History of Wanstead in 1863 Whites Directory
Wanstead 1863 Whites Directory
WANSTEAD is a genteel and picturesque village, pleasantly situated on the
west side of the river Roding and within the southern bounds of Epping
Forest, about 7 miles E.N.E. of Whitechapel and Shoreditch, and near
Snaresbrook and Leytonstone Stations, on theRailway from London to Loughton.
Its parish has 2697 inhabitants) and 2004A. OR. 27P. of land. It comprises
the delightful village of SNARESBROOK, near a woody part of the forest,
about a mile N, of the church, where there is a fine expanse of water, with
little islands and beautiful sylvan scenery, near the Eagle Inn, and
Snaresbrook Station. The parish also includes New Wanstead, and contains
many handsome villas, mostly occupied by gentlemen who have their places of
business in London. Wanstead Flats is an open common of about 800 acres,
forming part of the level of Epping Forest, where Rifle Volunteers are
occasionally reviewed. On the south side of the parish, near Aldersbrook, a
Roman tesselated pavement was found in 1735; about 20 feet by 16. The
tesserae were of brick and of various sizes and colours, and in the centre
was the figure of a man, mounted on a beast. A small brass coin of the
Emperor Valens, and a silver coin, were found among the ruins. About 300
yards further to the south, ruins of brick foundations were discovered, with
fragments of urns, paterae, Roman coins, and other antiquities. The Earl of
Mornington is lord of the manor of Wanstead; but a great part of the soil
belongs to George Wm. Wilkinson, Esq., and many smaller free and
copyholders. The grant of this manor to Westminster Abbey, was confirmed by
Edward the Confessor; but before the end of his reign it was given to St.
Paul's, and was afterwards appropriated to the Bishops of London. It
subsequently passed to the Heron family; but being forfeited, it was granted
by Edward VI. to Lord Rich, who made it his country seat, and is supposed to
have rebuilt the manor house, then called Naked Hall House. His son sold it
to the Earl of Leicester, who enlarged the mansion, and in 1578 entertained
Queen Elizabeth in it for several days. WANSTEAD HOUSE, built by .Earl
Tilney, in 1715, was one of the most splendid and extensive mansions in the
kingdom, but was entirely taken down in 1823. In the early part of the
present century, this mansion was for some time occupied by the Prince de
Conde and other members of the Bourbon family, during their exile from
France, after the first Revolution in that restless and unhappy country,
from which the Bourbons have again been driven.
The CHURCH (Virgin Mary) stands on a commanding eminence in the Park, and
was repaired and enlarged in the early part of the last century, principally
at the expense of the first Earl Tilney; but being still found Small and
incommodious, it was resolved, at the instance of Dr. Glasse, a late rector,
to pull it down, and build a new church on a larger scale, nearly adjoining
to the old site. The first stone of the present structure was laid on the
13th of July, 1787; and it was finished and consecrated in 1790. The
building is of brick, cased with Portland stone, and having a portico of the
Doric order. At the west end is a cupola, supported by eight Ionic columns.
The interior consists of a chancel, nave, and two aislesseparated by columns
of the Corinthian order. In the chancel is a beautiful window of stained
glass, representing our Saviour bearing the Cross. In the chancel is a
superb monument, with the effigy of the deceased in white marble, to the
memory of Sir Josiah Child, Bart., who died in the year 1699. The church is
neatly pewed, and has an organ, purchased in 1847, at the cost of £400. The
rectory, valued in KB. at £6.13s. 4d., and in 1831 at £680, is in the
patronage of the Earl of Mornington, and incumbency of the Rev. W. P. Wigram,
M.A., who has a good residence and 83A. of glebe. The tithes were commuted
in 1841. The produce of subscriptions at various times towards the erection
and maintenance of the organ, and the payment of the organist's salary, was
laid out in the purchase .of stock, now consisting of £700
three-per-cent. Reduced Bank Annuities, and £420 three-and-a-half per cent.
Reduced Annuities, Christ Church, built in 1861, is a chapel-of ease for the
northern parts of the parish. Wanstead Local Board of Health has effected
many improvements in the parish, and J. R. Jennings is its clerk.
The poor parishioners of Wanstead have 20s. a year from Rampson's Charity,
and £11. 10s. per annum from the dividends of the following stock:- viz.,
£100 three-per-cent. Reduced Annuities, purchased with the gift of Earl
Tilney; £166.13s. 4d. thvee-per-eent. Consols, purchased with Wm. Plomer's
gift; and £37.10s. Bank Stock, given by Mrs. Waldo, in 1803. Twenty poor
families have the dividends of £500 three-and-a half per cent. Bank
Annuities, left by George Bowles, Esq., in 1817, to be distributed by the
owner of Wanstead Grove. He also gave £500 three per cent. Reduced
Bank Annuities towards the support of the NATIONAL SCHOOL, which has now
£670 of that stock, of which £200 was purchased with the donations of the
inhabitants. This school is supported chiefly by subscription, and affords
gratuitous education to about 150 children.
The INFANT ORPHAN ASYLUM, in Wanstead parish, is an extensive and elegant
building, delightfully situated near the Eagle in Snaresbrook, on the
confines of the Epping Forest. The charity was first instituted at Hackney
in 1827, and was incorporated in 1843, after the completion of the present
asylum, of which the foundation stone was laid by his late lamented Boyal
Highness Prince Albert, on the 24th of July, 1841, on which occasion upwards
of 400 ladies placed upon the stone, after the ceremony was over, purses of
not less than five guineas; thus raising nearly £3000, in addition to other
large subscriptions from the gentlemen present. The building presents a long
front, with projecting wings, in the Elizabethan style, and is now the
asylum of about 600 fatherless children. The object of this valuable charity
is to board, clothe, nurse, and educate (in accordance with the principles
of the Church of England) poor orphan children, or the children of confirmed
lunatics. It is designed more especially for such as are respectably
descended; and many orphans of clergymen, of officers in the army and navy,
of members of the medical profession, and of merchants (once in affluence),
have found refuge within its walls : none, however, are excluded whose
parents have maintained themselves by their own industry, independent of
parochial aid. Children, are eligible from every part of the empire, and
from the earliest period of life. They remain till eight years of age; the
Asylum being intended as a nursery for all those institutions where
admission is necessarily limited to children of more advanced age such as
Christ's Hospital, the London Orphan Asylum, the Clergy Orphan School, the
Female Orphan Asylum, &c. Until the establishment of this charity, no asylum
existed for infant orphans, and its protection has already been extended to
about 1500 children. It is liberally supported by more than 7000
subscribers, residing in all parts of the country, and its annual
expenditure is about £7000. Her Majesty is a liberal patroness of (his
charity, which has its office at 46, Ludgate hill, London, where Mr. William
Henry Green is secretary.
The MERCHANT SEAMEN'S ORPHAN ASYLUM at Snaresbrook, was built in 1861-2, in
lieu of the old one, at Bow, which was founded in 1827. The new asylum is a
large and handsome building, with room for about 150 orphans. At New
Wanstead are 24 Almshouses for poor Weavers of
London and their wives or widows.