MAGDALEN LAVER
Magdalen Laver is a small parish about 5 miles to
the north-west of Chipping Ongar and 4 miles to the
south-east of Harlow. (fn. 1) A very small detached part
(5.6 acres) lies on the boundary between Moreton
and High Laver, to the east of the main part of the
parish. The area of the ancient parish was 1,229 acres. (fn. 2)
It was increased by the incorporation of two detached
portions of North Weald Bassett. One portion of
North Weald (10 acres), lying to the north-west of
Weald Lodge, was transferred to Magdalen Laver in
1883; (fn. 3) the larger portion, lying to the north of the
middle of Cripsey Brook, near Weald Bridge and
including Weald Bridge Farm, Weald Lodge, and
Bowlers Green, was transferred to Magdalen Laver in
1946. (fn. 4) Magdalen Laver now has an area of 1,443
acres. (fn. 5) The parish has an unusual number of ancient
timber-framed farm-houses, the oldest of which probably dates from the 14th century. (fn. 6) Several of these, as
well as the manor house and the old rectory, stand on or
near moated sites. There were 28 inhabited houses in
1801, 33 in 1811, and 38 in 1821. (fn. 7) In 1801 the population was 228; (fn. 8) it reached 236 in 1821 and again in
1851. (fn. 9) Then it declined irregularly to 134 in 1931. (fn. 10)
By 1951 it had risen to 242, (fn. 11) this being partly due to
the incorporation of part of North Weald Bassett in
1946.
The land rises in the west of the parish to just over
300 ft. above sea-level. It slopes eastward and southward to less than 200 ft. along the streams that separate
the parish from Moreton on the east and Bobbingworth
on the south. Another stream rises in the north-west
and flows south-eastward across the middle of the
parish, joining one of the other streams on the southern
boundary. A small area of woodland lies on the
northern boundary.
The road from Epping crosses the southern boundary
at Weald Bridge and runs northward for about ½ mile
until it is joined by a road from Bobbingworth. To
the north of this junction the road meets another road
which runs from east to west across the parish. About
½ mile to the west, on the south side of this last road, is
the 'Green Man', which was probably built early in
the 18th century. Almost opposite the 'Green Man'
is a single pair of council houses built during the Second
World War. Immediately to the west, on the south
side of the road, is the new rectory. (fn. 12) On the north
side of the road, by a drive leading north-eastward
to Spencers, is Humphreys which probably derives its
name from the family of John Humphrey, living in the
13th century. (fn. 13) This has a pedimented door-hood and
appears to be an early-18th-century timber-framed
house, although the back wing may be older. Immediately west of Humphreys is Mollmans, where another
road leads north-eastward to Tilegate Green in High
Laver. At Mollmans a fragment of a moat remains.
The south end of the house and the back wing were
probably built in the late 16th or early 17th century.
On the north side of the road leading westward from
Mollmans is Rolls, (fn. 14) a timber-framed farm-house standing on a moated site. The moat, more than half of
which remains, is curved in shape and of considerable
size. The main axis of the house runs north and south
and there is a cross-wing at the north end. This north
wing has two stories and an attic and dates from the late
16th or early 17th century. It has a chimney with
octagonal clustered shafts, now covered with cement.
The upper flight of the staircase is original and has
turned balusters and moulded newel caps. The main
block also has two stories and an attic, but there are
indications that it is an adaptation of an earlier structure. The chimney, now cement-covered, has diagonal
shafts. The doors and windows of the house mostly
date from the 18th and early 19th centuries. From
Rolls the road turns northward and then sharply westward past Wynters Armourie to the western boundary
of the parish.
Wynters Armourie, formerly Winters, which probably derives its name from the family of Alice Winter,
living in about 1248, (fn. 15) stands on a moated site. The
moat encloses a long narrow rectangle from north to
south. There is part of a transverse arm in the centre
but the south end has been obliterated by the farmyard. The house is timber-framed and consists of a
central block with cross-wings to the east and west (see
plate facing p. 137). On the north side there is a singlestory addition and a small staircase wing. The central
block originally consisted of a partially aisled hall of two
bays, probably dating from the 14th century. Ceilings,
fireplaces, and partitions have been inserted later and
the west bay has been raised in height and rebuilt. Most
of the main roof truss dividing the bays is still in position and at the east end of the hall are the remains of a
'spere truss', suggesting that the hall is of the transitional
type where the aisles are retained in the screens bay only.
The central truss has a steeply cambered collar below
which are deep curved braces, moulded at their lower
edge. The collar purlin and some of the original rafters
are in position and there are indications of a former kingpost. All the timbers are blackened with smoke from
an open hearth. Rising obliquely from near the base
of one of the principal rafters and reaching to the underside of the plate is a wind-brace or strut. (fn. 16) The others
are missing. In the east bay the north doorway of the
screens passage is in position and there is one jamb of
an opposite doorway on the south side. A post dividing
the 'nave' from the north aisle still exists and the corresponding post of the south aisle has only recently been
removed. On this side a large curved brace, springing
from the east wall and rising to the underside of the
plate, forms part of the 'nave arcade'. Below the main
truss a later tie-beam spans the whole width of the hall.
The detail here is similar to that of the open trusses on
the upper floors of the two cross-wings and it is suggested
that all these features represent additions, possibly
dating from the late 15th or early 16th century. The
rebuilding of the west bay probably took place later
in the 16th century when the roof was raised to give
higher rooms and an attic. The gable ends have unglazed windows with diagonal mullions and the roof
has small curved wind-braces. The central chimney
was probably inserted at this time and the single-story
addition at the back of the house, which has an open
queen-post truss and a large end chimney, may be a
kitchen of the same period. The present owner
restored the house, which was in poor condition, in
about 1935. (fn. 17)
On the north-west side of the road from Mollmans
to Tilegate Green is the village hall. On the other side
of the road is the former rectory, (fn. 18) on a moated site.
