Joanna has now turned this into a virtual walk. Follow her on Eventbrite to find out when she will next be ‘leading’ this walk. All her walks both virtual and in real life (pandemic restrictions permitting) can be booked for private groups.
What do Ivor Novello, Lawrence of Arabia, Arthur Morrison, Queen Victoria and the creator of the FA Cup have in common? Answer – they all have connections to Chingford.
This walk mostly around the streets of Chingford tells the story of how Chingford’s history is so very different from its near neighbour Walthamstow. By 1901 the population of Chingford still hadn’t reached 5,000 whereas the population of Walthamstow was 95,000.
Our walk includes following a map based on an 1838 tithe map showing fields which now reflect its history and footpaths which still exist today.
We will hear about the Boothby-Heathcotes, a family whose actions over the course of a century dramatically improved the lives of Chingford residents.
We will also hear about the World War One Aerodrome now underneath a reservoir and Ivor Novello’s connection with the airfield and the pub nearby.
Once part of the long gone Great Forest of Waltham what is today Epping Forest was a hunting ground for Henry VIII. After the Epping Forest Act of 1878 and the arrival of the railways Chingford and the Forest became a day out for hordes of Eastenders, with some 100,000 visiting on Whit Monday 1920.
The walk finishes at a 19th Century refreshment retreat on the edge of Epping Forest but only a 10 minute downhill walk back to the station. There are two pubs close to the finish too.
This walk is approximately 2 miles long and will include some walking on forest paths.
Joanna Moncrieff is a qualified City of Westminster and Clerkenwell & Islington Tour Guide and for the past 10 years has created and led walks both in Central London and her own neck of the woods in Walthamstow and Chingford.
A Westminster Walks event.
Waltham Forest History and Heritage Network 