Chingford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chingford is a town in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is a suburban development situated 10 miles (16.1 km) north east of Charing Cross. To the north and east of Chingford is Epping Forest and the boundary with Essex. To the west is the King George's Reservoir and the River Lea.
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[edit] History
Chingford seems to have begun life as a small hamlet beside the River Lea. One of the explanations for the later name is that it comes from the Saxon "cëgingaford", which means "dwellers by the stumpy ford".
It is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Cinghefort.
There were early villages at Chingford Green (North Chingford) and Chingford Hatch, but only the occupants on the bank of the river (today's Sewardstone Road) saw much in the way of traffic, being on the route from Waltham Abbey to Stratford via Walthamstow. The development of Chingford into a London Suburb was therefore rather late, as these small villages and farms were until the latter part of the 19th century rather isolated, not being on any major highways. This changed when the Epping Forest Act of 1878 gave the Corporation of London responsibility for the forest and in 1882 Queen Victoria arrived to officially open it up to the public.
In 1894 Chingford became an Urban District, then in 1938 Municipal borough status was granted until 1965, when it became part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is now mostly of modern construction, with extensive development taking place in the inter-war years. There is a large shopping area at Chingford Mount, with a smaller selection of shops at North Chingford, along Station Road.
During the 1920s Lawrence of Arabia owned part of Pole Hill, which he eventually gifted to Chingford Borough Council, who in turn exchanged it for other land with the City of London Corporation so that it could become part of Epping Forest. Contrary to popular myth, Lawrence never lived on Pole Hill.
[edit] Landmarks
One notable local landmark is Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge. Originally called the Great Standing, it was built for King Henry VIII of England (r.1509 - 1547) in 1543, and was used as a grandstand to watch the hunting of deer, although it has been heavily altered over time. The building is located on Chingford Plain within Epping Forest and is open to the public.
A granite obelisk at Pole Hill was erected in 1824 under the direction of the Astronomer Royal, the Rev. John Pond M.A., to mark true north for the Royal Observatory, which was then at Greenwich, south of the Thames. It was placed on high ground along the line of the Greenwich Meridian, but when this was recalculated later in the 19th century, the obelisk was deemed to have been erected 19 feet west of the true meridian line.
[edit] Trivia
Shortly before the official maiden flight of the R101 it appeared over Chingford, barely clearing Pole Hill, and terrifying the householders on Pole Hill Road.
The Kray twins are buried in South Chingford cemetery.
The author and games designer Joe Dever was born in Chingford in 1956.
The footballer David Beckham grew up in Chingford having been born at Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone on 2 May 1975. As a child he attended Chingford School and played football for Ridgeway Rovers, a local side.
The Apple Mac Designer Jonathon Ive was born and lived in Chingford in his early years, he now lives in California. He has designed the iPod (all generations) iMac (all generations), iBook, Powerbook, MacBook and MacBook Pro, as well as the new iPhone
[edit] Districts
- Highams Park
- Friday Hill
- Hale End
- Chingford Hatch
- Chingford Mount
- Station Road (Chingford)
- Heathcote school
[edit] Transport
Chingford is served by a railway station which is the terminus of a branch line from Liverpool Street station in the City of London. There is also a station at Highams Park. The town is served by many bus routes, linking it to Walthamstow, Loughton, Leyton and Woodford. The town is also served by the N26 night bus from Trafalgar Square. The North Circular Road skirts the southern part of the town, and gives motorists good access to the north and east of London. The London LOOP walk passes through Chingford on its way from Enfield to Chigwell.
[edit] Local Railway stations
[edit] London Underground
The London Underground stations nearest to Chingford include:
[edit] National Politics
Chingford is within the Chingford and Woodford Green UK Parliament constituency.
Famous former MPs include Winston Churchill (when Chingford was part of the Epping constituency) and Norman Tebbit . Iain Duncan Smith is the current MP.
[edit] Local Politics
Chingford is part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, which also includes the towns of Walthamstow, Leyton and Leytonstone. Chingford consists of six council wards, namely:
- Chingford Green
- Endlebury
- Valley
- Larkswood
- Hatch Lane
- Hale End and Highams Park
Each ward is represented by three councillors, at present all of the councillors in Chingford represent the Conservative Party with the exception of the three members for Hale End and Highams Park who represent the Liberal Democrats. The London Borough of Waltham Forest is presently jointly controlled by the Labour party and the Liberal Democrats.
Chingford falls within the North East constituency of the London Assembly, which is currently respresented by Jennette Arnold of the Labour party.
[edit] Nearest places
[edit] External links
- The History of Chingford (This appears to be dead when tried, February 2007}
- London's Railways
- Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge
| Section 18: | London Outer Orbital Path | Section 19: |
|---|---|---|
| Enfield Lock | Chingford | Chigwell |
