Home > Essex > Loughton > The Wheatsheaf The Wheatsheaf
Date of photo: 2019	Picture source: Jane Manley
The Wheatsheaf was situated at 15 York Hill. This pub is now used as a restaurant called Quindici.
Now reopened as The Hair Of The Dog.
Ben Brown (January 2026)
Local newspaper review by John Cutting, 1965
One of the best known and most popular licensees in the district is Ron Whitfield who, with his mother, now nearly 70 years old, runs the delightful Wheatsheaf Public House. It was back in 1933 that Ron's parents moved from South London to the village of Loughton to take over the small beerhouse in York-hill, at that time a leafy lane leading up to the Forest. Originally the brewers were West's, of Hackney, later taken over by Hoare's Brewery, which was itself afterwards absorbed by Charrington's. In spite of these changes of ownership, the Whitfields have stayed on and today, for many miles around, only Tom Nosworthy, of the King William IV at Chigwell, can claim longer service in any licensed house. Ron is justly proud of the fact that, among his present customers, are some who drank with his father over 30 years ago. The changes which have taken place in Loughton over the past years have been kinder to York-hill than to many other parts of the town and the Wheatsheaf is one of the public houses about which it can be said that it has been improved rather than spoiled by the modern craze for “conversion.” Photographs show that in the early years of the century the Wheatsheaf was an undistinguished building hidden behind trees, while even in 1939 it looked grim and gaunt under a thick covering of ivy. Having been in the trade all his working life, Ron's choice of hobbies has necessarily been limited but, with the encouragement and coaching of Eddie Phillips, the light-heavyweight champion of Great Britain, he became a very good amateur boxer. During the war he was a well-known light-heavyweight in the 53rd (Welsh) Division. Another link with the boxing world is his friendship with the great Len Harvey who, when he was stationed at Hornchurch with the R.A.F., was a constant visitor to the Wheatsheaf. During and after the war the Wheatsheaf was the scene of great activity and many of the lighter incidents are still well remembered. The H.A.C., who were, for a time, quartered in the school in Staples-road, used the house as a H.Q. and later on the Home Guard found the Wheatsheaf an ideal centre to plan their exercises and, afterwards, to quench their post-manoeuvre thirsts. When beer rationing was an unpleasant reality, Ron recalls wryly how he used to travel to Edmonton to buy beer at an off-licence there merely to keep the Wheatsheaf open in the evenings. Looking further back he remembers the early years when trade depended on the weather and the number of trippers who travelled from London by steam train to visit the Forest. The sale of beer and sandwiches provided their sole livelihood and much depended on whether the sun shone over the weekend. Today things are different; the local trade is first-rate, and Ron's wife, Peggy, provides excellent hot snacks at lunch-time. Ron is far from being some-one who is always looking back into the past. Today his chief thoughts are forward to his silver wedding, which will be celebrated next February. There must be hundreds of his friends who will join me in wishing Ron and Peggy the very best of health and luck on their anniversary and every success in the next 25 years.
Brewers: Charrington & Co. Ltd
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