Harold Hill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harold Hill is also the name of a fictional character in the musical The Music Man

Location
Harold Hill


OS grid reference:	TQ545925
Latitude:	51.610069°
Longitude:	0.232259°
Administration
London borough:	Havering
County level:	Greater London
Region:	London
Constituent country:	England
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county:	Greater London
Historic county:	Essex (1965)
Services
Police force:	Metropolitan Police
Fire brigade:	London Fire Brigade
Ambulance service:	London Ambulance
Post office and telephone
Post town:	ROMFORD
Postal district:	RM3
Dialling code:	01708
Politics
UK Parliament:	Upminster
London Assembly:	Havering and Redbridge
European Parliament:	London
London \| List of places in London

Harold Hill is a place in the London Borough of Havering. It is a suburban development situated 16.6 miles (26.7 km) east north-east of Charing Cross.

Harold Hill is a large-scale post war development and part of the New Towns movement at the end of the World War II, an attempt to move large sections of the population from poor conditions in central districts to the more pleasant surroundings of the suburbs. The success of the plan is a matter for debate.

Unlike the comparable Becontree development, Harold Hill was built without direct connection to the London Underground or National Rail services. Transport for London provide several bus routes with connections to tube and rail and are planning that the East London Transit will serve the area.

Nearest places:

Nearest stations:

[edit] In song

Ian Dury, known for references places in Essex and London, name checked Harold Hill in his popular song This Is What We Find on his 1978 album Do It Yourself:

Home improvement expert Harold Hill from Harold Hill
Of do it yourself dexterity and double glazing skill
Came home to find another gentlemen's kippers in the grill
so he sanded off his winkle with his Black & Decker Drill.

The song set all three of it's verses in real places the others were Turnham Green and Lambeth Walk. In his 2CD Retrospective Reasons To be Cheerful produced by Repertoire Records Dury stated that he never wrote another verse as good as Harold Hill's verse.