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Coordinates: 51°37′52″N 0°00′58″E / 51.631°N 0.016°E / 51.631; 0.016

Chingford
Chingford Mount E4
Chingford  Chingford shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ395945
- Charing Cross	10 mi (16 km)  SW
London borough	Waltham Forest
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	E4
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Chingford and Woodford Green
London Assembly	North East
List of places: UK • England • London

Chingford is an area of north east London in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Essex to the north, Woodford Green to the east, Walthamstow to the south and Edmonton to the west. It is situated 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Charing Cross. Landmarks in the west are the William Girling and King George V reservoirs, known together as the Chingford reservoirs, and the River Lea. To the north lies Epping Forest which is in Essex but is maintained by The Corporation of the City of London.^[1]

Origin of the name Chingford[link]

The River Ching runs through the area, and the town of Chingford is close to a number of crossings of that river. However old maps and descriptions give a name for the settlement long before the river has a name and it is likely that the name of the river as "Ching" arose long after the settlement was named. It is also thought that similarly to how Kingston upon Thames appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Chingestone and Chingetun(e), with ching being old English for king, that Chingford could relate to the King's river, and Kings Ford. This idea is compounded by the Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge and links to royalty using the area for hunting in centuries gone by.^{[citation needed]} However the most generally accepted explanation by place name genealogists is that the settlement's name comes from an origin of "Shingly Ford" -- that is, a ford over a waterway containing shingles^[2].

Landmarks[link]

Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge

One notable local landmark is Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge.^[3] Originally called the Great Standing, it was built for King Henry VIII of England in 1543, and was used as a grandstand to watch the hunting of deer, although it has been heavily altered over time. The building is located on Chingford Plain within Epping Forest and is open to the public.

All Saints Church, Old Church Road, E4

All Saints' Church in Chingford Mount (known locally as The Old Church) dates back to the 12th Century. Directly opposite from the church is Chingford Mount Cemetery, best known today as the burial place of the Kray family.^[4]

Friday Hill House, Simmons Lane, dating from 1839, was a manor house built and owned by Robert Boothby Heathcote, who was both the lord of the manor and rector of the local church. It was he who paid for the building of the church of St Peter and St Paul in Chingford. He is buried in the Boothby family vault in All Saints churchyard (Chingford Old Church), Old Church Road. The vault was purchased by Robert Boothby (died 1733), who lived in the previous manor house. The present building is now used as a further education centre.^{[citation needed]}

Pimp Hall Dovecote is situated in a green area at the bottom of Friday Hill and can be viewed by entering the Pimps Hill Nature Reserve. The dovecote, which had nesting space for 250 birds, belonged to Pimp Hall (originally Pympe's Hall), one of three manor houses around Chingford. In 1838 the estate was taken over and became part of the Chingford Earls estate. The farmhouse associated with it survived until just before World War II. This dovecote is depicted in the Mosaic.^[which?] It is the fourth down on the left hand side.^[where?] There is a local legend telling how on one occasion Charles II was out hunting in Epping Forest and was caught in a snowstorm. He took shelter in Pimp Hall and was so delighted with the food offered him that he jocularly drew his sword and knighted the joint of beef declaring that it was now Sir Loin. Either this story caused the nearby pub on Friday Hill to be called "The Sirloin" or vice versa.^{[citation needed]}

Pole Hill Obelisk

A granite obelisk at Pole Hill was erected in 1824 under the direction of the Astronomer Royal, the Rev. John Pond M.A., to mark true north for the telescopes of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, south of the Thames. It was placed on high ground along the line of the Greenwich Meridian, but when this was recalibrated later in the 19th century, the obelisk was deemed to have been erected 19 feet (5.8 m) west of the revised meridian line. Today, an adjoining triangulation pillar marks the modern line.^{[citation needed]}

Chingford Old Town Hall building, The Ridgeway

Chingford Old Town Hall, dating from 1929, is on The Ridgeway in Chingford. It has more recently been known as the Chingford Municipal Offices. As at October 2011, it is in the final stages of being sold to property developers.^[5]

Governance[link]

Chingford is within the Chingford and Woodford Green UK Parliament constituency which consists of the six Chingford wards in the Borough of Waltham Forest and two wards in the Borough of Redbridge. Iain Duncan Smith has been the sitting MP since 1992.^{[citation needed]}

Former MPs include Norman Tebbit, Leah Manning, Stan Newens, and Winston Churchill (when Chingford was in the Epping constituency).^{[citation needed]}

Chingford is part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, which also includes the areas of Walthamstow, Leyton, and Leytonstone. Chingford consists of six council wards, namely:

• Chingford Green
• Endlebury
• Valley
• Larkswood
• Hatch Lane
• Hale End and Highams Park

Each ward is represented by three councillors; at present all of the councillors in Chingford represent the Conservative Party. The London Borough of Waltham Forest is presently controlled by the Labour party.^{[citation needed]}

