Hutton, Essex
Encyclopedia
Hutton is a former country village in south Essex
. Today, it acts more as a commuter suburb of Brentwood
. It has good links to Central London (around 20 miles (32.2 km) to the south west) via Shenfield train station which is just 1 miles (1.6 km) from Hutton. Brentwood town centre lies 3 miles to the west.The area can be split between modest housing estates and the largely affluent Hutton Mount
with some homes having a value of more than £1,000,0000.
of the Essex Constabulary
to be killed whilst on active duty was Robert Bambrough, who was drowned in a pond in Hutton by the criminal that he was escorting from Billericay
Magistrates Court on 21 November 1850.http://www.essex.police.uk/memorial/roll_bam.htm.
or Residential Home situated near the village of Hutton for destitute children from the district of Poplar in the east end of London. Capable of housing anything from 400 - 700 children at any one time. Like much of London
during the Victorian era
the Borough of Poplar
faced high poverty levels. As the 19th century drew to a close the workhouse
s and orphanage
s in the borough were trying to cope with significant overcrowding. The chairman of the Board of Guardians
for the region, George Lansbury
, saw an opportunity to expand their operations into the Essex countryside, and convinced the Board to acquire 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of land situated between Hutton and Shenfield on the Rayleigh Road. In 1906 the Board completed work on a self-contained community with its own stores, school, indoor swimming pool and an array of ancillary buildings. alongside the accommodation for the staff and a significant number of orphans living in small groups.
The cost of the project caused uproar in the Houses of Parliament
when it first opened. Some MPs
complained that with their parquet flooring
and central heating
the buildings were more of the comfort levels of a public school
like Eton
than an orphans training school. However once operational the project received recognition for its good work, with a Governmental inspection in early 1914 rating the facilities as "among the best in Britain" with the children "well cared for by an efficient staff of specially selected teachers." A Royal visit followed in 1918.
The placement of such an establishment was controversial with the local residents. The hostility dragged out some time, with the children referred to as "outsiders" and thought best avoided by the local residents. Towards the end of the 20th century this attitude is regarded as having mellowed.
The administration of Hutton Poplars passed to the London County Council
in the 1920s subsequently opening its doors to children from all parts of East and North London.
Several thousand children passed through its gates over the next six decades. Inevitably the cost of running such an establishment came under scrutiny and an eventual policy shift saw the responsibility for child care passing to the individual borough councils with smaller care homes springing up to replace these Victorian monoliths.
The creation of the Greater London Council
in 1966 replacing the London County Council
resulted in the London Borough of Hackney
taking administrative control of the residential home. Charged with emptying it of non Hackney residents and ultimately selling it off to property developers children began leaving for smaller establishments in and around London. Hackney continued to house its children there until 1982.
Hutton Poplar remained open until 1982. The buildings then witnessed various fates under Essex County Council. The swimming pool was demolished despite local residents pleas for it to become a facility for the wider community. The school hall, known as Bishops Hill, has been maintained as an Adult Community Learning centre for the Mid Essex Adult Community College. Hutton Poplar Hall was restored in 1991 and may now be hired from Brentwood Borough Council
.
The new housing development on the old site was modelled largely on the original layout with houses forming an oval around central open spaces. The Essex Dining Hall remains as a traditional village hall.
Whit Monday was traditionally a reunion day when former residents were encouraged to visit for the annual open fete day. A reunion still takes place in the Essex dining hall on Whit Monday every year. Centenary celebrations took place in 2006. Former residents or anyone with connections to Hutton Poplars are most welcome at the annual event.
based on former farmland. The park is owned by Brentwood Borough Council having been acquired from Tarmac
in 1997 to protect it from development. The park is in two sectors divided by the railway
, the northern boundary is formed by the River Wid, the western boundary by Wash Road, the southern boundary by housing development off the Rayleigh Road and the eastern boundary remains contiguous with farmland. Access to the park is from Wash Road.
