Leytonstone
Coordinates: 51°34′08″N 0°00′36″E / 51.569°N 0.010°E
Leytonstone /ˈleɪtənˌstoʊn/ is an area of East London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is a suburban area, located seven miles north-east of Charing Cross in Greater London. It borders Walthamstow to the north-west, Wanstead (in the London Borough of Redbridge) to the north, Leyton to the south, and Forest Gate (in the London Borough of Newham) to the east.
History
The main thoroughfare, High Road Leytonstone, running the length of Leytonstone to Stratford, is an ancient pathway dating to pre-Roman times. Roman archaeological features have been found in the area.[1] Powell's 1973 A History of the County of Essex describes how "a Roman cemetery south of Blind Lane, and massive foundations of some Roman building, with quantities of Roman brick, were discovered in the grounds of Leyton Grange."[2]
The High Stone at the junction of Hollybush Hill and New Wanstead, near the eastern boundary of the parish at the junction of the roads from Woodford and Woodford Bridge, is a restored 18th-century obelisk set up on an earlier stump which has been traditionally described as a Roman milestone.[2]
Two of the obelisk's inscriptions are still just legible: others are not.
- "To Epping XI Miles through Woodford, Loughton"
- "To Ongar XV Miles through Woodford Bridge, Chigwell, Abridge"
The earliest known cartographic reference to Leytonstone is dated from 1545.
Leytonstone was the centre of protests against the construction of the M11 link road, in the early 1990s.
Governance
Leytonstone was part of the ancient parish of Leyton in the Becontree Hundred. For ecclesiastical purposes it constituted a separate parish from 1845.[3] The parish of Leyton formed part of the West Ham Poor law union. In 1894 it became part of the Leyton Urban District, which was incorporated in 1926 as the Municipal Borough of Leyton. Leytonstone became part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest in 1965 upon the creation of Greater London.
The area is part of the Leyton and Wanstead constituency. As of May 2010, John Cryer has held the seat for the Labour Party. For elections to the London Assembly it is part of the North East constituency and the AM is Jennette Arnold of the Labour Party. It is part of the London constituency for elections to the European Parliament.
Geography
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Walthamstow | Epping Forest | Wanstead | |
| Leyton |  |
Wanstead Flats | ||
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| Temple Mills | Stratford | Forest Gate |
Transport
Leytonstone High Road was a Roman track from London to Epping Forest. This route became important for long distance coaches from the 14th century.[3] In the 1960s there was a problem of congestion around the shopping streets in Leytonstone,[2] a problem which continues with the one way system today.[4] In the 1990s the M11 link road was built through the area despite a long running protest by locals and road protestors. This and other protests led to the Conservative policy, Roads for Prosperity, being abandoned.[5]
Leytonstone tube station is on the Central line of the London Underground.
Leytonstone High Road is a London Overground railway station.
Education
The borough includes:
- Connaught School for Girls, a specialist Language school
- Davies Lane Primary School
- Leytonstone School, which is a specialist Business and Enterprise school
- Buxton Secondary Phase, a specialist Science school Formerly known as Tom Hood High School
- Norlington School for Boys, a specialist Maths and ICT school
- Buxton Primary Phase Primary School, formerly known as Cann Hall
- Acacia Nursery Nursery
- The Jenny Hammond Primary School, near Buxton school
- Gwynn Jones Primary School
- Mayville Primary School
Notable features
- Epping Forest boundaries reach Leytonstone in wooded areas called Hollow Ponds and Wanstead Flats.
- Whipps Cross University Hospital
- Dagenham & Redbridge football club, currently a professional Sky Bet League Two team, is an amalgamation of several amateur football clubs, including Leytonstone F.C., who played along Leytonstone High Road. The Wanderers F.C. also originated from Leytonstone but played in several other venues round London.
Public services
Thames Water supplies Leytonstones' water. EDF Energy Networks is the Distribution network operator licensed to distribute electricity from the transmission grid to homes and businesses in Leytonstone. Whipps Cross University Hospital, on Whipps Cross road, is a University Hospital administrated by Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust. London Ambulance Service responds to medical emergencies in Leytonstone. Home Office policing in Leytonstone is provided by the Metropolitan Police Service. Statutory emergency fire service is provided by the London Fire Brigade, with Leytonstone Fire Station on Leytonstone High Road. As at November 2012, this fire station is scheduled to be rebuilt.[6]
Notable people
- Steve Harris, bassist, band leader and primary composer of the band Iron Maiden was born in Leytonstone.
