Living in Theydon Bois: area guide to homes, schools and transport
The Essex village of Theydon Bois — pronounced “boys” — has fewer than 2,000 homes, yet its inhabitants appear hyperactive, with a strong sense of community. Maybe it’s all that fresh air.
They run a drama society which puts on four shows a year, and a horticultural society which offers a prize for the biggest pumpkin. There’s an annual donkey derby featuring young jockeys, plus a monthly book club — this month members are reading All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr — and in the newly built village hall they organise yoga, bowls and keep-fit classes, and there are courses with the University of the Third Age.
The wild acres of Epping Forest are on the doorstep and Londoners and locals alike can enjoy living close to nature by camping out at Debden House in the still-smaller village of Debden Green, between Theydon Bois and Loughton. It’s one of the few campsites to allow open fires, and even sells kindling and firewood. Families head for field five, which is known as the fire field. There they can abandon their iPads and iPhones for few hours as they sit around the campfire, watching the sun go down.
Estate agent Dominic Edwards, senior branch manager at Hetheringtons, says Theydon Bois retains typical village character and charm. “It has a village pond and green, an avenue of ancient oaks, the annual donkey derby, two lovely pubs, The Bull and Queen Victoria, which compete in an annual tug-of-war match. “There’s a smart café, butchers, a baker, a useful Tesco Express and restaurants, all combined with the substantial advantage of the Central line with direct trains to the City and West End.”
Theydon Bois is 15 miles north-east of central London between Epping and Loughton. Still within the boundary of the M25, but only just, it offers easy access to the M11. House buyers here are predominantly high-earning City workers and professional couples who like the idea of living in the country — while still being able to get the Tube to work.
Near the village green you’ll find two- and three-bedroom Victorian cottages, while Theydon Bois also boasts modern semis with three or four bedrooms, and large detached houses, some in spacious grounds. However, there is only a limited supply of flats.
What's new?
In nearby Debden, Landmark is a Higgins Homes development of 64 one- and two-bedroom flats with shops on the ground floor, in a seven-storey block in Debden Broadway. The development launches next month and the first residents move in next spring. Call 020 8003 1294.
Theydon Bois currently has no affordable homes schemes. The nearest project is in Hainault about six miles away, where One Housing Group has eight shared-ownership homes for sale at Bridleways, a Fairview New Homes development in New North Road on the site of a former covered reservoir. Call site sales for details of these one- and two-bedroom flats and one three-bedroom house, on 020 8502 5758.
Who rents here?
Theydon Bois is popular with central London and City commuters who want rural peace and the outdoor life at the weekend. But the village itself has only a handful of homes to rent and these are mainly flats. Within a three-mile radius there is a greater variety of rental property but supply is restricted, with twice as many homes for sale as there are to rent.
Best roads
For cottages it’s The Green, and for semis try Woburn Avenue, Woodland Way, Dukes Avenue and Morgan Crescent. The best detached homes are in Blackacre Road, Hill Road, Theydon Park Road, Sidney Road and Coppice Row. Piercing Hill is Millionaires Row, where the grandest houses are found.
Up and coming
The London overspill town of Debden is considerably cheaper. Estate agent Dominic Edwards also tips the nearby village of Abridge, where prices have been rising steeply.
Travel
Theydon Bois is close to junction 27 of the M25, where the route meets junction 6 on the M11. The village is on the Central line, with Tube trains taking 34 minutes to Liverpool Street and 44 minutes to Oxford Circus. The station is in Zone 6 and an annual travelcard to Zone 1 costs £2,364.
Staying power Hetheringtons estate agents’ senior local branch manager Dominic Edwards says many of his buyers are trading up to larger homes, and there are many local families with several generations that enjoy living close to each other.
Postcode Theydon Bois falls under CM16 7.
Lifestyle
Shops and restaurants
Theydon Bois has a branch of the eight-strong Belgique chain of patisseries. Indian Ocean is a stylish modern Indian restaurant. There are two butchers and a baker’s. The Bull and the Queen Victoria are the two much-loved village pubs.
The nearby village of Abridge has the Blue Boar gastropub and The New Roding, a newly opened cocktail bar and restaurant. The Foresters Arms in Baldwin’s Hill, Loughton, is popular for its food, the views over Epping Forest and lovely sunsets.
Epping only a couple of miles away is famous for its two modern furniture shops Geoffrey Drayton and Lathams.
Open Space
Epping Forest and its miles of open-access countryside stretches from Wanstead Flats in the south to Epping in the north, offering walking, riding, mountain biking and fishing, and this summer there are even courses in bushcraft. There are two visitor centres close to Theydon Bois. The Epping Forest Visitor Centre is in the village of High Beach — where you’ll also find the Kings Oak hotel, which hosts Theydon Jazz Club — while The View in Chingford is where the historic Queen Elizabeth’s Hunting Lodge can be visited.
A few miles west of Epping Forest, the Lee Valley Regional Park offers yet more walking and cycling. The park follows the River Lea from Ware in Hertfordshire to the Thames in London. Lee Valley White Water Centre in Waltham Cross was used during the 2012 London Olympics.
Leisure and the arts
Theydon Bois has the royal flush of sports clubs, with the golf club in Theydon Road, the lawn tennis club in Sidney Road and the cricket club in Avenue Road. Nuffield Health has a leisure centre with a swimming pool at Woolston Hall in Abridge Road, Chigwell. The nearest council-owned swimming pool is at Loughton Leisure Centre in Traps Hill.
Theydon Bois Drama Society, founded in 1925, puts on three or four shows a year in the village hall. The next production is Lock Up Your Daughters, a musical with lyrics by the late Lionel Bart. The nearest cinemas are in Harlow or South Woodford.
Council
Epping Forest district council is Conservative controlled, and Band D council tax for the 2016/2017 year is £1,552.42
Schools
Primary school
There are two schools in the village itself: The Village Montessori Nursery (co-ed, ages two to five) a private nursery in the village hall in Coppice Row, and Theydon Bois Primary, a state school in Orchard Drive. Both the nursery and the school are judged “good” by government education watchdog Ofsted.
Comprehensive
There are three state comprehensive schools in nearby Loughton. Davenant (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Chester Road on the Theydon Bois side of Loughton, a Christian school with a history dating back to the 17th century, is rated “outstanding”. Debden Park High (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Willingale Road, and Roding Valley High (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Alderton Hill are both judged “good”.
Private
There are four popular local private schools: Coopersale Hall (co-ed, ages 30 months to 11) in Epping; Chigwell (co-ed, ages four to 18) in Chigwell; Bancroft’s (co-ed, ages seven to 18) in Woodford Green, and Forest School (co-ed, ages four to 18) in Walthamstow.