REDISCOVERING WANSTEAD HOUSE - Mobile Phone Audio Guide - PART 1

Above: Wanstead House. A Public Domain image of a painting by Richard Westall (1765-1836) 
  
INTRODUCTION
This guide is designed to be used on a smart phone with an internet connection. Best using the Safari browser on an iPhone and Chrome on an Android phone.

The guide consists of direction instructions (written in black) which lead you on a set route to various places in Wanstead Park. Once at these places, there are audio recordings that explain the historical significance of what you can see there. 

There is also an accompanying online map (see below). You can use this if you need help to find the places to listen to the audio guide at. 

Spread two fingers to resize the map, and drag two fingers to move it.

You can click on the red letters on the map to find out what that position is.           
 
THE WALK SECTIONS MENU
The walk is divided into sections, denoted by colours, so that you can choose to do just parts of the walk if you wish.  Scroll down if you are starting from the beginning (Park Road, London E12) or click on the underlined titles to jump to the section that you want.

PARK ROAD TO THE REPTON OAK
(Historical overview, the Reservoir, the Repton Oak)
 
SECTION 2 (ORANGE)
THE REPTON OAK TO THE CHALET
(The Shoulder of Mutton Pond, the Heronry Pond, the Chalet)
 
THE CHALET TO THE GROTTO
(The Roman finds, The Temple, The Gamekeepers Cottages, The Grotto back)
 
THE GROTTO TO THE GLADE
(The Grotto front, the Straight Canal, the Fortification and Amphitheatre, the Mounts, the Glade)
 
SECTION 5 (PURPLE)
THE GLADE TO ST MARY'S
(The Wanstead House stables, St Mary the Virgin Church, the crypt, and the site of the medieval church, some interesting graves, and the view of the site of Wanstead House)

WALK START
The walk starts at the Park Road entrance to Wanstead Park. Park Road leads off the Aldersbrook Road next to St Gabriel's Church (E12 5HH). Buses W19 and 101 stop at Park Road.

 
SECTION 1 (RED)
PARK ROAD TO THE REPTON OAK
(An historical overview, the Reservoir, the Repton Oak)
START THE WALK... Walk down Park Road at the side of St Gabriel's Church.  Enter the park at the Park Road entrance (shown above) at the end of the road. Walk straight ahead down the path for approximately 75 metres, then turn first left onto a path through the bushes. This leads behind the Shoulder of Mutton Pond.  

Stop when you get to a quiet, open area, where you can see a glimpse of the Shoulder of Mutton pond (see picture above). This is a good place to listen to a very brief overview of some of the the history of Wanstead House and Park. This will put into context some of the people mentioned later on in the walk.

 This is at map position (A)
A SHORT HISTORY OF WANSTEAD HOUSE (AND PARKLANDS)
(Click the play button below)

Above: The Tudor Wanstead Hall, rebuilt from a hunting lodge by Sir Richard Rich in about 1549

Above: Wanstead House, which opened in 1722

CONTINUE THE WALK... along the path, and walk over an earth bridge over a drainage trench, which (when full) flows into the Shoulder of Mutton pond, then turn immediately left (see photo below). 

Follow the path marked with an arrow (shown above), and when that path splits, take the right hand track (see photo below).

Straight ahead is the bank that used to hold back a reservoir. When this was drained, the area became the Reservoir Wood. Climb the bank. This is a good place to listen to the next audio recording, which explains about the history of the reservoir.

This is at map position (B)
THE RESERVOIR
(Click the play button below)
Above: Taken from Roque's "London, 10 Miles Round" map of 1746. To enlarge the image on a phone, spread your finger and thumb on it. The walk, and the various places we will visit are superimposed on the map. We are at position (B) at this stage in the walk.

CONTINUE THE WALK... by climbing over the reservoir bank, straight ahead is the Repton Oak (see photo below).

This is at map position (C)
THE REPTON OAK
(Click the play button below)

REPTON OAK TO THE CHALET
(The Shoulder of Mutton Pond, the Heronry Pond, the Chalet)

CONTINUE THE WALK... along the main path away from the Repton Oak, into the park, and through the pathway gap in the reservoir bank (see picture above).

Walk on until you come to a pond on the right. This is the Shoulder of Mutton Pond. It is the pond that you were standing on the other side of when listening to the Brief History of Wanstead House and Park. 

This is at map position (D)
 THE SHOULDER OF MUTTON POND
(Click the play button below)

Above: The Shoulder of Mutton Pond. The red spot shows your viewing position. The (1) shows where the drainage ditch from the reservoir wood enters the pond, creating the distinctive shape that gives the pond its name. 

CONTINUE THE WALK... along the path until you reach the Heronry pond on your right. Over the pond on the right you can see the Wanstead Park tea hut (see picture below).
 
This is at map position (E)
THE HERONRY POND
(Click the play button below)


Above: Wanstead has had a long connection with Herons. This is the modern day coat of arms of Wanstead and Woodford

CONTINUE THE WALK... along the path. After a while, a broad path appears going left, which follows the edge of the golf course.  Ignore this path, and instead go straight ahead through a gap in the concrete fence (see picture below).

Continue along the path between the two rows of Sweet Chestnut trees, towards the Temple. 
 
Stop just before the end of the avenue. Some of the dry areas on the ground indicate where the the remains of the foundations of The Chalet are buried. 
   
This is at map position (F)
THE CHALET
(Click the play button below)

Above: The Chalet in the late 1800's

 
CHALET TO THE GROTTO
(The Roman finds, The Temple, The Gamekeepers Cottages, The Grotto back)

Link to online map (if needed)

Back to sections menu

STAY WHERE YOU ARE... but look over at the land to the right of the Temple towards the modern day tea hut. This area has been the focus for looking for the remains of Roman occupation of the area. 

ROMAN FINDS IN THE PARK
(Click the play button below)

MOVE A LITTLE TOWARDS THE TEMPLE...


This is at map position (G)
THE TEMPLE
(Click the play button below)

Above: John Tylney, 2nd Earl Tylney, who built The Temple and The Grotto, on one of his trips to Italy. He is seated , wearing a red coat. 
Image from British Gentlemen at Sir Horace Mann's Home in Florence (circa 1765) by Thomas Patch. Public Domain, from the Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection.

CONTINUE THE WALK... Move around to the other side of the Temple, and look at it from the opposite side where you can see the Gamekeeper's Cottages. There are toilets here if you need them.
 
This is at map position (H)
 GAMEKEEPERS COTTAGES
(Click the play button below)

Above: Ice house being excavated by MoLA.

CONTINUE THE WALK... along the path past the back of the temple, keeping the trees on your left, and with the open area on your right. 

Where the path veers to the left, and the Ornamental Water lake is ahead,  take a smaller path bending to the right over the grass ahead. Soon you will get to the back of The Grotto. Walk a little to the right to get a better view through the fence of the rear of the structure (see picture below). 
  
This is at map position (I)
BACK OF THE GROTTO   
(Click the play button below)


Above: A photograph of the inside of the Grotto. The walls were encrusted with shells and crystals and the floor mosaiced.

Above: A scene from the 1978 Michael Winner film, "The Big Sleep". It was based on the Raymond Chandler book and starred Robert Mitchum. Link to a YouTube clip of the scene.

  
SECTION 4 (PINK)
GROTTO TO THE GLADE
(The Grotto front, the Straight Canal, the Fortification and Amphitheatre, the Mounts, the Glade)

Link to online map (if needed)

Back to sections menu

CONTINUE THE WALK... by following the path around to the front of the Grotto, and stand behind the sign about fishing. Play the next audio recording here, looking at the front of the Grotto.
 
This is at map position (J)
FRONT OF THE GROTTO
(Click the play button below)

CONTINUE THE WALK...  along the same path, until you get a view to the right of the Straight Canal (see picture below). 

Recently, the Straight Canal and the Ornamental Water have dried out, so there may not be much water in it. To check that you are in the right spot, immediately behind you will be the Glade, a long strip of grassland with trees on each side.

This is at map position (K)
THE STRAIGHT CANAL
(Click the play button below)


Above: In the distance you can see the Straight Canal. From "Wanstead Hall, a view to the east, 1712-15", by Jan Kip and Leonard Knyff. Public Domain.
Above: Aerial photograph, showing the alignment of the the Overton Drive Gates, the Basin, the site of Wanstead House, the Glade, and the Straight Canal.

Above: Cranbrook Castle.

STAY WHERE YOU ARE... but look along the path to the left (when looking towards the water) to where the Ornamental Water continues along on the right, and play the next audio recording. The view should look like the photo below.
  
THE FORTIFICATION AND AMPHITHEATRE
(Click the play button below)

Above: The Amphitheatre and Fortifications, as illustrated in Roque's 1735 plan of Wanstead House.
 Above: The positions of the Amphitheatre and the Fortification in relation to the Glade and the Straight Canal.

STAY WHERE YOU ARE... but turn left again and look up the Glade. Play the next audio recording here. The view should look like the photo below.

THE GLADE
(Click the play button below)

CONTINUE THE WALK... and start walking up the Glade, ignore the first single path on the left, and after about 180 metres away from the Straight Canal, look out for two paths, one on each side of The Glade.  These are facing each other and leading into the trees. There is a good view down the Glade of the Straight Canal from here.

Each of the two paths, lead to a ‘Mount’, which are small man-made hills. We will find the larger of the two. 

Find the path on the right (when looking up the Glade), and walk into the trees here. See picture below, which shows the path leading off The Glade towards the Mount.


You will soon come to some Yew trees planted on the left, in a large circle around the Mount. Go left through the Yew trees, move ahead, and you will start to glimpse the Mount ahead, through the heavy undergrowth. Move a short distance anticlockwise around the Mount to find a steep pathway up it (see picture below with the arrow indicating the path).

WARNING! This is a very steep path, and it is not recommended that you climb it if you have balance or mobility problems. If you do choose to climb it, you do so your own risk, so take great care. You can play the next audio recording either here at the bottom of the mount, or at the top.

