PLACE NAME
Thought to be named after a coaching inn called Little London House that existed on this site from at least the 15thCentury. Its proximity to the most important road in the parish, the Abridge-London road, which closely follows the route of the old Roman road, is most likely to have inspired its name. Evidence of an important Roman settlement, perhaps that of Durolitum, has been discovered at the junction with Abridge Road. Durolitum means strong lodge and perhaps suggests that some form of early coaching inn existed here, serving Roman officials in need of new horses and refreshments while on the road to the capital. Certainly from at least the early 19thCentury Abridge was an important transport hub, and there was a regular service of coaches leaving for London. By the mid 19thCentury the railway had been extended as far as Loughton, about four miles from Abridge, and a further extension in 1865 to Epping and Ongar included a station at Theydon Bois.