North of this, on the west side of the road, there are
three pairs of white plastered council houses. Almost
opposite these houses one drive leads south-eastward
to Spencers and another, newly made, leads northeastward to Magdalen Laver Hall. (fn. 19) Spencers, which
probably derives its name from the family of John le
Spenser, living in 1339, (fn. 20) is a large timber-framed
farm-house with considerable remains of a moat. It
has an irregular three-gabled front and additions on
the other three sides. The stop-moulded ceiling beams
on the ground floor indicate an early-17th-century date
but it is possible that parts of the structure are older.
The new drive to Magdalen Laver Hall is extended in
a north-easterly direction to form an approach to the
church. (fn. 21) Previously the approaches to the church had
been by the footpaths which run from the road to
Spencers on the south and through the farm-yard of
Magdalen Laver Hall on the north. Immediately
north-west of the churchyard are traces of a large moated
site, where the first manor house probably stood. (fn. 22) To
the south-east of the church, in a field known as Redmill
Shot, a stone coffin containing a skeleton was discovered
in about 1757 and human bones were found in other
parts of the same field at different times. (fn. 23) There was
a tradition in the 18th century that the church originally stood in this field but no trace of a church or of any
other building has ever been found. (fn. 24) It may be, however, that the field was once a burial ground belonging
to the parish.
Immediately north of Magdalen Laver Hall the
road to Tilegate Green becomes part of the northern
boundary of the parish. On the north side of the road,
within the parish of High Laver, is Magdalen Laver
school. (fn. 25) At Tilegate Green the road is joined by Pole
Lane, now only a footpath, which leads eastward to the
Ongar-Harlow road. On the south side of Pole Lane,
north-east of the church, is a moated mound, about
80 ft. in diameter. At the junction of Pole Lane and
the Ongar-Harlow road is Start Farm, a small timberframed farmhouse, part of which may date from the
16th century.
To the south of Start Farm the Ongar-Harlow road
is joined by the road which runs right across the parish
to Mollmans and Wynters Armourie on the west. On
the south side of this road, close to the eastern boundary
of the parish, is Bushes, an L-shaped timber-framed
farm-house with wings extending to the north and east.
The north wing, now of four bays but formerly longer,
was built as a two-story structure and probably dates
from the late 15th century. On the west side the upper
floor overhangs on curved brackets. In 1933 the plaster
was stripped away revealing a fine timbered front with
close studding and curved braces. The roof is original
except at its south end and there are two king-posts with
two-way struts in position. The chimney is a later
insertion. The east wing, lying at right angles to the
two-story wing, may represent the medieval hall, much
altered. A large chimney and ceilings have been
inserted. The roof is not ancient but two of the rafters
are formed from old moulded timbers. Also incorporated is a cambered and moulded tie-beam of medieval
origin. The south porch and the brick chimney appear
to be of the 16th century. There is a considerable
amount of 16th- or early-17th-century panelling internally. In the angle between the wings there is a later
timber structure. The house was restored and the
staircase altered in 1933. (fn. 26) The north and part of the
east sides of a large moat are still in existence. To the
west of Bushes is Ashlings, where traces of a moat
remain. About ½ mile south-west of Ashlings is Lunds,
a timber-framed farm-house probably of the late 17th
or early 18th century; it has been faced with yellow
brick. To the west of Lunds, on the north side of the
road, is Whites, a timber-framed farm-house probably
dating from the late 17th or early 18th century. Almost
opposite Whites is the junction with the road leading
south to Epping.
In 1776 the parishes of High Laver and Magdalen
Laver came to an agreement about repairs to roads for
which they were jointly responsible. (fn. 27) These roads
were to be equally divided by a white post and each
parish was to repair the part lying nearest to it. (fn. 28)
Water was supplied by the Herts. and Essex Waterworks Co. in 1912. (fn. 29) Electricity was laid on in part of
the parish in 1950. (fn. 30) A branch of the county library
was opened in June 1939. (fn. 31)
Magdalen Laver has always been a rural parish
engaged almost entirely in agriculture. The lords of
the manor lived in the parish during most of the period
from 1622 until 1832. (fn. 32) After John Cozens sold the
estate in 1832 the owners were not resident until
Matthew Torrance purchased the estate shortly after
1922. (fn. 33)
In 1848 James Ewing owned, but did not occupy,
Magdalen Laver Hall Farm (191 acres). (fn. 34) There were
only two other substantial owners in the parish; John
Archer Houblon owned but did not occupy Spencer's
Farm (126 acres) and Christian P. Meyer owned
Mollmans Farm (111 acres) but did not farm it himself. (fn. 35) There were seven other farms of over 60 acres;
of these three were more than 90 acres. (fn. 36)
Magdalen Laver, like neighbouring parishes, has
always been a parish of mixed farming with a marked
predominance of arable. In 1331 the manor contained
331 acres arable, 30 acres pasture, 6 acres meadow, and
80 acres wood. (fn. 37) In 1847 it was estimated that there
were 835 acres arable, 150 acres meadow and pasture,
and 15 acres woodland. (fn. 38)
From 1680, if not before, until 1731 a regular item
of income in the churchwarden's annual account was
6s. 8d. 'faire money'. (fn. 39) This suggests that until the
second quarter of the 18th century a fair was held
annually in the parish, although it is not clear why it
should have been a source of income for the churchwardens. No reference to 'faire money' has been found
after 1731. (fn. 40)