The latest in the occasional series of features by local historian Susan Yates.

I WAS driving to North Ockendon recently when I passed Stubbers outdoor pursuits centre and wondered where the name came from so I turned to my books and found that it comes from William Stubber who lived there from 1439 to 1483.

On 27 April 1439 William and Alice Stubber, his wife, were granted the land with garden and six acres of land, plus nine acres in Upminster.

When he died in1483 he owned seven holdings in North Ockendon.

 In his will he said to sell his house and lands except two holdings in North Ockendon which were left to his wife. He also left her two pigs, two cows, a bull calf, all his standing crops and moveable goods in the house and grey horse. 

He left money to his two godsons. 

More importantly he left the church one black horse with saddle and bridle plus £6 15s. 4d. for the chaplain to say mass for him for one year.  

On the death of his wife the property was to go to his son John and after him to his daughter Anne. The earliest mention of Stubbers dates from 1334. 

Joan Lylie on the death of her mother Emma passed the lands in Wokyndone Episcopi (Cranham) and Wokyndone Sept Fontaynes (North Ockendon) to Thomas Blundel. 

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In 1336 the estate consisted of a dwelling house with outbuildings and land plus 30 acres in Ockendon Sept Fontaynes passed from Adam Broun of Great Warley to John de Gardino. 1419 The holding increased in size under owner John Jeynour.

In 1489 William Copynge sold Stubbers to Nicholas Davy a member of the Fishmongers Guild. 

Stubbers

It then passed to his son John Davy. In 1532 his son John sold this holding in North Ockendon to John Cathermayde a merchant tailor of London for 20 marks. In 1534 Cathermayde disposed of the lands to Robert Warren another merchant tailor, who enlarged the estate to six messuages, six crofts, eight gardens, 10 cow yards, six barns, one dovecote and 355 acres. 

It is believed it was during this time the house was rebuilt. It had three walled gardens on the south side and two on the north side.

William Coys, the famous botanist was the grandson of Robert Warren and it was he who made the gardens famous, so much so they were visited by many well-known botanists of the time. 

It was Coys who grew the first Yucca in England in 1604 and made beer with barley creating the brew we in England know today. 

He also provided seed from his garden to Kew Gardens. 

Coys died in March 1627. He is buried in North Ockendon church possibly in the chancel with his wife. William was succeeded by his son Giles who sold Stubbers in 1642 for £2,000. It became the portion of Dionys Hale on her marriage to Sir Thomas Williamson. Lady Dionys as she became was a benefactor of city churches after the Great Fire of London giving £4,000 to St. Dunstan's in the East and £2,620 to St Paul's Cathedral.

Stubbers' next owner was Sir Edmund Hoskyns who sold it in 1660, to Sir Benjamin Wright of Cranham Hall without ever having lived there. 

It then passed to the Merrick family. In 1689 the estate was bought by Sir William Russell the Sheriff of London. The Russell's were parishioners of St Dunstan's in the East and Samuel Pepys was a family friend. He was made an alderman of London and given his knighthood on 20^th October 1679. He married twice and had seven children. 

The story goes that Russell was owed money by King Charles II and paid Nell Gwynne £100 to mention it to the King. Nell brought the subject up with Charles and he asked Nell how much she was being paid. He offered her double to never mention it again.

William Russell died on 10th June 1705 and was buried at St Dunstan's in the East and was commemorated in a sculpture by the Dane Cibber.

During the second half of the 18^th century the house had a storey added, the north front was refaced as were the principal out buildings. The south side was built out and heightened to improve the dining room and drawing room. 

Humphry Repton was not a trained gardener but had a natural talent. 

Repton was invited by William Russell to redesign the gardens in 1796 and in accordance with his normal practice produced his Red Book. Sadly, he removed Coy's garden and replaced it with pastoral views, hahas, urns, Roman Statues, and an icehouse. 

The road near the house was removed. A walled vegetable garden was concealed in a meadow beyond the large pond. There was a dovecote 16 feet square. Stables and kennels were added. 

William Russell's three great grandsons, William, John and Joseph ran a pack of hounds. They used to meet at least until 1956. Each grandson occupied Stubbers at one time or another. 

After Joseph Russell the estate passed to his mother's cousin Champion Branfill who took the name of Russell. He was only eight years old at the time. He went to Trinity College joined the army and retired as Lt. Colonel of the West Essex Militia. 

Champion married Emily Wray and was a JP and a trustee of Palmers School. In 1858 he became High Sheriff of Essex. He visited Holland in 1887 became ill and died back at Stubbers in March of that year.

The estate passed to his son, born 1860 who died in 1945, and is buried at North Ockendon Church. The estate then passed to Champion Branfill who was living in Sussex and adopted the Russell name.

The house was very dilapidated and the family sold the house to the Essex Education Committee in 1947 for use as a Youth Centre. The house was demolished circa 1955. The crinkle crankle wall was damaged in the 1987 hurricane but was repaired

It now consists of approximately 130 acres and three lakes. Russell lake and Coys lake being two of them. In 2011 the estate again went into private ownership.