6 Havering Extra, July 2011 Havering History


Introduction A


LONGSIDE Romford’shistoric mar- ket aretwo other long established landmarks –the church of St


Edwardthe Confessor and Church House. While the church and house do not date


back as far as RomfordMarket, which was originally asheep market that began in 1247, they still have interesting histories that span hundreds of years. Achurch has stood on the site of the


church of St Edwardthe Confessor since 1410, to serve the market town. The original structure, which replaced a


run down chapel located near the River Rom, was consecrated by the Bishop of St Davids, on March 23, 1410, and dedi- cated to the Virgin Mary and St Edward the Confessor. It had achancel, nave and North Aisle,


as well as abrick tower that eventually have eight bells, and agallery in the west end for the charity children. It too eventually fell into disrepair and a decision was made to pull it down to make way for alarger church with aspire. After its last service on Sunday,April 22, 1849, work began on anew church designed by the architect John Johnson in atype of Gothic design. The structure, made up of anave of five


bays with clerestory,north and south aisles, chancel, Lady Chapel and west gallery,isbuilt mainly of Kentish Rag with Bath stone dressings, some of which came from Nash’sQuadrant in Regents Street, London and some possibly from the old church. The church, which was consecrated by


the Bishop of Rochester on September 19, 1850, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Edwardthe Confessor, had two vestries added in 1885. It houses most of the memorials from the earlier church of 1410, as well as anumber of Victorian stained glass windows given by local families in memory of their relations. which survived blast damage in World WarII. It has remained very much unchanged


over the years, except for the building of anew organ in the gallery in 1978, changes to the choir vestry in 2001, and


work to ensurethe church can withstand the 21st century. Today’schurch also runs The Wykeham Centre, to the east, which is made up of Church House and Wykeham Hall. The historic Church House was built in


the 15th century,but most of its present structuredates from the 16th century.It first became associated with the Church in 1480, when it was used as accommo- dation for the Chantry priests. But this was to change morethan 60 years later, following Henry VIII’swishes to divorce his first wife Catherine Aragon, to marry Anne Bolyn. This led to England breaking away from


the Roman Catholic Church, which was against divorce, and Henry VIII placing himself as the head of the church. This made divorce legal and the reformation led to the suppression of many Chantries, including St Edward’sin1548. By 1590 it had become the Cock and


Bell Public House, when John Bastwyck leased the building for one shilling ayear, beforegoing on to become acoaching inn and then the town post office. Alocal brewer acquired the building during the 19th century,beforerelinquish- ing their licence in 1908 and making way for New College Oxford, the patrons of the church, to take over and restoreits original name. Church House, along with Wykeham


Hall, which was built at the rear of the church in 1908 and dedicated by the Bishop of Barking, werethen used for many years by the local community as a meeting place. In 1984 Church House underwent a major refurbishment and now houses the Parish Office as well as amarket day cof- fee shop, and in 2001 Wykeham Hall benefit from major work, which included providing an upper floor and anew hall with space for community use. Both The Wykeham Centre, which was opened in October 2002, and St Edward’sChurch continue to be at the heart of acommunity which has changed from amarket town to avibrant and bustling place whereEssex and East London meet.


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