The Warren

Details

TQ 49 NW LOUGHTON EPPING NEW ROAD, 1/45 The Warren,

GV II*

Hunt standing, C16, extended to form an inn in the C18, converted to a house in the early C19. Timber framed, part stucco, part weatherboarded, roofed with slate. 6 bays aligned approx. E-W, main elevation to the N, with chimney stacks in the middle, at the E end, and to the S of the W end. Rear wing to W of centre, C18, with lean-to conservatory in SW angle, C19. Rear wing from E end with end chimney stack, C18, and flat-roofed extension beyond, C20. Single storey lean-to extensions between the rear wings. N and E elevations of stucco. Ground floor, 6 french windows, the middle 2 in shallow recesses with round arches. The more westerly of this pair has a porch with original tented lead roof. First floor, 8 double-hung sash windows of 12 lights, early C19. Stucco string course between storeys. Pediment with wooden brackets, and shallow projection below. Full length cornice with paired brackets. This elevation forms a symmetrical composition, apart from the off-centre porch. 2 first-floor windows to E of centre exhibit blank panels behind the upper sashes, the only external indication of the timber tower which forms the earliest part of the structure. It is of one bay approx. 4 metres x 3 metres, of 2 storeys, formerly known as the Little Standing, from which spectators were able to watch deer hunts in a large clearing of the Royal Forest of Waltham, now Epping Forest. The nearest equivalent is a timber tower of 3 storeys 1.6 KM to the SW, formerly the Great Standing, now known as Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, Chingford. Another hunt standing has been identified at Galleywood, and another provisionally identified at Hyfield, Felsted. There may be others unrecognised; they constitute rare survivals of a type of building which was common enough in the C16 and earlier. All the timber is of large square section and high quality. The horizontal members are plain-chamfered on the inside only, with step stops. Where accessible the timber is weathered on the outside; much of it is concealed within plaster. There are no mortices for studs, nor fixings for wattle infill. The first floor is cambered to shed rain, a feature observed at Chingford also. One straight tiebeam is visible; the roof is rebuilt above that level. The Reindeer Inn was built around this tower. A licence of 1st May 1747 from the Court of Attachments authorises 'William Simmons of the Warren House in Fair tread Bottom to use the occupation of an Ale-House Keeper in his house the Sign of the Rayne Deer', etc. An engraving by H. S. Storer, c.1800, illustrates 'The Rein Deer Inn' from the NE, exactly as at present except that it is shown without the porch. The inn was described by Humphry Repton as an establishment catering mainly for Sunday visitors from London, and he advised on how it could be converted to a private house. (Fragments on Landscape Gardening, 1816, 475- 7). It remains much as he proposed, with early C19 interior features - a full set of internal folding shutters, some doors and some fireplaces. (Documents quoted are in the possession of the Conservators of Epping Forest and Essex Record Office).

Listing NGR: TQ4098195665

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

118627

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Repton, with Repton, Fragments on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Including some Remarks on Grecian and Gothic Architecture, (1816), 475-7

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.