Known archaeological evidence was unearthed when construction work started on the site next to High House, where the Royal Opera House have built their scene making complex. It was here that a discovery of county and country wide importance was literally un-earthed from the ground. Several Romano-British burials were found, dating back nearly 1700 years to the cusp of when the Roman Empire left Britain to defend Rome itself. Finds of this magnitude and importance are not too often rediscovered, so this has created a great deal of excitement and clearly fires our imaginations as to what the people of the area and these burials were actually like.

The farm and house have been known under various names during its past; Little Place, the Vineyard, West Hall, and Jocelyns. The farm gained the name Little Place because it was built to treat two daughters equally when the Manor of West Thurrock was split, leaving the farmstead as the ‘Little Place’ compared to the first manor that stood in West Thurrock called Stone House. Its romantic name, the Vineyards, was known because of vines having been grown on neighbouring sloping in ancient times, with it being called West Hall because the farm was west of the manorial church, St Clements, and west of Grays, Orsett, and Tilbury. A well known local family was the inspiration for the name Jocelyns, with the name High House coming from its position ‘High’ on a hill overlooking the Thames.

Map of High House in 1863

But it was during the ownership of Samuel Whitbread that the fortunes of High House truly changed for the better. Samuel Whitbread bought all the past lands of High House in the 1780's and reunited it; making the manor the most complete it had been in several hundred years.

Subsequent events conspired to bring to an end the working life of High House. Firstly, the agriculture depression of the late 1800’s drastically cut the size and scale of farming on the site, and with the quarrying industry growing the farm’s lands were literally be dug away. Eventually its fate was sealed when the Purfleet bypass cut the farm off from its fields, making it practically impossible for High House to function as originally intended; as a working farm, producing marrows, onions, and pumpkins, with the last crop apparently being used to feed race horses.

New life and alternative uses were tried for High House’s survival, including a private school in the 1930’s, possibly carrying the name of ‘Vellecote School’, after the owner of the farm, Mr Vellecote. Rumours persist of High House being used by the military in the Second World War, but there is no documented proof to back this up. Eventually the house was converted into flats in the 1960’s, after which the farm laid empty and unused.

           … until several like minded people from the area came together to form the High House Community Group

The main problems sprung from the fact that the land High House sat on had 3 different owners, and under 2 different authorities control. These facts held up the progress of High House until a well-timed accident happened.

The excitement of winning the 2012 Olympics for London was a tremendous boost for the capital and country, but the Royal Opera House’s scene making facility in Stratford was an unsuspecting casualty of the Olympic Village. With the Royal Opera House looking for a new home for its stage crafts; they were shown High House and instantly fell in love with it.

They have built their scene making workshops, which produce backdrops and scenery for ballets and operas, next to High House, using the historic property itself as an outreach project to the community.
The Royal Opera House’s main set building has an unusual viewing gallery where anyone can come along and see the building of sets for ballets and operas without disturbing the crew, making this a fantastic chance to see sets which will be part of shows at the Royal Opera House’s Covent Garden stage.