- Damon Albarn, singer-songwriter and musician.
- Roger Ashton-Griffiths, actor.
- Reginald Poynton Baker, movie producer, born in Leytonstone, father of Conservative MP Peter Baker.
- David Bailey CBE, photographer, born in Leytonstone.
- Ashley Banjo, dancer and choreographer, was born in Leytonstone.
- David Beckham OBE, footballer. He was born in Leytonstone and grew up in Chingford
- Edward North Buxton, conservationist and liberal politician 1840-1924.
- Cornelius Cardew, composer.
- Cartrain graffiti artist associated with the Street art movement
- Carly Cole, model, fitness trainer and wife of footballer Joe Cole.
- Fanny Cradock, cook.
- Curtis Davies, footballer.
- John Drinkwater, poet and dramatist, born in Leytonstone in 1882
- Eamon Everall, artist and educator.
- Ken Farnes, cricketer.
- Joanne Fenn, athlete.
- Graham Gooch, cricketer, former captain of the England cricket team.
- Sir Alfred Hitchcock KBE, the film director was born and raised in the area; the entrance to Leytonstone tube station has a number of mosaics depicting scenes from his films.
- Tom Hood, humourist and playwright, born at Lake House in 1835
- Sydney Horler, novelist.
- Gavin Hoyte, footballer.
- Justin Hoyte, footballer.
- Sir Derek Jacobi CBE, actor, was born in Leytonstone.
- Jammer, a UK grime MC and record producer
- Colin Kazim-Richards, footballer.
- Lucy Kirkwood, playwright.
- Don Law, record producer in the US with Robert Johnson, Johnny Cash and many others
- Natasha Little, actress.
- Sir Morell Mackenzie, physician.
- Seán Mac Stíofáin, first chief-of-staff of the Provisional IRA.
- Dominic McVey, Britain's youngest self-made millionaire.
- Tony Robinson, comedian and broadcaster.
- Jonathan Ross and his brother Paul Ross
- June Sarpong MBE, television presenter.
- Rita Simons, actress, singer and model
- Talvin Singh, musician.
- Bob and Roberta Smith, contemporary artist, writer, author, musician, art education advocate and keynote speaker.
- Harold Spurr, English cricketer.
- Andros Townsend, footballer.
- Douglas Webb DFM, dambuster
- Eugene McGuinness, born in Leytonstone, raised in Ireland
In drama, film and television
- In The Bed-Sitting Room (1969), Spike Milligan created the (fictional) closest heir to the British throne after the outbreak of nuclear war as "Mrs. Ethel Shroake" of 393A High Street, Leytonstone. She appears in the final scene of the play.
- Small Potatoes was a 1999 TV sitcom made by Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4, about the young manager of a video shop in Leytonstone.[8]
- I Proud to Be an Indian was a 2004 Bollywood film, about an Indian family in late 1970s Leytonstone terrorised by skinheads.
- In EastEnders, Kim Fox is from Leytonstone.
See also
References
- ↑ Kennedy, J. A History of the Parish of Leyton, Essex Phelp Brothers, Leyton (1894), digital copy at archive.org
- 1 2 3 Powell, W. R. (1973). "A History of the County of Essex". British History Online. pp 174–184, Leyton: Introduction. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
- 1 2 Hibbert, Christopher (2008). London Encyclopaedia. Macmillan London Ltd. pp. 482–483. ISBN 978-1-4050-4924-5.
- ↑ Brown, Carl (6 October 2009). "LEYTONSTONE: "Let's discuss improving ALL our town centres" says Robbins". Waltham Forest Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- ↑ Lean, Geoffrey (21 January 1996). "Tories ditch the 'car economy'". The Independent (London). Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ↑ Waltham Forest Guardian, Leytonstone Fire Station to be Rebuilt at WebCite (archived 2012-12-01)
- ↑ Deep End filming locations at IMDb
- ↑ Hat Trick Productions: Small Potatoes
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leytonstone. |
- The Leytonstone War Memorial Project
- Woodhouse Players - an amateur drama group located in Leytonstone
- - a Leytonstone community website
- Archives relating to Leytonstone at The National Archives (United Kingdom)
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