CHINGFORD: Historic retreat reopens (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)
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Historic Chingford retreat reopens
8:26am Monday 6th February 2012 in Your Local Areas By Joe Curtis
Staff at the newly reopened Butler's Retreat
AN HISTORIC cafe reopens today for ramblers.
Butler's Retreat in Chingford Plain will serve people enjoying a walk in Epping Forest after owners the City of London Corporation renovated it as part of a £6.8 million project for the area, which also includes the refurbishment of Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge.
The retreat, built in the mid 19th century, had tea rooms popular during the Temperance movement, which discouraged the drinking of alcohol.
But it will now offer a wider menu before its first floor becomes an evening restaurant with live music and hog roasts, and the downstairs will be a tapas bar later this year.
The retreat was originally used for storing the harvest for the lord of Chingford.
Its serving hatch will remain open for walkers who want to collect a hot drink or some ice cream, and the retreat will be oipen 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 5pm on weekends.
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