Lopping Hall Loughton

Lopping Hall was opened in 1884 to a design by local architect Edmond Egan, and is one of the most important public buildings in Loughton. It was paid for by the Corporation of London to compensate residents of the then village of Loughton for the loss of traditional rights to lop wood in Epping Forest, rights which were bought out when the management of the Forest was taken over by the Corporation in 1878. The total given by the City was £7,000: the cost of the building was £3,236, with a further sum forming a capital gift in the creation of a Lopping Hall Endowment Trust. This Endowment Trust is still in existence today and remains the managing body. The hall was extended in 1902 and for some years was the meeting place for the Loughton Urban District Council, the predecessor of the present Town Council. The magnificent sculpted terracotta doorway in Station Road was the original main entrance to Lopping Hall, but now the entrance is in the High Road, next door to the HSBC bank.

Lopping Hall has a large hall with stage and lighting system. There are also two further rooms, which can be hired for meetings or rehearsals. A licensed bar can be provided for productions or events. The Hall is currently regularly used for rehearsals and performances by two performing art groups: Loughton Amateur Dramatic Society and Loughton Operatic Society. It is the home of the Top Hat School of Dancing, Valley School of Dancing, Footsteps Dance class, Stikki Arts Children’s Art classes and is the regular meeting place for Loughton Camera Club and the 3rd Loughton Brownies. The Hall also accommodates public meetings, adult tap classes, and productions by Oaklands School, Forest Musical Productions and much more.

Following the decision made at the AGM in 2015, the Trustees of The Lopping Endowment created a Limited Liability Corporate Trustee company (known as The Lopping Endowment Corporate Trustee Limited) to be the sole Trustee of the Lopping Endowment. The former Trustees became Directors of the new company in January 2016.