Woodford
Encyclopedia
Woodford is a large suburban town in northeast London
, England, occupying the north-western part of the London Borough of Redbridge
. It is located approximately 9.5 miles (15.3 km) northeast of Charing Cross
and is divided into the neighbourhoods of Woodford Green
, Woodford Bridge
and South Woodford
. It was historically a string of agrarian villages surrounded by Epping Forest
in the county of Essex
until the clearing of the forest and improvement in communications caused the local economy to shift away from agriculture. As part of the suburban growth of London at the turn of the 20th century, Woodford significantly increased in population, becoming a municipal borough
with neighbouring Wanstead
in 1937 and has formed part of Greater London
since 1965.
as Wdefort, although its earliest recorded use is earlier in 1062 as Wudeford. The name is Old English and means 'ford in or by the wood'. The ford refers to a crossing of the River Roding
, which was replaced with a bridge by 1238; this led to the renaming of part of the district as Woodford Bridge
by 1805. Similarly, part of the district gained the contemporary name of Woodford Green
by 1883.
, a large forest near London where the Royals traditionally hunted has made it attractive to Londoners since the Fifteenth Century, when wealthy Londoners started to build mansions there. As a consequence, many of the recorded inhabitants would have been servants, and there is even evidence of Africans ('negroes') living in Woodford in the eighteenth century. In fact the domestic servants and wealthy Londoners may have quickly outnumbered the remnant of the local, original rural folk.
An example of the kind of grand house typical of pre-19th century Woodford is Hurst House, also known as 'The Naked Beauty', which stands on Salway Hill, now part of Woodford High Road. Its central block was completed in the early 18th century, and its side wings were added later on in the same century. It was restored in the 1930s, only to be damaged by fire a few years later. The central block was again completely restored, with the minor wings you can still see added on.
Historians have pointed out Woodford's historic roads as evidence of its 'residential nature', as these roads provided reasonably easy access to Woodford, but no further on. There were two roads to Woodford, the 'lower road' (now Chigwell Road) and the 'upper road' (now Woodford New Road). The 'lower road' was often beset by flooding from the Roding, as it still is today, and was continually considered to be in need of repair. In fact one of the illustrious persons to be inconvenienced by the road was King James I
. The 'upper road', being less used than the 'lower road' was probably in a worse condition, and the Middlesex and Essex Turnpike Trust undertook its repair and overhaul in 1721, and extended it to Whitechapel. The Trust did such a fine job it was given responsibility for the 'lower road' as well. In 1828, the Trust built the 'Woodford New Road' from Walthamstow to Woodford Wells
, and was soon after connected to the newly built Epping New Road.
hundred of Essex
. It was suburban to London and formed part of the Metropolitan Police District
from 1840. For administration of the Poor Law
it was grouped into the West Ham Union in 1835. The parish adopted the Local Government Act 1858 in 1873, setting up a local board of nine members. The Local Government Act 1894
reconstituted its area as Woodford Urban District
, governed by Woodford Urban District Council. In 1934 the urban district was abolished under a county review order
and its former area became part of the Wanstead and Woodford Urban District
. Wanstead and Woodford was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1937. The population of the Woodford parish was 2,774 in 1851, and had grown substantially to 37,702 in 1951. In 1965 Wanstead and Woodford, together with Ilford, were grouped together to become the London Borough of Redbridge.
Line from Stratford
to Loughton
, on which Woodford became accessible by two stations, at Snakes Lane
and George Lane
. The new convenience of transportation encouraged the growth in number of the daily commuter that is typical of the Woodford resident today. Woodford soon became the residence of the well-to-do city worker, as attested by John Marius Wilson in his Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, written between 1870 and 1872
In fact Woodford doubled its population in the middle and later decades of the 19th century due to the arrival of the railway. A good barometer of Woodford's rapid growth in this period is the erection of three churches in the area, a Congregational, Methodist and Church of All Saints, all built in 1874.
Woodford completed its suburbanisation in the period between the two World Wars of the 20th century. Available land was hungrily built on and the grand houses of the wealthy who had been building them for more than four hundred years were pulled down to make way for the middle class housing estates, typified by the three-to-four bedroom semi-detached house with front and back gardens. In the 1930s, 1,600 houses were being built in Woodford a year on average. The Central Line's extension to and past Woodford in the middle of the 20th century, utilising the existing overland train network, solidified Woodford's place in the commuter belt.
