Place Name
In 1135, a hill in Buckhurst (Bocherst), just to the north of Woodford, was given to the monks of Stratford Abbey by William de Montfichet, Bocherst meaning beech wood hill. By 1286 it was being recorded as Monekenebukhurst meaning the hill in Buckhurst owned by the monks. In 1547 it was known as Monnekenhyll and Munchcombe in 1630. Following the dissolution of the monasteries the land was snatched from the church and placed in private hands and a farm house was built, appearing in Chapman and Andre’s 1777 map of Essex as Monkham Lane Farm. The road was extended from Farm Way west to join the High Road in the 19thCentury. The farmhouse has since been demolished and some 176 acres were broken up and converted to housing.
