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Walthamstow
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Walthamstow is a town in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, North East London, England, located north east of Charing Cross. Walthamstow is bordered to the north by Chingford, south by Leyton and Leytonstone, east by the southern reaches of Epping Forest at Woodford and west by Tottenham and the River Lea valley. Leyton High Road, Hoe Street, Chingford Road, Chingford Mount (passing south-north through Walthamstow and its neighbouring towns) form part of an ancient route from London to Waltham Abbey.
hamstow is recorded circa 1075 as Wilcumestowe ("The Place of Welcome") and in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Wilcumestou.
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Encyclopedia
Walthamstow is a town in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, North East London, England, located north east of Charing Cross. Walthamstow is bordered to the north by Chingford, south by Leyton and Leytonstone, east by the southern reaches of Epping Forest at Woodford and west by Tottenham and the River Lea valley. Leyton High Road, Hoe Street, Chingford Road, Chingford Mount (passing south-north through Walthamstow and its neighbouring towns) form part of an ancient route from London to Waltham Abbey.
History
Walthamstow is recorded circa 1075 as Wilcumestowe ("The Place of Welcome") and in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Wilcumestou. Until the 19th century it was largely rural, with a small village centre (now Walthamstow Village — see below) and a number of large estates. The main route through the district, was the aforementioned Hoe Street. Additionally, there were various smaller lanes, crossing the town. The road now known as Forest Road was originally named Clay Street. Further south, the High Street was named Marsh Street, and led from the original settlement out to the marshes. Shernhall Street is an ancient route, as is Wood Street, to the east.
With the advent of the railways and the ensuing suburbanisation in the late 19th century, Walthamstow experienced a large growth in population and speculative building. From 1894 Walthamstow was an urban district and from 1926 a municipal borough in Essex. In 1931 the population of the borough, covering an area of , peaked at 132,972. In 1965 the borough was abolished and its former area merged with that of the Municipal Borough of Chingford and the Municipal Borough of Leyton to form the London Borough of Waltham Forest in Greater London. Other places in East London formerly of the county of Essex, such as Ilford and Romford were placed into London Boroughs along with Walthamstow. The postal codes for those districts failed to change, however.
One of its most famous residents was the writer, poet, designer and socialist William Morris, who was born there on 24 March 1834, and lived there for several years. His former house in Walthamstow is a museum dedicated to his life and works, while the grounds of the house are a public park (Lloyd Park in Forest Road).
Local engineer, Frederick Bremer, built the first motor car in London between 1892 and 1894. This car is one of the claimants to being the first British built petrol driven car and in 1912 the "Motor" Magazine, after much debate, recognised the Bremer Car as the first British built petrol driven car.
The LGOC X-type and B-type were built at Blackhorse Lane from October 1908 onwards. The B-type is considered one of the first mass-production buses. The manufacturing operation later became AEC, famous as the manufacturer of many of London's buses.
Walthamstow saw lively involvement in the General Strike of 1926, with Winston Churchill's coach reportedly being overturned on Walthamstow High Street. Churchill was also given a hostile reception when he visited Walthamstow Stadium during the general election campaign of 1945.
Shops and Walthamstow Market
The High Street is dominated by Walthamstow Market, which began in 1885, and occupies all but the last 100 metres of the street. It is reputed to be a mile long, but in fact measures approximately one kilometre. The market is open five days a week (not Sunday or Monday), and there is currently a Sunday farmers' market. The street is lined with shops: a selection of high-street chains, but also many independent small shops specialising in food, fabrics, household goods etc. as well as cafés. The overall tone is downmarket and unique. There are two patches of new-ish development: at Sainsburys, and The Mall Selborne Walk covered shopping centre both of which have large multi-storey car parks.
The historic central library on the High Street was modernised and expanded in 2006 - 2007, although there were claims that this was at the expense of book holdings. According to the Waltham Forest Guardian, "almost a quarter of a million books have gone missing from Waltham Forest libraries amid claims they have been burned or pulped" and the borough's library stock fell by 60% over the two previous years. At the same time, a large plot at the corner of High Street and Hoe Street was set for substantial redevelopment as a retail space. This site previously contained the town's central Post Office and a shopping arcade, originally built in the 1960s. Plans for the redevelopment of this site fell through in 2005 and are currently in abeyance.
Districts and neighbourhoods
Walthamstow Village conservation area is a peaceful and attractive district to the east of what has become the commercial centre of Walthamstow. The area is roughly defined as being south of Church Hill, west of Shernhall Street, north of Grove Road and east of Hoe Street. Orford Road is the main route through the district, though even this is a quiet thoroughfare by the standards of London. The village has a small selection of specialist shops, pubs and restaurants, and house prices tend to be higher in the streets of this neighbourhood. It was voted best urban village in London by 'Time Out' magazine in 2004.