Woodford is also home to some of the largest housing estates in the borough.
in 1816. The interior is modern, the church having been gutted by arsonists in 1969. In 1874 a new church, All Saints' Woodford Wells, was built to serve the rapidly developing area of the north of the parish.
constituencies including Chingford and Woodford Green which is currently represented by Conservative
Iain Duncan Smith
, who was the party's leader from 2001 to 2003. Chingford and Woodford Green is separated from Ilford North
by the Central Line, whilst a small part of South Woodford is in Leyton and Wanstead constituency. Previously the local constituency was Wanstead and Woodford
(1974–1997) and before that Woodford
(1945–1974) which was represented by Winston Churchill
between 1945 and 1964. Churchill is commemorated by a statue on the green at Woodford.
, founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement, a nineteenth century revivalist movement dedicated to restoring England's artisan traditions. As a child he lived at Woodford Hall between 1840 and 1847. Woodford Hall (demolished at the turn of the 20th century) stood on Woodford High Road on the site where the Woodford Parish Memorial Hall now is. Another famous writer who lived in Woodford is James Hilton
, who wrote the successful novels Goodbye Mr Chips and Lost Horizon (in which he coined the term Shangri La) in a semi-detached house at 42 Oak Hill Gardens. A blue plaque commemorates his residence at the house.
The Clergyman Sydney Smith
was born in Woodford in 1771. Smith became a [what is a prominent Vicar?] Vicar and prominent Reformer, but he is now most famous as a great wit of the early nineteenth century. He was a part of the brilliant intellectual circles of his day, and once said of the historian Macaulay
, [H]e has occasional flashes of silence, that make his conversation perfectly delightful. He is still an immensely quotable man. On his position as a Clergyman in Yorkshire, he remarked My living in Yorkshire was so far out of the way, that it was actually twelve miles from a lemon. However the wily old Rev Smith was no cobwebby preacher, but indeed knew much about life. For instance, he compared marriage to a pair of shears, so joined that they can not be separated; often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them. Moreover, Smith published several recipes; his rhyming recipe for salad dressing (Let onion atoms lurk within the bowl/And, scarce suspected, animate the whole) makes him a household name in America to this day.
Woodford also has connections with the leading Suffragette
, peace campaigner and anti-fascist Sylvia Pankhurst
. Pankhurst was a long time resident on Charteris Road, close to Woodford Station. She had been introduced to the area by George Lansbury
, co-founder of the Labour Party
and grandfather of Angela Lansbury
. Previous to her residence in Charteris Road, Sylvia Pankhurst had challenged the moral codes of her day by living in sin with an Italian radical on 126 High Road, opposite the Horse and Well Pub. She renamed the cottage Red Cottage in homage to the leftist activities she carried out from there. She erected an anti-air-warfare monument in protest to the bombing of the people of Ethiopia
under the orders of Benito Mussolini
on the site of the cottage (the cottage was pulled down in the 1930s).
This is a comprehensive list of notable individuals from all three constituent parts of Woodford.
and South Woodford
on the Central Line
.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England, occupying the north-western part of the London Borough of Redbridge
London Borough of Redbridge
The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough in outer north-east London. Its administrative headquarters is at Redbridge Town Hall in Ilford. The local authority is Redbridge London Borough Council.-Etymology:...
. It is located approximately 9.5 miles (15.3 km) northeast of Charing Cross
Charing Cross
Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...
and is divided into the neighbourhoods of Woodford Green
Woodford Green
Woodford Green, formerly in the county of Essex, is part of the North East London suburb of Woodford, on the edge of Epping Forest, mostly within the London Borough of Redbridge with a small part on the western side of the green within the London Borough of Waltham Forest .-History:Woodford Green...
, Woodford Bridge
Woodford Bridge
Woodford Bridge is a suburb of north-east London, England in the London Borough of Redbridge. It includes Monkhams. It is on an old road between Chigwell and Leytonstone....
and South Woodford
South Woodford
South Woodford is a suburb of north-east London in the London Borough of Redbridge, situated north-east of Charing Cross. Together with Woodford Green, Woodford Bridge and Woodford Wells it forms the area known as Woodford, the origins of which date back at least to the Saxon period...