Chingford falls within the North East constituency of the London Assembly, which is currently represented by Jennette Arnold of the Labour party.^{[citation needed]}

When Chingford was a municipal borough, before 1965, its politics were dominated by the Chingford Ratepayers' Association, which was nominally independent, but against whom the Conservative Party did not field candidates.^{[citation needed]}

Local sport teams[link]

Chingford Athletic Football Club was formed as recently as the summer of 2007 and have 2 teams playing in the Essex Olympian League, whilst 1 play in the feeder league to this, being the Ilford & District League. They currently have 3 Saturday Mens teams, with the Essex Olympian sides playing at Wadham Lodge Sports Ground, Walthamstow.^[6]

Chingford's oldest football club is Egbertian FC, formerly Old Egbertian FC which was started by former pupils of the St Egberts College, Chingford. The club was formed in 1928 and is affiliated to the Amateur Football Alliance (AFA). The club plays in Amateur Football Combination, which is purported to be the biggest league in the world comprising 103 clubs and some 355 teams. The league places great emphasis on the attitude and spirit that the game is played in while insisting its member clubs maintain these same principles. In season 2006/07 the club won their first cup competition in their history when they won the LOB Intermediate Cup.^{[citation needed]}

Chingford Rugby Club was also founded in 1928, having their ground at Waltham Way, Chingford.^[7] When the leagues commenced in 1987 they were placed in London 3 North East. In 1989-1990, the club not only won the Essex Cup but gained promotion to London 2 North, where they stayed until 1997. They then remained in London 3 North East until 2004-05, when they won not only the Essex Cup but also the league title, remaining unbeaten all season. 2008-9 saw them secure the Essex Senior Cup beating both semi-finalists Southend and finalists Barking (both are national league sides) in dramatic fashion away from home. A league restructure sees them playing in London 1 North from 2009, one step below national level.^{[citation needed]}

King Georges Reservoir, Sailing Club

King George Sailing Club [1] was founded in the 1970s to provide dinghy sailing and windsurfing on the largest and best sailing water in the north and east of London. The Club enjoys facilities both on and off the water and has an active membership engaged in racing, learning to sail, casual sailing, and windsurfing. In recognition of their good facilities and encouragement of youth sailing, the Royal Yachting Association has awarded the club Volvo Champion Club status.^{[citation needed]}

Transport and locale[link]

Local districts[link]

• Highams Park
• Friday Hill
• Hale End
• Chingford Hatch
• Chingford Mount
• Station Road (Chingford)

Nearest places[link]

• Walthamstow
• Loughton
• Edmonton, London
• Tottenham, London
• Woodford, London
• Enfield, London
• Ponders End
• Buckhurst Hill
• Sewardstone

Transport[link]

Chingford is served by a railway station which is the terminus of the branch line from Liverpool Street station in the City of London. There is also a station at Highams Park.

The town is served by many bus routes, linking it to Walthamstow, Loughton, Leyton, Woodford, Waltham Abbey and Harlow. The town is also served by the N26 night bus from Trafalgar Square. The North Circular Road skirts the southern part of the town, and gives motorists good access to the north and east of London. The London LOOP walk passes through Chingford on its way from Enfield Lock to Chigwell, passing close to Sewardstone and Gilwell Park on the edge of Epping Forest.

List of Chingford bus routes[link]

Most bus routes are London Buses routes, apart from route 505 which does not accept any form of London ticketing (i.e. Oyster cards or travelcards).^{[citation needed]}

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Route Number	Route	Operation	Operator
97	Chingford Station to Stratford City via Chingford Mount, Walthamstow	Daily	Stagecoach London
158	Chingford Mount to Stratford Bus Station via Blackhorse Road	Daily	Stagecoach London
179	Chingford Station to Ilford Hainault Street via South Woodford, Gants Hill	Daily	First London
212	Chingford Station to Walthamstow Central via Highams Park	Daily	CT Plus
215	Yardley Lane Estate to Walthamstow Central via Chingford Mount (Extended from Yardley Lane Estate to Lee Valley Campsite during the Summer)	Daily	Stagecoach London
275	St.James Steet Station to Barkingside,Tesco via Highams Park	Daily	Stagecoach London
313	Chingford Station to Potters Bar Station via Enfield Town	Daily	Arriva London
357	Chingford Hatch to Whipps Cross Roundabout via Chingford Mount, Walthamstow (Extended to Whipps Cross Hospital on Sundays)	Daily	First London
379	Chingford Station to Yardley Lane Estate via Kings Head Hill	Daily	Arriva London
385	Chingford Station to Crooked Billet Sainsburys via Valley Side	Mon-Sat shopping hours.	CT Plus
397	Crooked Billet Sainsburys to Debden Broadway via Chingford Mount, Buckhurst Hill, Loughton	Daily (except evenings)	Arriva London
444	Chingford Station to Turnpike Lane Station via Edmonton	Daily	Arriva London
505	Chingford Station to Harlow Bus Station via Sewardstone, Waltham Abbey	Mon-Sat (except evenings). Times	Arriva Shires & Essex
W11	Chingford Hall Estate to Walthamstow Central via Billet Road	Daily	First London(Arriva London from 3rd March 2012)
W16	Leytonstone Station to Chingford Mount via Highams Park station	Daily	Arriva London(First London from 3rd March 2012
N26	Chingford Station to Trafalgar Square via Walthamstow, Hackney	Nightly	First London

Also see List of bus routes in London and List of bus routes in Essex.

