Debden

This is the 3rd station as I travel West on the Central Line.

Not quite as attractive as the previous two stations but nevertheless someone has taken the trouble to plant and maintain a flower garden. Just the two platforms, one going East and the other going West. Access from one to the other is via an iron bridge

 

A short walk from the station takes you onto the Broadway



where the most interesting shop was the eel, pie and mash shop.


 I think the only place you will find these cafes/takeaways is in London, in particular the East end of London. Pie and mash shops have been around since the 19th cent. The pies are usually minced beef served with mashed potatoes and an eel liquor sauce which is a green colour (from the parsley). Eel pies were a favourite of the working class during the Victorian era as eels were plentiful being the only kind of fish that could survive life in the polluted River Thames. Nowadays the shops tend to sell either steamed or jellied Eels to go with the pie and mash. Neither of which appeals to me.

Debden is surrounded by countryside and is also close to Epping Forest












 Just five minutes walk from the station is the Roding Valley Nature reserve.

When I visited the blackberries were ready for picking but unfortunately I didn't have a container with me. I couldn't resist tasting them and they were deliciously sweet.

Overlooking the large nature reserve was this housing estate which by its design I would assume was built in the 60s. How it got planning permission I have no idea, it reminded me of a disused school.

Sign for the London Loop (London Outer Orbital Path). It is a 150 mile walk, made up of 24 sections, around the edge of outer London. I'll keep that in mind for another day.

This is Epping Forest College. a large 6th form and further education college.

In the distance you can see the London skyline. The tallest one being the Shard at London Bridge. Debden is about 11 miles  from the centre of London

There are two large industrial sites close to Debden, places I don't usually bother to visit as they are not exactly interesting. However, after returning home and doing some research to accompany my photos I made a couple of discoveries. It meant a return to Debden to have a look.





This building with its double fencing and razor wire is only five minutes from the station. Intrigued?

 Well, this is where all our bank notes are printed, hence the security. (Did wonder if I might be visited by the security guards before leaving the area.) I have also heard that this building is the reason there is no junction onto the M11 motorway from Debden making a quick getaway very difficult with the heavily congested roads here.

 Around the corner from the printers is this large storage unit. A small board outside informs you that this is the store for the  Postal Museum.  It is only open to the public by prior arrangement on certain open days. I couldn't complete this post on Debden without a visit so I had to wait a couple of months before an opportunity arose and I wasn't disappointed.

This is a store room where larger exhibits are kept before going out on loan. They are packed tightly together so doing them justice wasn't easy. I enjoyed the tour and here are a few of the highlights.

The mail coach dates from around 1840. It carried passengers as well as the post.

An electric bike which didn't really catch on.

                             

The designer of this Victorian pillar box was so intent on making it decorative that he forgot to put an opening in it for the letters. When he added one he put it on the top, the ideal place to catch the rain! Needless to say this one didn't last long.

                       


                   

                                                                           

I never realised that we used to have special pillar boxes for air mail letters.

Squeezed between a K2 and a K6 telephone box is a much larger one that was also a post box and had a stamp machine on the side as well. Apparently it didn't catch on as the stamp machine was too noisy whilst someone was using the phone.

Sharing with Our World Tuesday

Theydon Bois

This is the second station that I have visited on the Central Line.

The station began its life as Theydon in 1865 on the Great Eastern Railway and became part of the London Underground in 1949

The present bridge going over the lines was built in 1885 in Glasgow.

On leaving the station it takes just a minute to walk into the small rural village.



The origin of the name comes from the family of Bois (de Bosco) which owned the manor in the 12th and 13th cent. The name Bois is pronounced boyce.

This is the centre of the village. It was a Sunday when I visited so most of the shops were closed which was a pity as they looked very inviting.

There are two pubs in the village. The Bull dates back to the  17th Century. It remained a residential house until 1717 because the village was too small with too few visitors.

The second pub is the Queen Victoria. It has been a McMullen pub since 1898.





This modern building is the village hall used for many purposes such as meetings of the Women's Institute and the U3A plus art classees, keep fit etc. Seems to be the centre of village activities.

Across the road  is the large village green

The village is bordered by the Essex countryside and Epping Forest.

.

This is a coal tax post denoting the boundary whereby taxes on coal were due to the Corporation of London. Coal imported into the City of London has been taxed since Medieval times. The collection of these duties was abolished in 1889 but a number of these posts still remain.

I thought there might be a way into the forest along this road but as the sign mentions, this area of the Forest is a deer sanctuary. Returning back towards the village I passed this large building which is

 the telephone exchange. I assume it covers a much larger area than just the village.

The parish church of St Mary the Virgin built in 1850. It is a beautiful little church with a charming churchyard.

Here I met C(more info here) who showed me the entrance into the Forest via a narrow path from the churchyard. He then acted as my guide for the next few hours.

The land between the Forest and the countryside beyond is known as the Buffer Land.  It is still accessible to the public but there are certain restrictions such as keeping your dog on a leash. On this land is Copped Hall Park which was a medieval hunting ground.

The ruined mansion is owned by the Copped Hall Trust and is being actively restored following the fire that destroyed it in 1917.

This is the view from the mansion.

I returned to the station via one of the main paths through the Forest.

Fields and open countryside occupy the land on the opposite side of the station from the village.

As I waited for the tube train to arrive I reflected on the location of this underground station in the heart of Epping Forest and the surrounding beautiful Essex countryside. Not sure I will find another station in such a beautiful setting.