Copped Hall Trust Archaeological Project
Lectures & practical courses
The Copped Hall Trust, Charity Reg. No. 1065569/0
www.coppedhalltrust.org.uk
History of Copped Hall
The name of Copped Hall is first documented in 1258, but the family named in the document, the Fitzauchers, who were the King's huntsmen, had been granted land in the vicinity in 1165. Waltham Abbey bought the Hall in 1350 and held it until 1534, when it passed to Henry VIII in a property exchange. Mary Tudor (the future Queen Mary) inherited it from her father and lived there while her brother Edward VI was on the throne. Queen Elizabeth granted Copped Hall to her Chancellor, Sir Thomas Heneage, in 1564 - he immediately started rebuilding it to create a Tudor grand-house, where it is said that in 1594 Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream had its first performance during Heneage's wedding festivities. Later it was home to Lionel Cranfield, a Lord High Treasurer of England under James I, who was condemned by Parliament for 'bribery, extortion, oppression and other grievous misdemeanours'. The Tudor grand-house - save for some 'romantic ruins' - was demolished in the mid-18th century and replaced by a new mansion 250 metres to the south-east. This was in turn gutted by fire in 1917 and stood ruinous for much of the 20th century. In 1995, the Copped Hall Trust succeeded in saving what remained of the new mansion and its gardens from the attentions of a variety of developers, authorities and vandals, and has since been working to restore them to their original condition.
The Copped Hall Trust Archaeological Project
The Project was set up, with the support of the West Essex Archaeological Group (WEAG), to investigate the remains of the Tudor grand-house. In previous seasons an intriguing sequence of brick walls and other features, overlain by the landscaped gardens of the mid-18th century mansion, has been uncovered. The investigations will continue in the summer of 2011.
Workshops & training courses
The Trust organises lectures and study days on arts and history, and weekend and five-day practical field courses on the basic techniques of archaeological excavation and recording. Details of all courses are given at www.coppedhalltrust.org.uk/education.html
For more information or to make a booking, please write to:
Pauline Dalton, Roseleigh, Epping Road, Epping, Essex CM16 5HW.
Tel: 01992 813725 Email: pmd2@ukonline.co.uk