I was delighted to join the CEO of the Heartwood Collection, Richard Ferrier, his team and a wide variety of community stakeholders at ‘the Royal Forest Epping Forest’ in Chingford today, for the official opening of this much loved asset.
As regular readers will be aware from my update in June, the Heartwood Collection acquired the lease from the City of London Corporation and have created a ‘pub with rooms’. However I think that really undersells what they have achieved. The Heartwood team have skilfully restored the historic character of the buildings and created a pub with 80 covers, a brasserie with seating for up to 142 guests, 28 bedrooms and two outdoor seating areas.
The official opening was a welcome opportunity to celebrate the history of the site and its connectivity to Epping Forest. The historic public house, designed by architect Edmond Egan, first opened in 1880 as The Forest Hotel and subsequently renamed The Royal Forest in 1882 following a visit by Queen Victoria when she officially opened the Forest, following the creating the creation of the Epping Forest Act in 1878.
The Queen visit Epping Forest for it’s official opening in her open top carriage from Chingford train station to High Beach. She was accompanied by her son, the Prince Arthur Duke of Connaught and daughter, Princess Louise Duchess of Argyll. Today, these characters were brought back to life as they emerged with the Lord Lieutenant and officiated at the opening ceremony. The red ribbon across the threshold was creatively cut using the Lord Lieutenant’s sword – something Queen Elizabeth II was famous for doing.
Guests were also kept entertained by a penny farthing cyclist, soldiers, a wonderful band and carol singers.
The Heartwood Collection team also commissioned a book by a member of the Chingford Historical Society, Morna Daniels. The book documents the rich history of the building with some wonderful photographs and documents. A calligrapher was also on hand to kindly dedicated books to each guest as a keepsake.
I was lucky enough to be invited to join an advance party of guests to use the facilities and have a dry-run of operation last weekend before the Royal Forest was opened to the public.
The bedrooms were decorated beautifully with luxurious accessories throughout. The floor to ceiling stain glassed windows offer stunning views across the ancient Forest and the beds themselves were huge.
One of the great stories of the renovation is that west wing of the building was previously a children’s soft play area. When plasterboard was removed, it uncovered some of the most stunning wood panelling, Victorian fireplaces and portraits, including that of the His Royal Highness The Duke of Connaught (Queen Victoria’s third son).
Many of the stain glass windows depict Henry VIII’s courtiers, but there are also several references to the crown, the Duke of Connaught, the City of London, Parliament and the Duke of Edinburgh.
I have been really impressed with the menu choices across breakfast, lunch, dinner and bar snacks, as well as the range of drinks available.
Event the dogs of Epping Forest walkers are well catered for with a bath installed at the rear of the pub and a wide variety of doggy treats available to pamper the fussiest of pooches.
Both the bar and the brassie is designed in different segments, to accommodate both smaller and larger groups. There’s a good mix of round and square tables and soft bench seating or hard back chairs.
The outside areas have also been radically transformed, with soft planting, comfortable seating and accessible paths.
It’s been a real pleasure seeing the next chapter in this building’s long history unfold. I wish Rich, Rob and all the team at Heartwood every success with this venture. I understand the brasserie is fully booked until the new year already, so get booking soon if you’d like to experience this for yourselves.
