Langtons
| Langtons | |
|---|---|
 Langtons House from Langtons Gardens | |
  Location within Havering | |
| General information | |
| Address | Billet Lane |
| Town or city | Hornchurch, Havering, London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°33′56″N 0°13′2″E / 51.56556°N 0.21722°E |
| Current tenants | Havering register office |
| Renovated | 1797, 1929 |
| Owner | Havering London Borough Council |
Langtons House and Langtons Gardens are a
Hornchurch Urban District Council
from 1929 to 1965.
History
The house, built on the foundations of an older house in the early 18th century, stands in a picturesque landscaped garden with a lake,
Huguenot refugees, had become wealthy silk merchants in the City of London. He set about modernising Langtons, to which he added the two-storey wings that project on the south front.[2]
The grounds were landscaped according to the plans of
Cedar of Lebanon was planted as a central feature of the lawn. By 1805 the gardens were sufficiently advanced to be illustrated in Peacock's Polite Repository.[4]
Langtons was given to
parks and open spaces in Havering. The Fielders Sports Ground, north of the site, was once also part of the gardens and was used as a venue for first-class cricket. The building housed the council offices until the council was abolished in 1965 and Havering London Borough Council, based in Romford, was created.[5]
In 2016 the gardens were extensively restored adding many new features such as a Victorian greenhouse, ornamental bridge, entrance pillars, cobbled stable yard and new tea room.[6]
Havering register office
Langtons House is used as a
register office and function rooms, and has become a popular venue for weddings. Due to an administration error it was found to be unlicensed from October 2004 to March 2005 with 193 marriages affected. Despite the error, all were later found by the High Court to be legally valid.[7]
References
- ^ England described: or, The traveller's companion. Containing whatever is curious in the several counties ... To which is added, as an appendix, A brief account of Wales, etc R. Baldwin, 1776 Page 98
- ^ "The lower projecting canted wings are later C18 additions" (Bridget Cherry, Charles O'Brien, Nikolaus Pevsner, London 5 (Buildings of England series), s.v. "Hornchurch").
- ^ S. Daniels, Humphrey Repton Landscape Gardening and the Geography of Georgian England (Yale University Press), 1999.
- ^ a b Hazel Conway, "Surviving historic landscapes in the London Borough of Havering"
- ^ "Local Government Act 1963". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ "Langtons Gardens". Langtons House. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ "No doubts over marriage legality". BBC News. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
