The north-eastern part of Harold Wood, occupying an isthmus of land between the A12 and the Ingrebourne River. In 1868 a wealthy
Brentwood solicitor built himself a mansion to the south of the river and railway line, named Harold Court. After the owner’s
bankruptcy the house served as a children’s home, then a lunatic asylum and then a sanatorium. In 1959 it became a teacher
training college and has now been converted into private flats. Horse Block Farm lay to the north-east of Harold Court Road.
After the First World War the Essex builders Iles and Company laid out a bungalow estate here that it called Sunnytown. The
company also created Sunnymede at Billericay. When Harold Court primary school opened in 1929 the area still retained a rural
character, but this was slowly eroded as further development plugged the gaps, including some industry beside the Ingrebourne.
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