, containing five bells. It has a more modern subsidiary church, St. Peter's, built in the 1950s as a dual purpose church and hall - a daughter church of All Saints', to serve the newly-developing housing estates in the centre of Hutton. In 1990, it was possible to extend the building to provide separate worship and community areas. In 2001, generous grant funding enabled a complete refurbishment of the whole building to improve the facilities available to church and community organisations.
) and Willowbrook (previously known as Hutton County Primary School).
The town also has two preparatory schools
: Herrington House School and Woodlands School Hutton Manor.
The area also contains a secondary school and sixth form college, St Martin's School.
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. Today, it acts more as a commuter suburb of Brentwood
Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the east of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles east north-east of Charing Cross in London, and near the M25 motorway....
. It has good links to Central London (around 20 miles (32.2 km) to the south west) via Shenfield train station which is just 1 miles (1.6 km) from Hutton. Brentwood town centre lies 3 miles to the west.The area can be split between modest housing estates and the largely affluent Hutton Mount
Hutton Mount
Hutton Mount is a residential suburb in the borough of Brentwood in Essex.It is largely affluent with some homes having a value of more than £1,000,0000....
with some homes having a value of more than £1,000,0000.
History
The first police officerPolice officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
of the Essex Constabulary
Essex Police
Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex in the east of England.It is one of the largest non-metropolitan police forces in the United Kingdom, employing approximately 3,600 police officers and operating across an area of over and with a population of...
to be killed whilst on active duty was Robert Bambrough, who was drowned in a pond in Hutton by the criminal that he was escorting from Billericay
Billericay
Billericay is a town and civil parish in the Basildon borough of Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin, has a population of 40,000, and constitutes a commuter town east of central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces...
Magistrates Court on 21 November 1850.http://www.essex.police.uk/memorial/roll_bam.htm.
Hutton Poplars
Opened in 1905. The name given to the Training SchoolTraining school
For a juvenile correctional facility, see youth detention center-----A training school is an official designation, awarded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, to schools in England that provide exceptional facilities for in-service and work experience training of teachers...
or Residential Home situated near the village of Hutton for destitute children from the district of Poplar in the east end of London. Capable of housing anything from 400 - 700 children at any one time. Like much of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
during the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
the Borough of Poplar
Metropolitan Borough of Poplar
Poplar was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was formed as a district of the Metropolis in 1855 and became a metropolitan borough in the County of London in 1900. It comprised the civil parishes of Bow, Bromley and Poplar until 1907, when it also became a...
faced high poverty levels. As the 19th century drew to a close the workhouse
Workhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
s and orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
s in the borough were trying to cope with significant overcrowding. The chairman of the Board of Guardians
Board of Guardians
Boards of guardians were ad hoc authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.-England and Wales:The boards were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish Overseers of the Poor established under the old poor law, following the recommendations...
for the region, George Lansbury
George Lansbury
George Lansbury was a British politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. He was a Member of Parliament from 1910 to 1912 and from 1922 to 1940, and leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935....
, saw an opportunity to expand their operations into the Essex countryside, and convinced the Board to acquire 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of land situated between Hutton and Shenfield on the Rayleigh Road. In 1906 the Board completed work on a self-contained community with its own stores, school, indoor swimming pool and an array of ancillary buildings. alongside the accommodation for the staff and a significant number of orphans living in small groups.
The cost of the project caused uproar in the Houses of Parliament
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
when it first opened. Some MPs
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
complained that with their parquet flooring
Parquetry
Parquetry is a geometric mosaic of wood pieces used for decorative effect. The two main uses of parquetry are as veneer patterns on furniture and block patterns for flooring. Parquet patterns are entirely geometrical and angular—squares, triangles, lozenges. The most popular parquet flooring...
and central heating
Central heating
A central heating system provides warmth to the whole interior of a building from one point to multiple rooms. When combined with other systems in order to control the building climate, the whole system may be a HVAC system.Central heating differs from local heating in that the heat generation...
the buildings were more of the comfort levels of a public school
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
like Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
than an orphans training school. However once operational the project received recognition for its good work, with a Governmental inspection in early 1914 rating the facilities as "among the best in Britain" with the children "well cared for by an efficient staff of specially selected teachers." A Royal visit followed in 1918.
The placement of such an establishment was controversial with the local residents. The hostility dragged out some time, with the children referred to as "outsiders" and thought best avoided by the local residents. Towards the end of the 20th century this attitude is regarded as having mellowed.
The administration of Hutton Poplars passed to the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
in the 1920s subsequently opening its doors to children from all parts of East and North London.
Several thousand children passed through its gates over the next six decades. Inevitably the cost of running such an establishment came under scrutiny and an eventual policy shift saw the responsibility for child care passing to the individual borough councils with smaller care homes springing up to replace these Victorian monoliths.
The creation of the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
in 1966 replacing the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
resulted in the London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
taking administrative control of the residential home. Charged with emptying it of non Hackney residents and ultimately selling it off to property developers children began leaving for smaller establishments in and around London. Hackney continued to house its children there until 1982.
Hutton Poplar remained open until 1982. The buildings then witnessed various fates under Essex County Council. The swimming pool was demolished despite local residents pleas for it to become a facility for the wider community. The school hall, known as Bishops Hill, has been maintained as an Adult Community Learning centre for the Mid Essex Adult Community College. Hutton Poplar Hall was restored in 1991 and may now be hired from Brentwood Borough Council
Brentwood (borough)
Brentwood is a local government district and borough in Essex in the East of England.-History & Geography:The borough is named after the town of Brentwood which is the main development in the area. There are still large areas of woodland including Shenfield Common, Hartswood , Weald Country Park,...
.
The new housing development on the old site was modelled largely on the original layout with houses forming an oval around central open spaces. The Essex Dining Hall remains as a traditional village hall.
Whit Monday was traditionally a reunion day when former residents were encouraged to visit for the annual open fete day. A reunion still takes place in the Essex dining hall on Whit Monday every year. Centenary celebrations took place in 2006. Former residents or anyone with connections to Hutton Poplars are most welcome at the annual event.
Hutton Country Park
Hutton Country Park is a Local Nature ReserveLocal Nature Reserve
Local nature reserve or LNR is a designation for nature reserves in the United Kingdom. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite...
based on former farmland. The park is owned by Brentwood Borough Council having been acquired from Tarmac
Tarmac (company)
Tarmac is a company that is based in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom and operates internationally. The company produces aggregates and road-surfacing materials, including tarmacadam, from which the company's name is derived...
in 1997 to protect it from development. The park is in two sectors divided by the railway
Great Eastern Main Line
The Great Eastern Main Line is a 212 Kilometre major railway line of the British railway system, which connects Liverpool Street in the City of London with destinations in east London and the East of England, including Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich and several coastal resorts such as...
, the northern boundary is formed by the River Wid, the western boundary by Wash Road, the southern boundary by housing development off the Rayleigh Road and the eastern boundary remains contiguous with farmland. Access to the park is from Wash Road.
Additions to build on
Hutton All Saints' Church is a small ancient structure, with a wooden steepleSteeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
, containing five bells. It has a more modern subsidiary church, St. Peter's, built in the 1950s as a dual purpose church and hall - a daughter church of All Saints', to serve the newly-developing housing estates in the centre of Hutton. In 1990, it was possible to extend the building to provide separate worship and community areas. In 2001, generous grant funding enabled a complete refurbishment of the whole building to improve the facilities available to church and community organisations.
Schools
Hutton has four primary schools: Long Ridings, St Joseph the Worker (Roman Catholic), All Saints (C of EChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
) and Willowbrook (previously known as Hutton County Primary School).
The town also has two preparatory schools
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
: Herrington House School and Woodlands School Hutton Manor.
The area also contains a secondary school and sixth form college, St Martin's School.