. It was historically a string of agrarian villages surrounded by Epping Forest
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is an area of ancient woodland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....
in the county of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
until the clearing of the forest and improvement in communications caused the local economy to shift away from agriculture. As part of the suburban growth of London at the turn of the 20th century, Woodford significantly increased in population, becoming a municipal borough
Municipal Borough of Wanstead and Woodford
Wanstead and Woodford was a local government district from 1934 to 1965 in southwest Essex, England. A merger of two former urban districts, it was suburban to London and part of the Metropolitan Police District.-Background:...
with neighbouring Wanstead
Wanstead
Wanstead is a suburban area in the London Borough of Redbridge, North-East London. The main road going through Wanstead is the A12. The name is from the Anglo-Saxon words wænn and stede, meaning "settlement on a small hill"....
in 1937 and has formed part of Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
since 1965.
History
| 1881 | 7,154 |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 10,984 |
| 1901 | 13,798 |
| 1911 | 18,496 |
| 1921 | 21,236 |
| 1931 | 23,946 |
| 1941 | war # |
| 1951 | 37,702 |
| # no census was held due to war | |
| source: UK census | |
Toponymy
Woodford appears in the 1086 Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
as Wdefort, although its earliest recorded use is earlier in 1062 as Wudeford. The name is Old English and means 'ford in or by the wood'. The ford refers to a crossing of the River Roding
River Roding
The River Roding is a river in England that rises near Dunmow, flows through Essex and forms Barking Creek as it reaches the River Thames in London....
, which was replaced with a bridge by 1238; this led to the renaming of part of the district as Woodford Bridge
Woodford Bridge
Woodford Bridge is a suburb of north-east London, England in the London Borough of Redbridge. It includes Monkhams. It is on an old road between Chigwell and Leytonstone....
by 1805. Similarly, part of the district gained the contemporary name of Woodford Green
Woodford Green
Woodford Green, formerly in the county of Essex, is part of the North East London suburb of Woodford, on the edge of Epping Forest, mostly within the London Borough of Redbridge with a small part on the western side of the green within the London Borough of Waltham Forest .-History:Woodford Green...
by 1883.
Economic development
The beginnings of Woodford can be traced to a medieval settlement which developed around the ford. Woodford was never a single village, rather it was a collection of hamlets, and has retained to some extent its portmanteau nature. London has been central to Woodford's development. The easy access to Epping ForestEpping Forest
Epping Forest is an area of ancient woodland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....
, a large forest near London where the Royals traditionally hunted has made it attractive to Londoners since the Fifteenth Century, when wealthy Londoners started to build mansions there. As a consequence, many of the recorded inhabitants would have been servants, and there is even evidence of Africans ('negroes') living in Woodford in the eighteenth century. In fact the domestic servants and wealthy Londoners may have quickly outnumbered the remnant of the local, original rural folk.
An example of the kind of grand house typical of pre-19th century Woodford is Hurst House, also known as 'The Naked Beauty', which stands on Salway Hill, now part of Woodford High Road. Its central block was completed in the early 18th century, and its side wings were added later on in the same century. It was restored in the 1930s, only to be damaged by fire a few years later. The central block was again completely restored, with the minor wings you can still see added on.
Historians have pointed out Woodford's historic roads as evidence of its 'residential nature', as these roads provided reasonably easy access to Woodford, but no further on. There were two roads to Woodford, the 'lower road' (now Chigwell Road) and the 'upper road' (now Woodford New Road). The 'lower road' was often beset by flooding from the Roding, as it still is today, and was continually considered to be in need of repair. In fact one of the illustrious persons to be inconvenienced by the road was King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. The 'upper road', being less used than the 'lower road' was probably in a worse condition, and the Middlesex and Essex Turnpike Trust undertook its repair and overhaul in 1721, and extended it to Whitechapel. The Trust did such a fine job it was given responsibility for the 'lower road' as well. In 1828, the Trust built the 'Woodford New Road' from Walthamstow to Woodford Wells
Woodford Wells
Woodford Wells is an old hamlet now part of the northern suburbs of London, England in the district of Woodford, about north of Woodford Green and on the edge of Epping Forest. The name is first shown on a map in 1805, and refers to mineral water wells...
, and was soon after connected to the newly built Epping New Road.
Local government
The ancient parish of Woodford, also known as Woodford St Mary, formed part of the BecontreeBecontree (hundred)
Becontree was an ancient hundred in the south west of the county of Essex, England. Its area has been entirely absorbed by the growth of London; with its name reused in 1921 for the large Becontree estate of the London County Council...
hundred of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. It was suburban to London and formed part of the Metropolitan Police District
Metropolitan Police District
The Metropolitan Police District is the police area which is policed by London's Metropolitan Police Service. It currently consists of Greater London, excluding the City of London.-History:...
from 1840. For administration of the Poor Law
Poor Law
The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...
it was grouped into the West Ham Union in 1835. The parish adopted the Local Government Act 1858 in 1873, setting up a local board of nine members. The Local Government Act 1894
Local Government Act 1894
The Local Government Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888...
reconstituted its area as Woodford Urban District
Woodford Urban District
Woodford was a local government district in the county of Essex, England from 1873 to 1934, corresponding to the London suburb of Woodford.The parish of Woodford St Mary adopted the Local Government Act 1858 in 1873, setting up a local board of nine members. The Local Government Act 1894...
, governed by Woodford Urban District Council. In 1934 the urban district was abolished under a county review order
Local Government Act 1929
The Local Government Act 1929 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales....
and its former area became part of the Wanstead and Woodford Urban District
Municipal Borough of Wanstead and Woodford
Wanstead and Woodford was a local government district from 1934 to 1965 in southwest Essex, England. A merger of two former urban districts, it was suburban to London and part of the Metropolitan Police District.-Background:...
. Wanstead and Woodford was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1937. The population of the Woodford parish was 2,774 in 1851, and had grown substantially to 37,702 in 1951. In 1965 Wanstead and Woodford, together with Ilford, were grouped together to become the London Borough of Redbridge.
Suburban expansion
The beginnings of the actual modern suburbanisation of Woodford, however, can be traced to the opening (in 1856) of the Great Eastern RailwayGreat Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
Line from Stratford
Stratford, London
Stratford is a place in the London Borough of Newham, England. It is located east northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an agrarian settlement in the ancient parish of West Ham, which transformed into an industrial suburb...
to Loughton
Loughton
Loughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill...
, on which Woodford became accessible by two stations, at Snakes Lane
Woodford tube station
Woodford is a London Underground station in Woodford in the London Borough of Redbridge, United Kingdom.The station is on the Central Line between South Woodford and Buckhurst Hill. The station is also a terminus for services via the Hainault loop....
and George Lane
South Woodford tube station
South Woodford tube station is a London Underground station on the Central Line, between Snaresbrook and Woodford in Zone 4.-History:The station opened as South Woodford on 22 August 1856 as part of the Eastern Counties Railway branch to Loughton, which was eventually extended to Epping and...
. The new convenience of transportation encouraged the growth in number of the daily commuter that is typical of the Woodford resident today. Woodford soon became the residence of the well-to-do city worker, as attested by John Marius Wilson in his Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, written between 1870 and 1872
- The increase of pop. arose from erection of houses consequent upon railway communication with London....[t]here are many fine mansions, and numerous good villas.
In fact Woodford doubled its population in the middle and later decades of the 19th century due to the arrival of the railway. A good barometer of Woodford's rapid growth in this period is the erection of three churches in the area, a Congregational, Methodist and Church of All Saints, all built in 1874.
Woodford completed its suburbanisation in the period between the two World Wars of the 20th century. Available land was hungrily built on and the grand houses of the wealthy who had been building them for more than four hundred years were pulled down to make way for the middle class housing estates, typified by the three-to-four bedroom semi-detached house with front and back gardens. In the 1930s, 1,600 houses were being built in Woodford a year on average. The Central Line's extension to and past Woodford in the middle of the 20th century, utilising the existing overland train network, solidified Woodford's place in the commuter belt.
Woodford is also home to some of the largest housing estates in the borough.
Religion
The parish church of St. Mary's is known to have existed by the 12th century and is located on the High Road in what is now South Woodford. The medieval church was substantially rebuilt in brick in the Gothic styleGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
in 1816. The interior is modern, the church having been gutted by arsonists in 1969. In 1874 a new church, All Saints' Woodford Wells, was built to serve the rapidly developing area of the north of the parish.
Politics
Woodford is divided between three parliamentaryParliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
constituencies including Chingford and Woodford Green which is currently represented by Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Iain Duncan Smith
Iain Duncan Smith
George Iain Duncan Smith is a British Conservative politician. He is currently the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and was previously leader of the Conservative Party from September 2001 to October 2003...
, who was the party's leader from 2001 to 2003. Chingford and Woodford Green is separated from Ilford North
Ilford North (UK Parliament constituency)
Ilford North is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprises the north part of the town of Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge, and elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of...
by the Central Line, whilst a small part of South Woodford is in Leyton and Wanstead constituency. Previously the local constituency was Wanstead and Woodford
Wanstead and Woodford (UK Parliament constituency)
Wanstead and Woodford was a constituency in north-east London, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
(1974–1997) and before that Woodford
Woodford (UK Parliament constituency)
Woodford was a parliamentary constituency in Essex which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1945 until it was renamed for the 1964 general election...
(1945–1974) which was represented by Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
between 1945 and 1964. Churchill is commemorated by a statue on the green at Woodford.
Notable individuals associated with Woodford
Woodford has connections with major cultural figures. The first is the celebrated writer, artist, craftsman William MorrisWilliam Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
, founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement, a nineteenth century revivalist movement dedicated to restoring England's artisan traditions. As a child he lived at Woodford Hall between 1840 and 1847. Woodford Hall (demolished at the turn of the 20th century) stood on Woodford High Road on the site where the Woodford Parish Memorial Hall now is. Another famous writer who lived in Woodford is James Hilton
James Hilton
James Hilton was an English novelist who wrote several best-sellers, including Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips.-Biography:...
, who wrote the successful novels Goodbye Mr Chips and Lost Horizon (in which he coined the term Shangri La) in a semi-detached house at 42 Oak Hill Gardens. A blue plaque commemorates his residence at the house.
The Clergyman Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith was an English writer and Anglican cleric. -Life:Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith and Maria Olier , who suffered from epilepsy...
was born in Woodford in 1771. Smith became a [what is a prominent Vicar?] Vicar and prominent Reformer, but he is now most famous as a great wit of the early nineteenth century. He was a part of the brilliant intellectual circles of his day, and once said of the historian Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay PC was a British poet, historian and Whig politician. He wrote extensively as an essayist and reviewer, and on British history...
, [H]e has occasional flashes of silence, that make his conversation perfectly delightful. He is still an immensely quotable man. On his position as a Clergyman in Yorkshire, he remarked My living in Yorkshire was so far out of the way, that it was actually twelve miles from a lemon. However the wily old Rev Smith was no cobwebby preacher, but indeed knew much about life. For instance, he compared marriage to a pair of shears, so joined that they can not be separated; often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them. Moreover, Smith published several recipes; his rhyming recipe for salad dressing (Let onion atoms lurk within the bowl/And, scarce suspected, animate the whole) makes him a household name in America to this day.
Woodford also has connections with the leading Suffragette
Suffragette
"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
, peace campaigner and anti-fascist Sylvia Pankhurst
Sylvia Pankhurst
Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst was an English campaigner for the suffragist movement in the United Kingdom. She was for a time a prominent left communist who then devoted herself to the cause of anti-fascism.-Early life:...
. Pankhurst was a long time resident on Charteris Road, close to Woodford Station. She had been introduced to the area by George Lansbury
George Lansbury
George Lansbury was a British politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. He was a Member of Parliament from 1910 to 1912 and from 1922 to 1940, and leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935....
, co-founder of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and grandfather of Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
. Previous to her residence in Charteris Road, Sylvia Pankhurst had challenged the moral codes of her day by living in sin with an Italian radical on 126 High Road, opposite the Horse and Well Pub. She renamed the cottage Red Cottage in homage to the leftist activities she carried out from there. She erected an anti-air-warfare monument in protest to the bombing of the people of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
under the orders of Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
on the site of the cottage (the cottage was pulled down in the 1930s).
This is a comprehensive list of notable individuals from all three constituent parts of Woodford.
- Clement AttleeClement AttleeClement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
, former Labour Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
(Woodford GreenWoodford GreenWoodford Green, formerly in the county of Essex, is part of the North East London suburb of Woodford, on the edge of Epping Forest, mostly within the London Borough of Redbridge with a small part on the western side of the green within the London Borough of Waltham Forest .-History:Woodford Green...
) - Nick BerryNick BerryNicholas "Nick" Berry is a British television actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Simon Wicks in the British soap opera EastEnders from 1985 to 1990 and as PC Nick Rowan in the British drama television series Heartbeat from 1992 to 1998.-Career:Berry started acting at the age of...
, actor born 1963 - Sanjeev BhaskarSanjeev BhaskarSanjeev Bhaskar, OBE is a British Indian comedian, actor and broadcaster, best known for his work in the BBC Two comedy series Goodness Gracious Me and as host of The Kumars at No. 42...
, comedian and actor (South WoodfordSouth WoodfordSouth Woodford is a suburb of north-east London in the London Borough of Redbridge, situated north-east of Charing Cross. Together with Woodford Green, Woodford Bridge and Woodford Wells it forms the area known as Woodford, the origins of which date back at least to the Saxon period...
) - Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, former Prime MinisterPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Woodford 1945-1964 - Vince ClarkeVince ClarkeVince Clarke is an English synthpop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been involved with a number of successful groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure....
, founder member of Depeche ModeDepeche ModeDepeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
and member of ErasureErasureErasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
and YazooYazoo (band)Yazoo are a British synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex. They had a number of Top 10 hits in the UK charts in the early 1980s...
(born in South Woodford) - James HiltonJames HiltonJames Hilton was an English novelist who wrote several best-sellers, including Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips.-Biography:...
, author (Woodford Green) - Louisa LeamanLouisa LeamanLouisa Leaman is a writer and behaviour expert based in London UK.In 2004 she won a writing competition in the Times Educational Supplement. This led to a publishing deal with Continuum International Publishing. She has since had five books published...
, actor (Woodford Green) - Joe DeverJoe DeverJoe Dever is an award-winning British fantasy author and game designer. Originally a musician, Dever became the first British winner of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Championship of America in 1982....
, author and games designer (Woodford Bridge) - Richard J. EvansRichard J. EvansRichard John Evans is a British academic and historian, prominently known for his history of Germany.-Life:Evans was born in London, of Welsh parentage, and is now Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge and President of Wolfson College...
, historian and author - Joseph HockingJoseph HockingJoseph Hocking was a Cornish novelist and Methodist minister. He was born at St Stephen-in-Brannel, Cornwall, to James Hocking, part owner of a tin mine, and his wife Elizabeth.In 1884, he was ordained as a minister...
, novelist (who was Methodist minister of Woodford GreenWoodford GreenWoodford Green, formerly in the county of Essex, is part of the North East London suburb of Woodford, on the edge of Epping Forest, mostly within the London Borough of Redbridge with a small part on the western side of the green within the London Borough of Waltham Forest .-History:Woodford Green...
United Free Church in Edwardian times - Russell LissackRussell LissackRussell Dean Lissack is an English musician best known as the lead guitarist of London based indie rock band, Bloc Party. Lissack is also in the electronica band Pin Me Down; a duo of himself and Milena Mepris...
, Bloc PartyBloc PartyBloc Party are a British Indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...
guitarist (both he and Okereke attended school in Woodford Green) - Kele OkerekeKele OkerekeKelechukwu "Kele" Rowland Okereke is a British musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the indie rock band Bloc Party.-Early life:...
, Bloc PartyBloc PartyBloc Party are a British Indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...
vocalist and guitarist (Woodford Green) - Coventry PatmoreCoventry PatmoreCoventry Kersey Dighton Patmore was an English poet and critic best known for The Angel in the House, his narrative poem about an ideal happy marriage.-Youth:...
, poetPoetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and criticCriticismCriticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...
(born in Woodford) - Sylvia PankhurstSylvia PankhurstEstelle Sylvia Pankhurst was an English campaigner for the suffragist movement in the United Kingdom. She was for a time a prominent left communist who then devoted herself to the cause of anti-fascism.-Early life:...
, suffragetteSuffragette"Suffragette" is a term coined by the Daily Mail newspaper as a derogatory label for members of the late 19th and early 20th century movement for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, in particular members of the Women's Social and Political Union...
(Woodford Green) - Ruth RendellRuth RendellRuth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, CBE, , who also writes under the pseudonym Barbara Vine, is an English crime writer, author of psychological thrillers and murder mysteries....
CBE, author (born in South Woodford) - Tony RobinsonTony RobinsonTony Robinson is an English actor, comedian, author, broadcaster and political campaigner. He is best known for playing Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder, and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. Robinson is a member of the Labour Party...
, actor and TV personality - Meera SyalMeera SyalMeera Syal MBE is a British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No...
, comedian, writer and actress (South Woodford) - Kate Williams, actress, Woodford resident during the making of the TV series Love Thy NeighbourLove Thy NeighbourLove Thy Neighbour was a popular British sitcom, which was aired from 13 April 1972, until 22 January 1976, spanning seven series. The sitcom was produced by Thames Television and broadcast by ITV. The main cast included Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Nina Baden-Semper and Kate Williams...
(Woodford Bridge)Woodford GreenWoodford Green, formerly in the county of Essex, is part of the North East London suburb of Woodford, on the edge of Epping Forest, mostly within the London Borough of Redbridge with a small part on the western side of the green within the London Borough of Waltham Forest .-History:Woodford Green... - Jayson Ceeraz, Dancer/Physicist http://www.facebook.com/jcraz?ref=ts
- Marcia Richards, singer and organ, flute, sax and melodica player from The SkintsThe SkintsThe Skints are a reggae/dub/ska/reggae rock band from London, United Kingdom. Since 2008 the band have toured extensively, playing hundreds of shows, supporting bands that include Gym Class Heroes, Sublime with Rome, Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, The Slackers, Gogol Bordello and Bedouin...
(South Woodford) - Terry ChimesTerry ChimesTerry Chimes was the original drummer of punk rock group The Clash. He originally played with them from July 1976 to November 1976, January 1977 to April 1977, and again from May 1982 to February 1983. He was the drummer for Hanoi Rocks in 1985, before the band broke-up that same year...
, former drummer with The Clash, Black Sabbath & Hanoi Rocks
Geography
Nearest places- Buckhurst HillBuckhurst HillBuckhurst Hill is an affluent suburban town in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. Located adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London, it forms part of the Greater London Urban Area.- Overview :...
- ChigwellChigwellChigwell is a civil parish and town in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located 11.6 miles north east of Charing Cross. It is served by two London Underground stations and has a London area code.-Etymology:According to P. H...
- ChingfordChingfordChingford is a district of north east London, bordering on Enfield and Edmonton to the west, Woodford to the east, Walthamstow and Stratford to the south and Essex to the north. It is situated northeast of Charing Cross and forms part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest...
- ClayhallClayhallClayhall is a district of Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge in north east London, England. It is a suburban development. The name is derived from an old manor house that stood within the current area...
- WalthamstowWalthamstowWalthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...
- WansteadWansteadWanstead is a suburban area in the London Borough of Redbridge, North-East London. The main road going through Wanstead is the A12. The name is from the Anglo-Saxon words wænn and stede, meaning "settlement on a small hill"....
Transport
The nearest London Underground stations are WoodfordWoodford tube station
Woodford is a London Underground station in Woodford in the London Borough of Redbridge, United Kingdom.The station is on the Central Line between South Woodford and Buckhurst Hill. The station is also a terminus for services via the Hainault loop....
and South Woodford
South Woodford tube station
South Woodford tube station is a London Underground station on the Central Line, between Snaresbrook and Woodford in Zone 4.-History:The station opened as South Woodford on 22 August 1856 as part of the Eastern Counties Railway branch to Loughton, which was eventually extended to Epping and...
on the Central Line
Central Line
The Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
.