britain. Its existence is now widely publicised in the local press, through lectures and various publicity media e.g. Copped Hall is now featured in the Essex version of the popular Monopoly board game.
It is more than probable that William Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream for a wedding at the Tudor Hall and the play was performed in the long gallery. Therefore, this summer, the Trust and Friends staged a performance of the play in the grounds near the Tudor Hall; the event was a complete sell out months in advance.
Other fund raising events planned include morning tours at 10.45 on October 20th, November 17th and December 8th. Two Copped Hall lectures will be given in the Theydon Bois Village Hall at 20.00 on 10th and 24th November 2002. General enquiries regarding Copped Hall can be made via Trevor Roberts 01992 813002, Alan Cox 020 7267 1769 or on the Trust’s answer phone 01992 571657. The local press, particularly the Epping Guardian, regularly publishes details of these events.
Do help to restore this fine mansion on our doorstep so that, in the not too distant future, travellers on the M25 will see not a burnt out shell but a magnificently restored Hall, which will once again be a jewel in the crown of our national heritages. The simplest way to do so is to become a member of the Friends; enquiries can be made on any of the above phone numbers.
[This article was prepared for The High Country History Group by Trevor Roberts, Past Chairman of the Friends of Copped Hall, who retains the copyright]