Nearby railway stations[link]

• Blackhorse Road station
• Chingford railway station
• Highams Park railway station
• Walthamstow Central station
• Walthamstow Queens Road railway station
• Tottenham Hale railway station

Nearby tube stations[link]

The London Underground stations nearest to Chingford include:

• Blackhorse Road
• Buckhurst Hill
• South Woodford
• Loughton
• Walthamstow Central
• Tottenham Hale

Education[link]

Chingford secondary schools include:

• Chingford Foundation School
• Heathcote School
• Normanhurst School
• Rush Croft Sports College

Notable people[link]

• Dame Louisa Aldrich-Blake, noted surgeon and pioneer in medical education for women, was born in Chingford
• Electronic musician Jack Drew (known by the stage name of "Drewzy") was born in Chingford, and still lives in Chingford.
• The Kray twins are buried in Chingford Mount cemetery.^[4]
• The author and games designer Joe Dever was born in Chingford in 1956.^{[citation needed]}
• The footballer David Beckham OBE^[8] grew up in Chingford having been born at Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone on 2 May 1975.^[9] As a child he attended Chingford School^[10] and played football for Ridgeway Rovers F.C.,^[11] a local side.
• The Apple Mac Designer Jonathan Ive KBE was raised in Chingford.^[12]
• Chingford is home to former England, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United player Teddy Sheringham.^[13]
• Chingford is home to singer and ex-glamour model Samantha Fox.
• Radio DJ Grant Nelson went to school in Chingford^{[citation needed]}.
• Some members of #1 chart group Blazin' Squad live in Chingford. The group grew up in Chingford and attended Highams Park School.^[14]
• Leslie Phillips, comedy star of the Carry On Films, lived in Chingford.^[15]
• Alan Davies, stand-up comedian and regular guest on quiz show QI, grew up in Chingford.^[16]
• Russell Lissack from Bloc Party grew up in Chingford.^[17][18]
• Winston Churchill was MP for Epping from October 1924 to July 1945, a defunct constituency that included Chingford.^[19]
• Jeanette Kwakye National record holder, World Indoor silver medallist and 100m Olympic finalist^{[citation needed]}.
• Charles Alcock, founding father of the Football Association and Creator of the FA Cup, moved to Chingford, with his family when he was young.^[20]
• Heavy metal band Iron Maiden's former lead singer Paul Di'Anno was born and raised in Chingford.^[21]
• John Lloyd (graphic designer), co-founder of the international design consultancy, Lloyd Northover, grew up in Chingford, and lived there from 1948 - 1970.
• Giles Watling,Actor was born in Chingford, started as a child actor in 1962 in the long-running TV series ‘Gideon’s Way’ as Malcolm Gideon, best known to the public for his performances in British sit-coms such as ‘How’s Your Father’, ‘You’re Only Young Twice’, ‘Keep It In The Family’, ‘Allo Allo’ and the vicar Oswald in Carla Lane’s ‘Bread’, & TV Drama in Upstairs Downstairs as 2nd Lt James Marriot.
• Durrty Goodz, a well-known grime artist, is from Chingford.
• Neil Hubbard, rock guitarist.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Chingford Athletic FC
• London's Railways
• Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge
• The Chingford War Memorial Project
• Chingford rugby club
• Archival material relating to Chingford listed at the UK National Register of Archives

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chingford

v t e London Borough of Waltham Forest Districts Bakers Arms Cann Hall Chingford Chingford Hatch Chingford Mount Friday Hill Highams Park (including Hale End) Leyton Leytonstone Upper Walthamstow Walthamstow (including Walthamstow Village) Whipps Cross Attractions Brisbane Road football stadium Lee Valley Riding Centre Lee Valley Ice Centre New Spitalfields Market Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge Vestry House Museum Waltham Forest Theatre Walthamstow Pump House Museum Walthamstow Stadium William Morris Gallery Street markets Walthamstow Market Parks and open spaces Larkswood Playing Fields Lee Valley Park WaterWorks Nature Reserve Walthamstow Marshes Constituencies Chingford and Woodford Green (part) Leyton and Wanstead (part) Walthamstow Tube and rail stations Blackhorse Road Chingford railway station Highams Park railway station Leyton Leyton Midland Road railway station Leytonstone Leytonstone High Road railway station St James Street railway station Walthamstow Central station Walthamstow Queen's Road railway station Wood Street railway station Other topics People Public art Schools Parks and open spaces in Waltham Forest