Mr. Archer, a gentleman of about £10,000 per annum, chiefly landed property in Berkshire, and partly in Essex, died some time ago, and left a very large fortune, great part of which he gave to his wife, but the bulk went to his daughters by a former marriage. He was a singular character, and possessed a princely fortune. He lived in great retirement with his wife. He had another mansion in Berkshire, where he kept a suitable establishment, and his daughters lived, but he never lived there himself.
Besides his house in Berkshire he had a fine mansion on his beautiful estate at Coopersale, near Epping, Essex. But this house had been deserted for 20 years or more, no one being allowed to reside in it. On the death of Mr. Archer it fell to the lot of his daughter, the elegant Mrs Houblon, who sent a surveyor to examine the house. His report is most curious.
Neither the gates of the court-yard or the doors of the mansion had been opened for a period of eighteen years. The latter, by order, were covered with plates of iron. The court-yard was crowded with thistles, docks and weeds, and the inner hall was covered with cobwebs. The rooks and jackdaws had built their nests in the chimney, and the solemn bird of night had taken possession of the principal drawing-room. Several of the rooms had nt been open for 30 years. The pigeons had for the space of 25 years built their nests in the library (which contained some thousands of books) having made a lodgement through the means of an aperture in one of the casements. Here they had remained undisturbed for the space above mentioned, as several loads of dung were found in the apartment. A celebrated naturalist who was present at the opening of the house declared that he had never saw cobwebs so beautiful before, or of such amazing size. They extended the length of one room from the ceiling to the ground.
The wine, ales, and rum, of which there were large quantities had not been touched for 20 years; they were found in fine order, particularly the port wine. The bailiff, the gardener and his men were expressly ordered by their late master not to remove even weed from the garden and grounds. The fish ponds were untouched for many years. A gentleman after the owner’s death, having had permission to fish caught several jacks weighing 14lbs or 15lbs each.
All the neighbouring gentry have been to view the house and grounds, whose ruinous condition forms a general topic of conversation.
Compiled from the Leeds Intelligencer, January 4th 1802.
The ‘eccentric owner of Coopersale House was John Eyre Archer, who inherited the estate from his father William in 1739. In around 1780 he ordered the house to be shut up to save taxes, although the house had apparently been deserted for some 20 years.
There is an unusual record of a journey made by John and his wife Lady Mary Fitzwilliam. The journey was from his home in Welford, Berkshire to his house in Coopersale.
“First the coach and six horses, with two postilions, coachman and three outriders; a postchaise and four post-horses, phaeton and four followed by two grooms a chaise marine with four horses carrying numerous services of plate – this last was escorted by the under-butler, who had under his command three stout fellows; they formed part of the household and all were armed with blunderbusses. Next followed the hunters with their cloaks of scarlet trimmed with silver and attended by the stud groom and huntsmen, each horse having a fox’s brush tied to the front of the bridle. The rear was brought up by a pack of hounds, the whipper-in, the hack horses and the inferior stablemen. In the coach went the upper servants. Mrs Archer accompanied Mr Archer in the Phaeton, he travelling in all weather in that vehicle, wrapped up in a swan’s down coat.”
According to his daughter, Susannah, John died,
‘miserable, half-blind, tortured with eczema and estranged from his children.’
Susannah married Jacob Houblon of Hallingbury and returned to live at Coopersale on the death of her father in 1800. After 1837, the Coopersale estate with the house and Hallingbury Place descended in the Archer-Houblon family. A point of interest here, Sir John Houblon founded the Bank of England and his photograph is on a £50 note.
Their son, John Archer-Houblon died in 1865; his daughter Miss Harriet provided the school in Coopersale Street, St Albans Church and the Vicarage. She died in 1896 and again the house was empty for some years.
A great frost in 1895 caused many problems, hydrants were frozen
up and the lake was frozen over. Miss Archer-Houblon invited skaters to use the lake around which fairy lights and Chinese lanterns were hung, tea and refreshments were provided and an ice carnival held in the evening with a fireworks display.
The contents of the house were sold in 1908 and the estate in 1914. A religious order owned it during the 1st World War. In 1920 it was sold to Mr H E J Camps. From 1936 - 44 to Mr Dudley Ward who sold it to Countess How. In 1946 it was acquired by Mr Jocelyn Hambro and subsequently Rupert Murdoch and Mr Gerald Scott OBE.
Lancelot ‘Capability’Brown
In 1774 Lancelot “Capability” Brown advised John Archer on improvements to the small park at Coopersale, Epping, Essex.
Brown’s account book shows that he visited the 11-hectare (27 acres) park at Coopersale House in 1774 and produced a plan. Maps from the 18th century suggest that the shape of the existing lake was altered after Brown’s visits, but there are doubts over whether the work was ever done. Brown may also have advised owner John Archer about diverting the public road away from the house.
Brown’s visit
John Archer consulted Brown about making improvements to the park at Coopersale in the mid-1770s. Brown’s account book (see online) shows that he received £36 and 15 shillings (more than £58,000 today) in March 1774 from “Archer, Coopersale” for “journeys and Plans.”
Brown’s plans for Coopersale have not survived and the estate was shut up less than two years later, following the death of Archer’s wife, Lady Mary. It is unlikely that much work on Brown’s design could have been done in that short time or that it would have survived the following years of neglect.
Coopersale House was built at the end of the C17 by John Archer, whose family was established in the parish by the late C16. Archer died without issue in 1707 and left the estate to a colleague, William Eyre, on the condition he married into the family and changed his name to Archer.
William Archer 1677 – 1739 was an M.P. for Essex
Gentleman’s Magazine 1801
‘They were There’, by William Palmer. Pub.1987.