Robin Hood (Loughton)

From International Robin Hood Bibliography
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Locality
Coordinate 51.6562, 0.0413
Adm. div. Essex
Vicinity Epping New Road, Loughton, Essex
Type Public house
Interest Robin Hood name
Status Extant
First Record 1868
A.k.a. Robin Hood Hotel
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The Robin Hood.

By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2013-08-07. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2022-09-13.

The Robin Hood on Epping New Road near Loughton, Essex, is located at an important crossroads in Epping Forest. There can be little doubt that of all public houses named after the outlaw this is the one most frequently depicted on postcards. The earliest reference to this pub that I have found so far is a 6" O.S. map of the area published 1868, based on surveying carried out in 1866 (see Maps section below).

According to a 1990s "Nostalgia Postcard Collector's Club" card:

The Robin Hood hotel was a popular rendezvous spot on the Epping Road where hordes of cyclists gathered, often with their lady friends. Cycling was an affordable and popular leisure activity for both men and women, A bicycle could be hired for 6d an hour and Epping Forest offered many leafy lanes, picnic spots and boating on Connaught Waters to East Enders in search of a day in the country.[1]

This notwithstanding, contemporary postcard makers seem to have had a predilection for quite cyclist-free motifs which instead featured people who could afford proper horse-driven transportation. The postcard with the hordes of cyclists is included in the image gallery below.

Information on publicans for the years 1870 to 1937 can be found at Pub History.[2] It would not be very surprising for a pub named The Robin Hood to have a longbow on display, but assuming it is still there, visitors to the Robin Hood in Loughton can instead admire a crossbow, a modern souvenir brought home by a publican – who is not listed at Pub History – after a trip to Spain no later than 1973.[3]

Gazetteers

Sources

Maps

Background

Notes