Group visits to the Museum are welcome outside of opening times.

Museum staff can also provide illustrated talks. Please find a list of available talks and information on prices below.

Please contact us for further details on 01992 716 882.

Illustrated Talks

1. Walter Spradbery

   
   This talk focuses on the life and works of the celebrated graphic artist whose work for London transport during the period 1920 - 1940's was inspired by his love of the Forest. Noted First World War artist, landscape painter and tutor, Spradbery was a major figure in the London arts world of his time.

2. Evidence for Iron age and Roman occupation in the Epping Forest District

   
   From the iron Age Hill fort at Amesbury Banks to the Roman small town of Little London this talk provides a snapshot of our current knowledge on this early period of the district's history.

3. The Waltham Abbey Bible

   
   Dating to the early 13th Century the Waltham Abbey Bible is a prized exhibit in the Museum's collections. This talk provides an in depth study of this priceless relic.

4. The Cottis Family of Epping

   
   In the 19th and early 20th Centuries the Cottis family dominated the commercial life of Epping. Their 'Archimedean' works produced ironwork, which was exported all over the world. This talk tells their story.

5. Epping through Old Photographs

   
   From rural market town to London commuter belt suburb, the photographic collections held by the museum chart the changing nature of this Essex town.

6. Epping Artists

   
   The fine art collection held by the Museum includes works by important artists who have lived in or been inspired by the district. This talk explores some of these treasures, through looking at the work of Walter Spradbery, Haydn Mackey, John Strevens, Lucien Pissarro and contemporary artists such as Freda Titford and Alan Burgess.

7. Canons, Cloisters and Castles

   
   The Epping Forest District includes a wealth of monuments from the medieval period, from our market towns, through historic parish churches and the castle at Ongar, to the great abbey of Waltham Holy Cross. This talk explores this rich legacy and the story of the people who created it.

8. The Work of the Epping Forest District Museum

   
   What goes on behind the scenes at the Museum, this talk explores the collections, the stories they can tell and how we care for them at the Epping Forest District Museum.

9. Pissarro in Epping

   
   Lucien Pissarro a celebrated artist in the impressionist movement lived for a while in Epping. The town and surrounding landscapes provided an inspiration for his work. This talk looks at Lucien's life and focus's on the work he produced during the Epping years.

10. Epping Under Fire

    
    During the years of the Second World War, the towns and villages of the Epping Forest area played their full part, from armaments industries and the defence of London to land girls, evacuees and Prisoner of War camps, this talk explores the legacy of this titanic struggle.

11. Octavius Deacon – A Victorian Artist from Loughton

    
    Watercolours and sketches created by this Loughton resident reveal the humorous and sometimes surprising side of life in Loughton in the late Victorian period.

12. Swingboats, Dead Donkeys and lashings of Ginger Beer: The “Retreats” of Epping Forest

    
    This illustrated talk explores the phenomenon of the Epping Forest Retreats, which provided entertainment and refreshments at a time when new forms of transport introduced millions of visitors from the growing population of London to the forest.

Prices

• 60 minute visit to the Museum for Epping Forest District based group -£30
• 60 minute visit to the Museum for non-Epping Forest District based group - £40
  
  
• 60 minute illustrated daytime talk for Epping Forest District based group - £35
• 60 minute illustrated daytime talk for non-Epping Forest District based group - £45
  
  
• 60 minute illustrated evening talk for Epping Forest District based group - £45
• 60 minute illustrated evening talk for non-Epping Forest District based group - £60