11:54am Friday 30th April 2010
By Mhairi Macfarlane
A restoration project on a mammoth scale is transforming Copped Hall, but as MHAIRI MACFARLANE found out, a long project lies ahead to return the mansion to its former glory.
When a group of local people and conversationalists won a fierce campaign to ward off developers and save a dilapidated Georgian mansion in Epping, the challenge to restore the imposing building and gardens was just beginning.
In the subsequent 15 years, a dedicated group whch formed the Copped Hall Trust had to ensure that the purchase price of the building was paid off so that it could be owned completely by the trust.
This was the most difficult task for the group following the nine-year campaign to save the building, says trust vice-chairman and architect Alan Cox, and the restoration project that followed was, by comparison, “the easy bit”.
Mr Cox explains: “The easy bit is restoring it, which could go on forever. It is very much a work in progress. The public can share and see the gradual and careful restoration going on. It is rare that you can see such an important historical building being restored.
“The building is excellent, but when it was just a shell with trees, people didn't make much of it, but as it has been restored, people say they didn't realise how wonderful it is. The more you do, the more people can see and people can appreciate.”
When volunteers finally set foot in the grounds to start work, the mansion was almost completely obscured by a jungle of plants and trees and there was a complete absence of grass in the gardens.
But today, the gardens are beautifully tended to and the mansion and ancillary buildings are being gradually restored using public donations from a “wish list” of individual items needed, such as windows.
As well as the Trust, there's a group of 1,000 Friends of Copped Hall, who support the Trust and volunteer during regular tours of the mansion and gardens so that individuals, schools and groups, can enjoy it's rich history.
The mansion was built in 1798 and designed by John Sanderson under the instructions of its owner, John Conyer.
But records show there's been a building on the site since the 12th Century which belonged to the Fitzaucher family, who served the King as huntsmen.
In the intervening five centuries, Copped Hall changed hands many times and has taken on several new guises over the years.
It was once owned by Henry VIII, before the future Queen Mary moved in, in 1958, until she took the throne and leased it to Sir Thomas Cornwallis.
In the Elizabethan period, it was given to Sir Thomas Heneage, a close friend of Queen Elizabeth I, who had it rebuilt in time for the Queen coming to stay in 1568.
Copped Hall changed very little in the early part of the 19th Century, but in the latter part of the century, its owner, Ernest Wythes, started spending money to make it more grand and employed a small army of gardeners and servants to look after it.
But in 1917, the main 18th Century block was gutted by fire and when the estate was sold in 1952, anything of value was removed, including timber work, staircases, railings and statues.
When the M25 was built, developers wanted to bulldoze the mansion and build multi-story flats and offices.
But these plans were thwarted by the campaigners, who saved the mansion and gardens by buying them in 1995, with the Corporation of London purchasing the parkland in 1992.
Mr Cox said: “It is a very important historical site. It is an ancient site. It is part of English history.
“We are no different from the National Trust or English Heritage, we are doing the same thing.
“The volunteers all care passionately about it. It is a much-loved building and gardens and they all turn up because it is quite a community of people and they get a lot of happiness from being part of that group.”
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/trade_directory/