Upper Walthamstow is to the east of Walthamstow Village. The area's main thoroughfare is Wood Street, which has a good selection of shops and local businesses, and is served by railway, with a station on the Liverpool Street to Chingford line.
Walthamstow has a wide variety of housing stock, but the vast majority of residential property was built in the early 20th century. From Coppermill Lane in the west (next to the marshes), to Wood Street in the east, there are scores of Edwardian and 1920s terraced streets. The area along Markhouse Road and St James Street has many examples of Warner properties. These were developed as affordable housing for the working classes in the early part of the 20th century. Bombing raids in World War II and urban redevelopment projects in the 1960s and 1970s have left areas with more modern housing, mostly in the shape of low-rise concrete blocks.
The northern continuation of Markhouse Road is Blackhorse Road, served by both underground and railway stations, which in turn becomes Blackhorse Lane. This is bound on its western side by industrial units and warehouses. The London Borough of Waltham Forest has proposed developing the area around Blackhorse Road station to become a gateway to the town.
Highams Park and Hale End, though both in the E4 postcode, are historically part of Walthamstow.
Although bounded by the marshes to the west and parts of Epping Forest to the east, there is little open space in the actual town. There were originally two commons in the town, Church Common, adjacent to St. Mary's Church in Walthamstow Village and Markhouse Common, located off Markhouse Lane (now Markhouse Road) and what is now the eastern end of Queens Road. Both open spaces were lost in the 19th century, when the land was sold to property developers.
Walthamstow in popular music
The artwork for British Band Blur's Parklife album featured photos of the band at Walthamstow Stadium.
Walthamstow was home to the popular 1990s boy band East 17, who named their debut album "Walthamstow" in its honour, the group are also named after the area's postal code E17. Walthamstow is also home to The Bevis Frond.
Home to indie rock back The Rifles.
Walthamstow is a major centre in London's grime music scene, with many bedroom studios and underground music enterprises.
The Bromheads Jacket song "Poppy Bird" references Walthamstow in the chorus.
Education
Walthamstow Secondary schools include:
Notable residents
- Benjamin Disraeli, former British Prime Minister, attended Higham Hall School in Walthamstow
- Keith Albarn, manager of Soft Machine and father of Damon Albarn, taught art at Walthamstow Art College in the 1960s
- Alonza Bevan, bass guitarist of Kula Shaker.
- Lethal Bizzle, rap artist and associated rap collective Fire Camp.
- Peter Blake, artist, painted sleeve cover of the Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.
- Frederick Bremer, Inventor.
- Matthew Bourne, choreographer and dancer, was born in Walthamstow.
- Dave Cairns guitarist with Secret Affair was born in Walthamstow.
- Phil Collen, lead guitarist of Def Leppard.
- Johnny Dankworth, jazz musician, who attended Sir George Monoux Grammar School.
- Paul Di'Anno, lead singer of Iron Maiden 1978-1981.
- Ian Dury, singer and songwriter, studied at Walthamstow Art College.
- East 17, British pop boy band, including singer/song writer Brian Harvey.
- Fitz Hall, English footballer currently playing for Queens Park Rangers was born in Walthamstow
- Colin Kazim-Richards, footballer, was born in Leytonstone but schooled in Walthamstow.
- Peter Hennessy, historian.
- David Hill, former Downing Street Communications Director to Tony Blair.
- Mick Hume, journalist.
- Countess Judith, wife of Earl Waltheof, prominent post-Conquest woman.
- William Morris, philosopher and designer.
- Grayson Perry, ceramicist and 2003 Turner Prize winner, has his studio in Walthamstow.
- Nick Saloman, progressive rock musician.
- June Sarpong, television presenter.
- Baroness Scotland, Attorney General, grew up in Walthamstow and attended Walthamstow School for Girls.
- Vivian Stanshall, musician, painter, singer, broadcaster, songwriter, poet and writer, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, grew up in Grove Road, Walthamstow.
- Thomas Griffith Taylor (1890-1963) Antarctic explorer
- Adam Woodyatt, English actor who plays Ian Beale in EastEnders, born in Walthamstow 1968.
- Adam Devlin, guitarist for The Bluetones lives in Walthamstow.
Sports clubs
Nearest areas
Nearest tube and railway stations
External links
- - Regeneration of Walthamstow town centre
- - A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6
- - A brief history of Walthamstow
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