Waltham Abbey
Waltham Abbey photos (38 available)
Waltham Abbey maps (2 available)
Map of Essex
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Waltham Abbey books (20 available)
Brentwood Town Walk Guide
Paperback
So You Think You Know? Chelmsford
Hardback
Colchester Photographic Memories
Paperback
Waltham Abbey memories
Read and share memories of Waltham Abbey and Essex inspired by Frith photos
Waltham Abbey the place I call home
I was born in Waltham Abbey and lived there until I was twenty eight. It is the place I call home, where my roots are. Many times I remember going into the Abbey Church; there is such a feeling of serenity and the presence of God there. As a young person I went there for quietness, to meet with God and on so many times I left feeling refreshed and restored. nowdays when I go back and open the big oak door I am drawn in by the awesomeness and wonder of such a wonderful building. I love the stain glass windows both in the main church and the Lady Chapel, the wax painting (discovered ...read more here
Contributed by Christine Brooker
Essex memories
Waltham Abbey the place I call home
I was born in Waltham Abbey and lived there until I was twenty eight. It is the place I call home, where my roots are. Many times I remember going into the Abbey Church; there is such a feeling of serenity and the presence of God there. As a young person I went there for quietness, to meet with God and on so many times I left feeling refreshed and restored. nowdays when I go back and open the big oak door I am drawn in by the awesomeness and wonder of such a wonderful building. I love the stain glass windows both in the main church and the Lady Chapel, the wax painting (discovered ...read more here
A memory of Waltham Abbey contributed by Christine Brooker
CINDER TRACK RACING AT HIGH BEECH
My home was in Buckhurst Hill but on saturdays in the summertime my Dad would sometimes take my Mum and I to the cinder racing track at High Beech. My memories of those saturday aftrenoons come back as clear and a photograph. Each one enhanced by the smell of Castrol Oil, the lubricant of choice for the motorcycle Dare Devils. The grandstands would be full, the men selling choc-ices would wander the stands trying to earn a few shillings while getting to watch varoius racing heats. The 'gate' would fly upward and as many as ten young men , and sometimes a young woman, on brakless motorcycles would dive for the first turn. In unison they would lay their bikes down, ...read more here
A memory of High Beech contributed by Denman Lalonde
My wedding
When we arrived in Loughton in 1956, we were visited by the then vicar and decided to join this church, which stands on the High Road, in the centre of Loughton. In 1964 my wedding was held there, and the vicar was the Rev. Vine.
A memory of Loughton contributed by Diana Dioszeghy
Extracts From Waltham Abbey & Essex books
Epping Forest’s pleasant vistas and the opportunities it offers for a quiet escape from the
busy troubles of London are the attractions that brought people here – and no doubt the
romantic name of the Robin Hood Tavern (built in Victorian times) helped.
An extract from from"Chigwell Photographic Memories".
The shop on the left
is Morgan’s, selling
confectionery, and the
shop is still an old-
fashioned confectioner’s
just as Morgan would
have remembered it.
These buildings were
built on the wastes in
front of the original
Chigwell Row in c1880.
F Harman & Co, whose
sign we can just make
out on the gate next to
Morgan’s, were builders,
and this was their yard.
An extract from from"Chigwell Photographic Memories".
This house was built by W Pemberton Barnes to replace an earlier house built in the 18th
century. In 1924 the estate had 1,552 acres, 400 of which were parkland. The Havering manor
was a crown manor from the time of Harold, of Hastings fame, until 1828.
An extract from from"Chigwell Photographic Memories".
By 1713 the Chester Room of the Kings Head was being used by the Court of Attachments of Waltham Forest, which met to
decide on minor disputes. Stephen Pewsy, in ‘Chigwell and Loughton: A Pictorial History’, says that the gateway to the pub,
demolished in modern times to make way for the motorcars, even had a small cell to confine miscreants.
An extract from from"Chigwell Photographic Memories".
Here we have an
almost identical view
some ten years later.
One of the great
advantages of the
Frith Collection is that
the photographers
often went back to
the same locations,
which provides us
with subtle degrees
of change. Here the
Bakery has clearly
been refurbished.
An extract from from"Chigwell Photographic Memories".