St Thomas, Upshire
Kelly's Essex Directory,
1937: "UPSHIRE is a hamlet 2½ miles east [of Waltham
Abbey], on the borders of Epping Forest."
The directory also mentions two obelisks tradition
associated with Queen Boadicea and lists the church of St
Thomas as having both a vicar and a curate. These days
Upshire is close to Warlies Park and the M25, but mostly
not overlooked by it. Like most of Upshire the church of
St Thomas is on Horseshoe Hill and there are pleasant
views from the graveyard.
St Thomas was designed by
architects Freeman & Ogilvy for Sir Thomas Fowell
Buxton. A stone by the door in the north wall says "On
Saint Thomas day MDCCCCI this stone was laid by Lady
Victoria Buxton". The family graves can be found on the
south side of the church. Services had previously been
held in the school at nearby Copped Hall Green from about
1870. The Buxtons were an evangelical family and Sir
Thomas stipulated that the church be run as a missionary
chapel. [See
source]
For the purpose of recording inscriptions, the churchyard has been split into secions with a row letter and number along the row:
- S - immediately south of the church, containing Buxton
graves
- W - west of the church, the largest area
- WM - War Memorial, at gate
- ZC - Cremated remains in the area west of the church
Church
web site
British
History entry on Waltham Abbey churches
Church address:
Horseshoe Hill, Upshire, Waltham Abbey,
Search inscriptions at St Thomas Upshire