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Walthamstow is a town in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is 6.4 miles (10.3km) north east of Charing Cross. Walthamstow is bordered by the River Lea to the west and Epping Forest to the east. The town is bounded to the north and south by the towns of Chingford, Leyton and Leytonstone. Leyton High Road, Hoe Street, Chingford Road, and 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 in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Wacoumstou or Wilcumestow. 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 borough. 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. From 1894 Walthamstow was an urban district and from 1926 a municipal borough in Essex. In 1965 it was merged with Chingford and Leyton municipal boroughs to form the London Borough of Waltham Forest. 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 now a museum dedicated to him, while the grounds of the house are now 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. Places of interest The area has three museums, the William Morris Gallery, the Pump House Museum and the Vestry House Museum. The latter is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2006. The ancient part of the town, called Walthamstow Village, is a designated conservation area. It centres around St. Mary's Church, which was founded in the 12th century. Across the road from this is a 15th century timber-framed "hall" house which locals have dubbed "The Ancient House". Nearby are almshouses dating from the 16th and 18th centuries, and Vestry House, which has been used as a workhouse and police station, but has been a museum since 1931. Walthamstow marsh was the location of Alliot Verdon Roe's later attempts to build and fly his early aeroplanes. Despite many failed attempts, Roe continued his experiments and there is now a blue plaque commemorating his first successful flight (in July 1909) on one of the railway arches he worked from. The marsh is now a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and is one of the last remaining examples of semi-natural wetland in Greater London. Nearby is the Copper Mill. Mills of various types have stood at this location since at least the 14th century, and the current buildings date from the early 19th century. In the mid-19th century the mill was converted to a water pumping station. The Walthamstow EMD Cinema on Hoe Street, designed by Cecil Masey with fine Art Deco interiors in the Moorish style by Theodore Komisarjevsky and a Christie organ. Originally named the Walthamstow Granada when it opened in 1930, it closed in January 2003 after being bought by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), which intended transforming it into a church and conference centre. However, their planning application was dismissed in 2003, and the UCKG announced in September 2005 that the cinema would be put up for sale. The cinema is Grade II Walthamstow Stadium dog track was established in 1933 and has been run by the same family ever since. It reportedly has the largest attendance and income from gambling in the UK.* It has a distinctive Art Deco facade, of which supporters are in the process of applying for heritage listing, as the stadium faces redevelopment for housing. Walthamstow was home to the popular 1990s boy band East 17, who named their debut album "Walthamstow" in its honour. Shops and Walthamstow Market Walthamstow's High Street is dominated by the street market, which began in 1885, and claims to be Europe's longest at 1km. There is also a shopping mall at nearby Selborne Walk (recently having been rebuilt after fire damage). The historic central library on High Street was to be modernised and expanded in 2006 - 2007 , and a large plot at the corner of High Street and Hoe Street was set for substantial redevelopment as a retail space. Unfortunately, funds were badly managed and the area now lies decrepit and unused. This site previously contained the town's central Post Office and a shopping arcade, originally built in the 1960s. 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, gastro 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. 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 2 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 sadly lost in the 19th century, when the land was sold to property developers. Transport Walthamstow is well-served by public transport. The town is traversed by 2 overground railway lines: The Liverpool Street to Chingford service (with stations at Walthamstow Central, Wood Street and St James Street) and the Gospel Oak to Barking line with stations at Queens Road and Blackhorse Road. The Victoria Line also has stations at Walthamstow Central and Blackhorse Road. This opened in 1968 and provides fast and efficient links with the West End and Central London, neatly supplementing the overground service to Liverpool Street. The town is served by a good array of bus routes, with the main services being the 48 to London Bridge, the 97 to Chingford and Leyton and the 69 to London City Airport. Walthamstow Bus Station is the third busiest in London. There is currently a refurbishment of Walthamstow Central underground and railway stations, so that they can be linked to the adjacent new bus station. Nearest tube stations Nearest railway stations Nearest localities Sports club | ||||||||
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