What the Dickens is going on here?

11:02am Wednesday 17th August 2005

Len Banister explores history, schools and churches

Chigwell ancient and (nearly) modern is the theme of this week's stroll. I guarantee that you will be surprised at the way that you are quite suddenly immersed in the quiet of the countryside within a few minutes of this short walk.

We gradually approach Chigwell with the church marking the centre of the old village. Before reaching it we pass by some of the more attractive and tasteful of the 1930's developments.

A brief tour of the church is a must and you may want to pop into the Olde Kings Head Inn which Charles Dickens used in his novel Barnaby Rudge, calling it the Maypole and describing it as "an old building, with more gable ends than a lazy man would care to count on a sunny day, huge chimneys, sunken and uneven floors, heavy massive beams, ceilings blackened by the hand of time..."

Further on is Chigwell School which dates from 1619 and was founded by Samuel Harsnett, vicar of the church, who went on to become Archbishop of York and Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University.

Like most other public schools, Chigwell was founded to look after the education of poor, clever, students.

You may still have to be fairly bright to get in but most of the students these days are far from poor.

As we return we should contemplate with some gratitude the fact that the further expansion of Chigwell was limited mainly as a result of the plan, implemented in 1938 by Patrick Abercrombie, for an area surrounding a large city.

It was officially designated not to be built on but preserved where possible as open space for agricultural and recreational use. These areas came to be known as Green Belts.

Now local authorities are once again coming under pressure to build on green belt land.

Click here for map.

1. Start Leave the station, cross the road and turn right going past Jennikings Garden Centre and the lane to Chigwell Cemetery and immediately turning left through a kissing gate to suddenly, and quite surprisingly, start the walk in a green lane.

As the noise of the traffic dies away the lane becomes more attractive with trees on both sides. At the end of this path go left so that you are now walking along the edge of an open field with trees to your left. (Over to your right is the first sight of Chigwell village. Closer at hand is a mound with what are known as the Ten Trees unfortunately their number was depleted in 1987 by gales). At the end of the field, maintain your direction by going forward through a tunnel of trees with fencing to the right. You reach the Central Line track.

2. 0.6 miles/0.9km Swing right with the path, passing a bridge on the left. You emerge on a drive with ornate metal gates to your right. Cross over and follow a waymarker along the right edge of a field. At the end of this field enter the next, again along the right hand edge (hedge on right) to walk down to a bridge which takes you into Courtland Drive.

3. 1 mile/1.6km Turn left and go right up Meadow Way. Just before the junction with Parklands turn left at a fingerpost to go along a tarmaced path between fence and wall.

You emerge at Chigwell High Road.

4. 1.3 miles/2.1km Carefully cross this main road and turn right to visit the church. (St Mary's was founded in Norman times. Its graveyard is mainly Victorian, near the church with all the broken columns and draped urns of that period, further away there are sleek rows of modern stones.

Inside is a brass commemorating Samuel Harsnett, the founder of Chigwell School. This medieval brass is considered by some to be the best example of its kind in England.) Leave the church and continue along the road passing the King's Head on the other side of the road and then Chigwell School. Cross the road just before passing the Bluebell restaurant (of Essex Wives' television fame) and continue to a mini-roundabout. Turn right and, after a few metres, left across the road to walk up a narrow pathway opposite.

5. 1.4 miles/2.3km Go along the path which has trees on one side and a link fence on the right. The fence gives way to railings which mark the boundary of Chigwell County Primary School.

Continue across the drive at the entrance of the school and into a field where you aim for the far right corner.

You reach the end of a lane and go right to walk down another track past a green metal barrier. Ignore all tracks to left and right to continue for about half a mile going down and then up to emerge on a gravel drive by a house. The drive veers to the right and delivers you into a road.

6. 2.3 miles/3.6km Turn right to walk along the pavement. Take great care in crossing the road at the corner to follow a footpath sign between houses. Reach a waymarker and go right along a field edge.

You should be walking between two fields with a ditch on your left. The path eventually comes to a ditch and swings left. After five metres, at a junction of paths go left.

You should now recognise the path you took on your outward journey.

Keep forward until you reach the road where you turn right to return to the station.

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