Chingford


Chingford is a suburban town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The centre of Chingford is north-east of Charing Cross. Chingford is bounded by the River Lea to the west, Epping Forest to the north and east, and Walthamstow to the south. It had a population of 70,583 at the 2021 census.
The name Chingford was first recorded in 913AD, with the ancient parish of Chingford being a largely rural farming community until urbanisation began in the late 19th century and became particularly pronounced in the interwar period.
The parish of Chingford was part of the Waltham hundred of Essex. The parish was granted urban district status in 1894, and municipal borough status in 1938. Its administrative headquarters were at Chingford Town Hall until 1965 when the Municipal Borough of Chingford merged with the municipal boroughs of Walthamstow and Leyton to form a new borough, Waltham Forest, within the new Greater London.

History

Origin and toponymy

The first record of the manors of Chingford, is as Cingeford, in 913AD. It was also recorded with the spelling Cingefort in the Domesday Book of 1086. The meaning of the name is not certain.
It is thought that, similarly to how Kingston upon Thames appears in Domesday Book of 1086AD as Chingestone and Chingetun, with ching being old English for the king, that Chingford could refer to the King's river, and Kings Ford. There is evidence of King Harold Harefoot having lived in Chingford and the environs in the 11th century, a date which ties in with the Old English use of "ching" for "king".
Another suggestion is that the settlement's name has its origin as "Shingly Ford"—that is, a ford over a waterway containing shingles. However, this is likely to be incorrect, as the usage of the placename name "Cingefort" in the Doomsday book predates the coining of the word "Shingle." The earliest known usage of the Middle English word shingle is 1200AD and the word was not used to describe loose stones on a waterway until three centuries later in the 1500s.
The ford referred to in the place name may have been a ford used to cross either the River Ching or the River Lea. Chingford is close to a number of fords of the Ching. However, old maps and descriptions give a name for the settlement long before the river has a name and it is likely that the name of the river as "Ching" arose long after the settlement was named.
The alternative view is that the ford crossed the Lea, and a location near Cook's Ferry has been suggested. This may be supported by the form Chagingeford recorded in 1204, which may mean the ford of the dwellers by the stumps. The remains of pile dwellings, covering a considerable area, were found near the mouth of the Ching between 1869 and 1901, when the reservoirs were being built.

Administrative history

At Domesday, the manors of Chingford are recorded as being in the Waltham hundred of Essex. Manors were landholdings which initially also had an administrative role. Later the manors would be served by the ancient parish of Chingford. The civil parish was granted urban district status in 1894, and municipal borough status, as the Municipal Borough of Chingford, in 1938. Its administrative headquarters were at Chingford Town Hall.
The Borough of Chingford's politics were dominated by the Chingford Ratepayers' Association, which was nominally independent, but against whom the Conservative Party did not field candidates.
In 1965 Chingford merged with the Municipal Boroughs of Leyton and Walthamstow to form a new borough, Waltham Forest, within the new Greater London.

Epping Forest and the railway

opened in 1873 and brought with it a huge increase in visitors to the area, many of whom used the town as a gateway to Epping Forest. The forest was given to the people by Queen Victoria in 1878 under the Epping Forest Act, which ensured it was kept unenclosed for public enjoyment.
The Royal Forest Hotel opened in 1880, and its location in Ranger's Road meant it soon became popular among day-trippers visiting Epping Forest. It is situated next to the historic Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, which the royal family used while hunting deer in the forest during the 1600s.

Urbanisation

The area was almost entirely rural until development began in earnest in the late 19th century. forming part of the conurbation of London. The area was included in the Metropolitan Police District in 1840 and became part of London's postal district upon its inception in 1856, with the NE postcode area replaced with E in 1866. The E area was subdivided in 1917 with Chingford approximating to the southern part of E4. Development accelerated after World War I.

Geography

Scope

The area covered by the former ancient parish and subsequent Municipal Borough of Chingford includes Chingford Green, Chingford Hatch, Chingford Mount, Friday Hill, North Chingford and South Chingford.
The area of the parish and borough approximates to the southern part of the E4 Postal Area. This also roughly approximates to six Waltham Forest wards that lie north of the North Circular Road. The ward areas north of the North Circular also takes in Hale End and Highams Park, that were part of the parish and borough of Walthamstow.

Physical geography

The highest point, Pole Hill, has an elevation of 299 feet above sea level.

Neighbouring areas

is located to the south, with Woodford in the London Borough of Redbridge to the east, the borough boundary runs through Epping Forest.
The borough boundary with Epping Forest District in Essex, to the north, also runs through Epping Forest with nearby Essex towns in Epping Forest District include Sewardstone, Waltham Abbey, Loughton and Buckhurst Hill. Edmonton and Enfield are located west of the River Lea in the London Borough of Enfield.