This is at map position (L)
THE MOUNT
(Click the play button below)


Above: The red rings mark the two mounts, either side of the Glade and surrounded by formally laid out gardens.

CONTINUE THE WALK... by returning to the Glade, turn right and walk a little way up. 
This is at map position (M)
Nearing the top, have a last look down towards the Straight canal. It's this view, which would have been seen from the rear of the spectacular Wanstead House, which helps support the suggestion by some that it was "The English Versailles".

Carry on up the Glade, and take the right hand path to walk towards the Warren Road entrance.

 
SECTION 5 (PURPLE)
THE GLADE TO ST MARY'S
(The Wanstead House stables, St Mary the Virgin Church and crypt, the site of the medieval church, some interesting graves, a view of the site of Wanstead House)

Link to online map (if needed)

Back to sections menu

CONTINUE THE WALK... by exiting the park at the Warren Road entrance. Walk along Warren Road, and then turn first left on to Raynes Avenue. At the end of Raynes Avenue, turn left on to The Warren Drive, which will bend to the right. 

Above: The back of some of the Wanstead Golf Club buildings, once part of Wanstead House Stables.

Just before The Warren Drive ends, walk up a small earth bank into Wanstead Golf Course car park. Walk on to the entrance to the golf club courtyard.
 
This is at map position (N)
WANSTEAD HOUSE STABLES
(Click the play button below)

Above: The entrance to the Wanstead Golf Club, once Wanstead House Stables.

CONTINUE THE WALK... go to Overton Drive, which runs outside the Golf Club. Turn left, and continue to St Mary the Virgin church, a short way along. Enter the churchyard and pause in front of the church.
 
This is at map position (O)
ST MARY'S CHURCH
(Click the play button below)

Above: St Mary the Virgin Church

Above: Memorial to Sir Josiah Child, moved from the medieval church into the current St Mary the Virgin Church.


Above: The entrance to the crypt.


Above: The Crypt.  On the right is a picture of the jar containing the heart of John Child, second Earl Tylney. Thanks to Caroline Barkus for the image.

CONTINUE THE WALK... and walk on the path that goes along the right side of the church.  As you get to the rear of the church, turn right along the path. On the right hand side, you will see some large memorial slabs on the ground.  See the picture below to check that you are in the right spot.

This is at map position (P)
THE SITE OF THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH
(Click the play button below)

Above: The ancient Wanstead Parish Church, painted by J. M. W. Turner in 1788 when he was just 14. This church was demolished two years later when the current St Mary the Virgin church was consecrated.  

Above: An example of an Aerial Telescope, similar to the one that was lent to James Pound by the Royal Society, and mounted on a pole once used as a Maypole on the Strand.

CONTINUE THE WALK... by walking further down the path until you come to the rear of the Watcher's Box, a tall white stone structure on the right. Walk around to the front of this memorial.

Above: The Watchers Box.

This is at map position (Q)
SOME INTERESTING GRAVES
(Click the play button below)

Above: The dead Yew tree. Said to be over 1000 years old and to have supplied wood for some of the bows used at Agincourt. It is unclear in the church information sheet which particular Yew tree is being referred to, so it may be the large live Yew tree that you can see the branches of on the right of the photograph.

Above:  From the dead yew tree, look at the other side of this gravestone. It is the grave of Thomas Turpin.

Above: Thomas Turpin's grave.

Above: Skulls and bones on gravestones. These designs are called Memento Mori, which is Latin for 'remember that you will die'. This is a reminder that we all die, and we should be spiritually ready for it.

CONTINUE THE WALK... and return to the path near to the Watchers Box. Turn right and continue down the path. On the left, over the wall, is the first glimpse of where Wanstead House was. You can see a long deep depression in the ground which is where the Wanstead House cellars were.

CONTINUE THE WALK... down the path until you come to a low wall at the end. There is a bank which you can climb up to look over it.  On the left you can see a clearer view of the depression in ground, marking the site of Wanstead House.

This is at map position (R)
THE SITE OF WANSTEAD HOUSE
(Click the play button below)


Above: Another view of the depression in the ground showing where Wanstead House was.
  
Above: Wanstead House. First opened 1722 - demolished 1825.
  
Above: Assembly at Wanstead House, painted by William Hogarth between 1728-32. It was commissioned to record the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary of Richard Child (Viscount Castlemaine) and his wife, Dorothy Glynne Child. Richard is seated on the extreme right of the painting, Dorothy is in the centre of the picture, showing Richard she is holding an ace, alluding to the fact that they have a winning partnership. 
Public Domain image. Original Painting held by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.


Above: Catherine and William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley
Public Domain images.


END OF WALK

The nearest tube station and buses are at Wanstead. Walk down St Mary's Avenue, straight on outside the churchyard, for around 550 metres. 

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Let us know if you enjoyed the walk, and if you have any other feedback that we could use to improve it.


Music used in the audio recordings on this page: 
Sonatina No 2 in F Major Allegro - Joel Cummins - Copyright Free Music - YouTube Audio Library 
Camille Saint-Saëns: Danse Macabre by Kevin MacLeod - Free Music Archive