The Water Tower Traditional Cache

 This is our 1st Geocache hide. We wanted to show you some of our lovely little market town that is steeped in history.  Epping Town is situated in the south west of Essex about 17 miles north east of London. Astride a ridge, about 100m above sea level, it is seperated from the outer suburbs of London by the forest which bears its name. 

Epping Town History.

Archaeological finds in parts of the forest show that there was human settlement in the area as far back as 7500BC.  However, the story of the present day market town of Epping is really that of two village communities, not one.  The Domesday Book of 1086 gives brief details of “Eppinga”, a small community consisting of a few scattered farms and a chapel on the edge of the forest at the place known today as Epping Upland.  The name “Eppinga” gives a clue to the early inhabitants of the village.  It is thought to be from the Anglo-Saxon, “ep” meaning up and “ing” meaning cultivated lands, indicating that the area was settled well before the Norman Conquest of 1066.  There is also some evidence of Roman activity.  A coin from the reign of the Emperor Domitian (81 to 96) was discovered in the grounds of a house near Hemnall Street and the remains of a Roman road and brickworks close to Fiddlers Hamlet.  By the mid twelfth century a settlement known as Epping Heath (later Epping Street) had developed south of Epping Upland as a result of vigorous clearance of the forest for crop cultivation.  This land was then held by the Canons of Waltham Abbey and formed part of their manor of Eppingbury.  An ancient beacon to warn of invasion is thought to have been established by the inhabitants of Epping Heath near what is now Bell Common.  This fact is remembered today with roads named Beaconfield.

In 1253 King Henry III granted Waltham Abbey the right to hold a weekly market in Epping Street as well as a three day annual fair in May.  Over the years Epping market developed to be an important Essex cattle market.  Animals from surrounding farms would be offered for sale and exhibited in the cattle pens which were then a permanent feature in the High Street.  It is recorded that even wives could be bought or sold at Epping market.    Due to changed economic circumstances the cattle market ceased in 1961.

In medieval times Epping Street and Epping Upland sat on the main south-east to north-west trade route.  Dwellings were built along this line which today is Lindsey Street.  Some of Epping’s oldest buildings can be seen in this area of the town.  A brewery and maltings once existed on Lindsey Street as did a pesthouse and a workhouse.  Here the less fortunate of the town found some relief until in 1838, in response to the New Poor Law, the inmates were transferred to a fine new Union Workhouse on the Plain.  After service in the war as an Emergency Medical Service Hospital, this building became part of St Margaret’s Hospital, now newly renovated as a state of the art Community Hospital.  

There are over 30 statutorily or locally listed buildings in Epping High Street and the whole High Street area has been designated as a Conservation Area.  A few timber framed buildings from the 17th century still exist there.  Along the main road some fine 18th century buildings can be seen.  

Today the town has three tower landmarks.  They stand on the ridge of the main road and can be seen from many miles away.  To the south is the Water Tower built in 1872 after a long campaign by local doctor Joseph Clegg for clean water and proper drainage for the town.   In the centre of the town is the tower of St. John’s Church built in 1909.  To the north the third tower is that of the more recently built Civic Offices, this was built in 1990.

Epping Town has owed much of its development to its main road position and its proximity to London. In the early 19th century some 25 horse drawn coaches passed through the town each day.  They plied to and from London, Norwich, Cambridge, Bury St. Edmunds and other places.  In 1800 there were 26 inns in the town and its southern approaches, all mainly serving the coaching trade.

The great demand for homes after the Second World War caused many of the large old houses around the town, which had generous gardens and grounds, to be demolished for housing developments.  Theydon Grove, Theydon Place, Theydon Bower, Lynceley Grange, Egg Hall and Highfield are now remembered by the street names in the locality of the original estates.  Gaynes Park and Coopersale Hall, being further from the railway have survived as examples of the generous architecture of their period.  The post war housing need also encouraged the Local Authority to build large estates to the east and west of the town centre.  

Epping’s identity is linked with that of Epping Forest.  In fact it is now known as “the Town of the Forest”.  In early times the whole of Essex was covered by forest.  This part of the county became a Royal Hunting Forest.  Clearings and enclosures by favoured citizens drastically reduced the total forest area.  

The name of Epping, largely because of its Forest connection, is widely known beyond its boundaries.  There are Epping place names in Australia, Canada, the United States and South Africa.  Epping has been twinned with Eppingen in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany since 1981.  Eppingen is a town of similar size and population to that of Epping and it lies near to the Black Forest.  Exchange visits by pupils from Epping’s St. John’s School, Epping Forest Band, Church choirs and other local organisations have led to lasting friendships between citizens of both towns.  

The ancient market town of Epping with its rich and varied past thrives today.  It is a pleasant place in which to live and visit.   The nearby forest gives protection from the encroachment of the outer London suburbs.  

This is an easy Cache & Dash suitable for Geocachers of all ages and abilities.

You are looking for a small magnetic cache large enough for a small TB.