is a
Civil Parish in the
Epping Forest district of
Essex .
Chigwell is 11.6 miles (18.7 km) north east of
Charing Cross and near the boundary with the
London Borough Of Redbridge . It is served by a
London Underground station and has a London (020) area code.
Traditionally a rural farming community, but now largely suburban, Chigwell was mentioned in the
Domesday Book and later lauded by
Charles Dickens in the novel ''
Barnaby Rudge '' where the Maypole Inn is said to have been based on the village's King's Head pub.
Charles Dickens frequently visited Chigwell, which he described in a letter as "the greatest place in the world...Such a delicious old inn opposite the church...such beautiful forest scenery...such an out of the way rural place!".
From
1933 to
1974 it formed together with
Buckhurst Hill and
Loughton the
Chigwell Urban District . Parish councils were re-established for the parishes of
Buckhurst Hill , Chigwell, and
Loughton in
1996 .
Chigwell now has many large suburban houses such as those on Manor Road which featured in the popular English situation comedy
Birds Of A Feather . Chigwell School, a public school, was founded from a bequest by Samuel Harsnett, Archbishop of York, in 1631. Among its many famous past pupils is
William Penn , who later went on to found
Pennsylvania . The diarist
John Aubrey recorded that it was at Chigwell School that Penn had a mystical vision, which influenced his later conversion to
Quakerism . The original 17th-century schoolroom where Penn was taught still stands, and is now the school library.
Chigwell is widely regarded as a wealthy area and contains some large and expensive houses. Famous residents have included:
Nearest places:
Nearest tube stations:
