Harold Wood

Coordinates: 51°35′31″N 0°13′53″E / 51.5920°N 0.2313°E / 51.5920; 0.2313

Harold Wood is a suburb in northeast London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is situated 16.5 miles (26.6 km) east-northeast of Charing Cross and near to the Greater London boundary.

History

Toponymy

The name Harold Wood was recorded in about 1237, when it was shown as Horalds Wood. It was named after King Harold Godwinson, who was defeated by William the Conqueror in 1066. He held the surrounding manor of Havering-atte-Bower. Some of the original roads are named after Anglo-Saxon kings such as Æthelstan and Alfred the Great.

Local government

Harold Wood formed a ward in the ancient parish of Hornchurch, although the area now around the station was in the North End ward. The eastern and southern boundary of the parish was the River Ingrebourne such that the area around Harold Court was in the parish of Upminster. Although locally situated within Essex the ancient Hornchurch parish formed the independent Liberty of Havering and was outside county administration. Harold Wood ward came under the control of the vestry of Romford chapelry, which also included Collier Row and Noak Hill, however most of the current area of Harold Wood was in the North End ward which remained under Hornchurch parish vestry. In 1836 Romford and Hornchurch became separate civil parishes and were grouped into the Romford Poor Law Union. The area of the union, excluding the town of Romford, became a rural sanitary district in 1875. The special status of the Liberty of Havering was abolished in 1892 and the area was reincorporated into Essex.

Harold Wood (disambiguation)

Harold Wood is a suburban development in the London Borough of Havering.

Harold Wood may also refer to:

Landmarks in Harold Wood:

People

See also

Harold Wood (minister)

Rev. Dr Alfred Harold Wood OBE (4 May 1896 – 1989) was a 20th-century Australian Christian minister, educator, writer, hymnologist and advocate of church union.

Wood was born in Geelong as the son of Salvation Army officers. He was educated in Sydney and initially qualified as a barrister in Victoria.

Converting to Methodism, Wood was ordained a Methodist minister in 1924 and left immediately to a missionary appointment in the Kingdom of Tonga, where he was Principal of Free Wesleyan boys' boarding school Tupou College. Under his leadership, the school moved from Nuku'alofa to Nafualu and grew from 30 students to almost 400, becoming the biggest school in the country. At Wood's instigation, scholarships were offered by the Tongan government to enable students to further their education in Australia, or go to Fiji for medical training. Wood learned the Tongan language fluently and wrote (English-language) books on Tongan history and geography which, in the 2000s, are still used as secondary school textbooks. Wood was also responsible for the training in Tonga of candidates for church ministry. In their 13 years in the Pacific nation, Haloti 'Uti (Harold Wood) and his wife, 'Olife (Olive), developed a special fondness and love for the people and the country. Early on, he supported Queen Salote with legal advice in her work to reconcile two Methodist factions and became well acquainted with and respected by the Royal Family and others.