PUBLIC SERVICES AND SOCIAL LIFE
In 1890 Ongar's water supply was being obtained
from wells 20-30 ft. deep. (fn. 13)
Local waterworks were
established in 1897. (fn. 14) In
1879 the Herts. and Essex
Waterworks Co. had been empowered to supply
Ongar and neighbouring parishes from the pipes between Epping and Sawbridgeworth (fn. 15) and in 1907 the
Herts. and Essex Co. took over the local company. (fn. 16)
Some form of main drainage was already in existence
at Ongar in 1827. (fn. 17) The Ongar Gas Co. began to
supply the town in 1836. (fn. 18) In 1911 it was absorbed
by the Bishop's Stortford Gas Co. and in 1934 the
Ongar works were closed, gas being supplied by a
trunk main from Epping. (fn. 19) The gasworks were
situated to the south of Ongar Bridge, and were at
first run in conjunction with the neighbouring brickfield. (fn. 20) There is still a gasometer. Ongar was included
in the area covered by the County of London Electricity
Act, 1927, and electricity was first supplied in 1932. (fn. 21)
The Royal Exchange Insurance Co. had a fireengine at Ongar in 1853. It was kept in the former
parish cage at the south entrance to the town. In that
year the parish vestry resolved to demolish the cage
and order the removal of the engine. (fn. 22) In 1886 there
was a town fire-brigade consisting of a captain and
eight men. (fn. 23) The former engine house south of Ongar
Bridge was demolished in 1951. (fn. 24)
The Ongar Cottage Hospital, consisting of two converted bungalows, was opened in 1928. It had 30
beds. (fn. 25) The Ongar and District War Memorial
Hospital (in the parish of Shelley) was opened in
1932. (fn. 26) The burial grounds attached to the parish
church and the Congregational church were closed by
government order in 1864 (fn. 27) and in 1866 a new
cemetery was opened in the north of the town. (fn. 28)
In 1843 the committee of the newly formed Essex
Constabulary rejected an application for a lock-up in
Ongar. (fn. 29) Negotiations were reopened in 1847, when
Mr. Budworth offered land for a police-station. (fn. 30) By
1854 building was proceeding and in 1855 there was
a police superintendent at Ongar, Joseph Catchpole. (fn. 31)
Before the 18th century the social life of Ongar was
probably limited to the parish church, the court house,
the shop, and the inn. From about 1720 the Congregational church was drawing nonconformists from the
villages as well as the town, and at the end of the 18th
century the building of the Assembly Rooms provided
another social centre. During the ministry of Isaac
Taylor at the Congregational church (1811-29) there
is said to have been an improvement in the relations
between dissenters and the other inhabitants of Ongar
(see Protestant Nonconformity). It is probable that
this was largely due to the personalities of Isaac Taylor
and his family (see also Worthies).
In the second half of the 19th century the local
gentry gave a strong lead in the social life of the town.
Prominent among them was Capt. P. J. Budworth of
Greenstead Hall. He was probably responsible for
reviving the fair and was active in most local affairs.
The Clerk of the Peace for Essex, Henry Gibson,
lived at the White House and in 1870 he built a
lecture hall for the town. (fn. 32) In 1873 a drill hall was
built by subscription for the 1st Volunteer Battalion,
Essex Regiment; it was also used for meetings and
concerts. (fn. 33) The Budworth Hall was built in 1886 as
a memorial to Captain Budworth. It contained a large
assembly room, reading-rooms, and coffee rooms. A
clock tower was added in 1887 and a museum in
1898. (fn. 34) By this time also the Roman Catholic church
had been built and the grammar school had greatly
increased in size. A cricket club had been formed in
1845. (fn. 35) A Mechanics' Institute is said to have been
founded in 1848, but it is not known how long this
lasted. (fn. 36) In 1906 there was an Ongar Agricultural
Association, a Constitutional Association, a Horticultural Society, and a Reading and Recreation
Society. (fn. 37) A branch of the county library was opened
in 1930. (fn. 38) Activities at the Budworth Hall have
declined, but Ongar is now (1952) well provided with
societies, including the Ongar Social and Sports Club
with its own ground. (fn. 39) There is no cinema. The
coming of the motor bus in the 1920's has diminished
the importance of Ongar as a local shopping centre,
but the town still supplies some of the surrounding
villages with certain commodities, particularly foodstuffs. (fn. 40) Expansion of the present town centre would
be difficult owing to lack of suitable space. (fn. 41)