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Romford is a town in East London, England. It is the principal settlement of the London Borough of Havering, located 14.1 miles (22.7 km) east north-east of Charing Cross and one of ten major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan.
History Romford has been a market town since 1247, and it holds the exclusive right to hold markets over an area of radius "six and two thirds miles" centred on Romford, a right granted in mediæval times but successfully used to prevent nearby Ilford from opening a market as recently as the 1990s. Romford shopping centre grew up around the original marketplace, on the line of the old Roman road from London to Colchester. The Liberty Shopping Centre has recently been expanded and modernised by the Romford Revival program in order to compete with out-of-town shopping centres such as the Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex and Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent. A large swimming pool and leisure center called The Dolphin which closed in 1995 was recently demolished to make way for further expansion of the shopping centre and the addition of 230 modern flats and apartments. The town has been associated with a ford over a small stream which flows through it, now known as the River Rom, a 'back-formation' from the name of the town. Romford is first recorded in 1177 as Romfort, which is formed from 'rūm' and 'ford' and means "the wide or spacious ford". Local government The Local Government Act 1894 created the Romford Urban District of Essex, which covered what is today the core of the town. From 1894 to 1934 Romford Rural District covered a vast area surrounding, but not including, Romford itself. In 1934, after increasing urbanisation of the area, the rural district was abolished and the urban district expanded. In 1937 the expanded district gained further status as the Municipal Borough of Romford. In 1965 the municipal borough was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and its former area was transferred to Greater London to form part of the present-day London Borough of Havering. Politics Romford is part of the Havering and Redbridge London Assembly constituency. The present MP for the Romford constituency is Andrew Rosindell, a native of the town. Mr.Rosindell is a Conservative and is seen as being to the 'right' of the party. Some critics cite him as being a staunch Thatcherite - a claim that has been used to his advantage. Indeed, he was one of few Conservative MP's who rallied Margaret Thatcher to help campaign with him in the 2005 UK General Election. Sport and leisure Romford is home to the Romford Raiders ice hockey team, who play at the Romford Ice Arena. Local sports club included Romford Hockey Club and there is greyhound racing at Romford Greyhound Stadium. Transport Romford railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line and is served by regular stopping, and occasionally fast, services to Liverpool Street in the City. Romford is a hub on the London Bus network with services to Canning Town, Stratford, Leytonstone and Dagenham as well as feeder services from the large housing developments which surround it such as Collier Row and Harold Hill. The trunk A12 passes to the north of Romford while the A118 from Stratford connects with it at Gallows Corner and the start of the A127. Future Romford station is planned to be served by the Crossrail scheme. A depot planned to be located in the area received local opposition and it has been proposed that it will be relocated to Ilford. It is also planned that Romford will be served by a future extension of the East London Transit. Nearest places Romford is contiguous with Chadwell Heath to the west, Collier Row to the north, Gidea Park to the east and Hornchurch to the south east. Famous residents Romford is the birth place of a large number of sporting professionals including the footballers Tony Adams, Lee Barnard, Frank Lampard, David Martin, Ray Parlour and Stuart Taylor and racing driver Johnny Herbert. Musicians from the town include the singers Chris Andrews, Imogen Heap, Jo O'Meara of S Club 7 and bassist Cliff Williams, of AC/DC. British Pop group Five Star were born, raised and attended school in Romford. They left for the area for Berkshire in 1987 and now live separately in London and California, USA. Literary and artistic figures from Romford include the poet Francis Quarles, the artist Charles Taylor and novellist Edward Upward. Television presenter Richard Madeley and reporter Jeff Randall are also from the town. Colonel Blood, the man who attempted to steal the Crown Jewels, ran an apothecary's shop in Romford Market at one stage in his career. | ||||||||
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