Landmarks

One notable local landmark is Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge. Originally called the Great Standing, it was built for King Henry VIII 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. The lodge is preserved under the Epping Forest Preservation Act.
The King's Head Hotel, on Station Road, dates back to at least the 1730s and it received a boost in trade as more people visited the area. It is still a popular hotel and has recently been refurbished inside, although the exterior of the building still preserves the character of its early days.
Originally a barn built in the mid-19th century, Butler's Retreat, a Grade II listed building, is one of the few remaining Victorian retreats within the forest. The building is adjacent to the Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge and takes its name from the 1891 occupier John Butler. Retreats originally served non-alcoholic refreshments as part of the Temperance movement. After closing in 2009 the building was refurbished by the City of [London Corporation] and re-opened as a cafe in 2012.
Friday Hill House, Simmons Lane, off Friday Hill, dating from 1839, was a manor house built and owned by Robert Boothby Heathcote, who was both the lord of the manor and rector of the local church. It was he who paid for the building of the church of St Peter and St Paul in Chingford. He is buried in the Boothby family vault in All Saints' Churchyard, Old Church Road. The vault was purchased by Robert Boothby, who lived in the previous manor house. The present building has been used as a further education centre but was put up for sale in 2012.
Pimp Hall Dovecote is situated in a green area at the bottom of Friday Hill and can be viewed by entering the Pimp Hall Nature Reserve. The dovecote, which had nesting space for 250 birds, belonged to Pimp Hall, one of three manor houses around Chingford. In 1838 the estate was taken over and became part of the Chingford Earls estate. The farmhouse associated with it survived until just before World War II. This dovecote is depicted in the Millennium Heritage Mosaic on the front of Chingford Assembly Hall. It is the fourth item down on the left-hand side of the mosaic.
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 telescopes of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, south of the Thames. It was placed on high ground along the line of the Greenwich Meridian, but when this was recalibrated later in the 19th century, the obelisk was deemed to have been erected west of the revised meridian line. Today, an adjoining triangulation pillar marks the modern line.
Chingford Town Hall, dating from 1929, is on The Ridgeway in Chingford. It has more recently been known as the Chingford Municipal Offices. The site was sold to property developers who built blocks of flats on the land and the town hall building was subsequently converted to apartments.

Churches

in Chingford Mount is a Grade II* listed Church of England church at Old Church Road. Parts of the church date back to the 12th and 13th centuries, but it now forms part of the parish of St Peter and St Paul, Chingford, which took over its role as the Church of [England parish church|parish church] in 1844. The church stands on the summit of Chingford Mount and has views westwards towards the reservoirs of the Lea Valley. Directly opposite the church is Chingford Mount Cemetery.
The Roman Catholic church of Our Lady of Grace & Saint Teresa of Avila is on the corner of Kings Road and Station Road, next to St Mary's Catholic Primary School. The current half-timbered building dates from 1931, on the site of an earlier 1919 church.

Governance and representation

Parliament

Chingford is within the Woodford Green |Chingford and Woodford Green] UK Parliament constituency, which consists of parts of the Boroughs of Waltham Forest and Redbridge. Iain Duncan Smith has been the sitting MP since 1992.
Former MPs include Norman Tebbit, Leah Manning, Stan Newens, and Winston Churchill.

Waltham Forest

Chingford is part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, which also includes Walthamstow, Leyton, and Leytonstone. Chingford consists of six council wards, namely:
Each ward is represented by three councillors, except Endlebury and Highams Park & Hale End South, which each have two. Currently all of the councillors represent the Conservative Party except for one Labour councillor in Valley and two in Hale End and Highams Park South. The London Borough of Waltham Forest is presently controlled by the Labour party.

London

Chingford and Waltham Forest fall within the North East constituency of the London Assembly, represented since 2004 by Jennette Arnold of the Labour party.

Demography

As of the 2021 census, the population of Chingford was 70,583, an increase from 66,211 in 2011. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the town significantly increased in the decade between the two censuses, with less than half the town's population now identifying as White British, a fall from 62.7% in 2011, and 80.5% in 2001.
Population figures for Chingford are based on the six wards that comprise the town |Chingford Green], Endlebury, Hale End, Hatch Lane combined.

Housing

Chingford was the location of one of the interwar [London County Council cottage estates.

Local sport teams

  • Chingford's oldest football club is Egbertian FC, formerly Old Egbertian FC, which was started by former pupils of St Egbert's College, Chingford. The club was formed in 1928 and is affiliated to the Amateur Football Alliance. The club plays in the Amateur Football Combination.
  • Ridgeway Rovers Youth Football Club is a local club in Chingford East London. Notable former players include David Beckham, Andros Townsend, and Harry Kane.
  • Chingford Rugby Club was also founded in 1928, and its ground is at Waltham Way, Chingford.
  • Chingford Cricket Club is located on Forest Side, but the entrance to the ground is on Kimberley Way. It is believed to have been founded in 1884. The club plays in The Shepherd Neame Essex League and the first team were promoted to the Premier League for the 2013 season.
  • Chingford Town Football Club was re-established in 2018 and competes with the local non-league teams of Essex.
  • King George Sailing Club was founded in the 1970s to provide dinghy sailing and windsurfing on the largest and best sailing water in the north and east of London. The club enjoys facilities both on and off the water and has an active membership engaged in racing, learning to sail, casual sailing, and windsurfing. In recognition of its good facilities and encouragement of youth sailing, the Royal Yachting Association has awarded the club Volvo Champion Club status.

    Transport

Chingford is served by Chingford railway station - which is in zone 5 - which is the terminus of the London Overground Lea Valley lines from Liverpool Street station in the City of London. Chingford is the only station in Waltham Forest to be within zone 5.
There is also a station at Highams Park, in zone 4.
Chingford lost its rail link to Stratford with the removal of the 500 m length of track known as the Hall Farm Curve in 1970, and there have been campaigns for its reinstatement.
The following London Buses routes serve Chingford: 97 Chingford Station to Stratford City, 158 Chingford Mount to Stratford, 179 Chingford Station to Ilford, 212 Chingford Station to Walthamstow St James St, 215 Lee Valley Camp Site to Walthamstow Central, 313 Chingford Station to Potters Bar, 357 Chingford Hatch to Whipps Cross, 379 Chingford Station to Yardley Lane Estate, 385 Chingford Station to Crooked Billet Sainsbury's, 397 Crooked Billet Sainsbury's to Debden, 444 Chingford Station to Turnpike Lane, W11 Chingford Hall Estate to Walthamstow Central, W16 Chingford Mount to Leytonstone and night route N26 Victoria to Chingford Station.

Education

Chingford secondary schools include: