Home > Essex > Loughton > Kings Head Kings Head
Picture source: Hania Franek
The Kings Head was situated on Church Hill. This pub originally dates to around 1826 but was rebuilt in early 1900s. In early 2000s it was renamed The Fox. It is now part of the Zizzi's restaurant chain.
Local newspaper review by John Cutting, 1967
Loughton is, indeed, changed but cricket has been played opposite the King's Head for nearly a hundred years and the outside of the inn is virtually the same as it was at the turn of the century. Two years ago, however, the interior was completely modernised and where, once, all was delightfully cluttered and Victorian there is now plain wood panelling and an original wallpaper pattern that would have horrified the great William Morris. The King's Head has, for a long time, had a close connection with Loughton Cricket Club. Bill Garrett, an Essex County cricketer who was landlord for nearly forty years, played for the club and, before the new pavilion on the ground was built, the inn was the place where the matches were discussed until late into the evening. In those days a quart jug of beer cost 1s. 4d. and in the hot summers of old when, apparently, it never rained, the quantity consumed was awe-inspiring. The King's Head was then more a club than an inn and Mrs. Amy Garrett used to preside over a table loaded with bread and beef dripping sandwiches which were offered free to all-comers. In the depth of winter labourers would come to warm themselves with huge bowls of her excellent soup. There is a remarkable photograph taken about a hundred years ago which shows a mortuary by the side of the old inn. On the Green a picnic is in progress and, while the ladies look starchly demure in their wide white aprons, their escorts proudly stand around with their bowler hats at the correct angle. The photograph originally belonged to Mr. Jenkins, who was potman at the inn from 1902-1915. A familiar figure at the King's Head during her last tragic years was the lovely and generous Jose Collins who is remembered by many with deep affection. The War Memorial on the green outside the inn was erected in 1921. Although now generally known as York-hill or King's Green the original name was Cage Green and there, at one time, stood a pound in which delinquents were confined. The present manager of the King's Head is Ken Krailing who, together with Marjorie his wife, has been in charge for the past six years. Ken who, as a boy, lived in Epping was at school in Loughton and, after his marriage, he settled there and played cricket for the local club. Both Marjorie and he have family connections in the trade and, from childhood, it was always his great ambition that, one day, he would be "mine host" at the inn. Two years ago the major reconstruction of the interior of the King's Head was completed and the inn now consists of the York and Lopping Bars and a restaurant. The name "Lopping" has an interesting history. The right of lopping or pollarding the trees in Epping Forest was granted to the people of Loughton by Queen Elizabeth when she was lord of the manor. To preserve their rights for the ensuing year the inhabitants used to meet at Staples Hill at midnight on St. Martin's Day (November 11th) and, after due celebration, would immediately lop the trees for a couple of hours and then return to bed. The effect of the industrial revolution was to demand more room for housing and agriculture and it seemed, at one time, that this would lead to the extinction of the forest. However, Epping Forest was finally preserved, largely by the efforts of the Corporation of the City of London, and a large sum of money was paid out in compensation to those who had lost their property or been deprived of their lopping rights. Loughton received the sum of £7,000 and, with part of that money, a village hall was built which is called Lopping Hall. Marjorie Krailing is in charge of the catering at the inn and, in the large, spacious and comfortable restaurant, a wide variety of meals are served both at lunch time and in the evenings. The camera has been a wonderful medium for saving for posterity pictures of buildings and scenes of the past. Unfortunately, however, all too often these old photographs are destroyed and what would have been an interesting historical record is lost. Thanks to a wonderful collection in the possession of Alec Diggens, who was for many years a builder in the town, many invaluable pictures of Old Loughton have been preserved. In the Lopping Bar I was privileged to see these wonderful photographs, all fully documented. The unpaved roads, used only by an occasional horse and cart, and the splendid old houses gave me a nostalgic feeling and there was something sad in seeing quiet leafy lanes which today are busy thoroughfares. The King's Head is one of the most popular meeting places in Loughton and many of the regular customers have used the inn for a large number of years. Seeing them together I was reminded of the 18th Century poet who prayed: "O grant me, Heaven, a middle state, Neither too humble nor too great; More than enough for nature's ends, With something left to treat my friends."
Brewers: Truman, Hanbury Buxton & Co. Ltd
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Other Photos
Picture source: Hania Franek
Date of photo: 1967	Picture source: John Cutting
Date of photo: 2019	Picture source: Jane Manley