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There are various local legends explaining this curious plaque, including a tale of the theft of a cherry pie by local workmen who were caught and fined half a guinea (52.5p). However the most likely explanantion is that it was placed there by the landlord of 1752, David Jersey (corrupted by centuries of repainting and re-cutting the inscription to D Jerry on the plaque), commemorating a feast which included a huge cherry pie. Monstrous pies were a feature of 18th-century Essex rural festivals; the Tollesbury Gooseberry Pie festival is still in existence, and other inns around the edge of Epping Forest were famed for pies (rabbit pie at The Reindeer, Loughton, now Warren House, and pigeon pie at The King's Head, Chigwell). Wanstead was well-known for its cherry orchards as late as the 1830s, when they were mentioned by poet Thomas Hood, who lived in Wanstead 1832-5.
The M11/M12A Link Road was built in the 1990s. An area beside the section from Blake Hall Road to Selsdon Road was in 2008 preserved by local residents as a Wild-Flower Meadow with a year-round display of wild and naturalised plants, shrubs and trees; starting in spring with oxlip (P. elatoir), cowslip (Primula veris), primrose (P. vulgaris), and meadow buttercup (Ranunculus acris), followed by many species including the grass vetchling (Lathyrus nissolia). The meadow is listed as one of the main Primula species meadows in Greater London. The fauna of the area includes birds, fox, Muntjac deer, and squirrel.
[edit] Education
Wanstead is home to a large comprehensive school, Wanstead High School. There are six primary schools in Wanstead: Our Lady of Lourdes, Aldersbrook, Wanstead Church School, Nightingale, Snaresbrook and St. Joseph's which is an all-girls' private school.
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[edit] Notable residents
[edit] References
- Pewsey, S (2005), The Wanstead Cherry Pie Stone, Wanstead Historical Society
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(Source: Wikipedia) |