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     Photo Submitted by, and Copyright of :- J P Zajac.

The contrast could not be greater. A modern day transport system - albeit rather congested at times - and the once grand parkland of a magnificent stately home. One can only assume that Lancelot 'Capability' Brown - who had a hand in its creation - would 'turn in his grave' knowing that the M25 motorway runs through a corner of this once tranquil estate.
This Georgian mansion has an interesting and varied history, including a similarity with the case of Princess Anastasia of the Romanov royal family.

It has long been a site for a substancial house situated as it is on a ridge. A house existed here in the 12th century, and by the mid 1500s it was owned by the Abbots of nearby Waltham Abbey which was some 3 miles to the west of Copped Hall. Anyone with a knowledge of English history will realise that any building with a clerical connection had a very dubious future around this time.
The Abbot, being a shrewd fellow, gave the estate of Copped Hall to King Henry VIII who, being the helpfull chap that he was, obligingly still went and dissolved Waltham Abbey anyway.
Following various changes of ownership, all not unsurprisingly with royal connections, the house was demolished for the last time in 1752.

The next present structure [the present one] was in a slightly different location to its Elizabethan predecessor, although parts of it were thought to have been incorporated.
Come the passing of 150 years and numerous owners, we arrive at the First World War, when by this time the estate is employing over 50 people. In 1917 a devastating fire swept through part of the building, and this proved to be the end of the building as a habitable house. Various ancillary parts were still used up to the Second World War, but afterwards the decline hastened and nature gradually settled in, and started to claim back.

But what is that link with the Russian royal family I mentioned at the very start? Well it is a rather long story reminiscent of the Princess Anastasia , only in this instance the claimant is a man, Ken Matthews.
Ken it seems may be the illegitimate son of John Theodore Talbot Fletcher, who inherited the estate from the Wythes family. Talbot subsequently selling the estate soon after.

Kens site detailing his story can be found here


My history of the mansion and estate is only a very quick summary of what is a fascinating place, and a very comprehensive study of the place can be found at the Copped Hall Trust. who lay claim to the estate at the present time.



Click for Copped Hall under a moody and threatening sky.

Co-Ords: 543070 201462 / TL430014   

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