Old Chingford
Chingford 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 10 miles (16.1 km) Northeast of Charing Cross and forms part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. Landmarks in the West, between Chingford and Enfield, 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.
Origin of the name Chingford ...
It is thought that Chingford is named so, after the ford in the River Ching. The River Ching runs through the area, and Chingford is based on a crossing across the river. 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.
Landmarks
One notable local landmark is Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge.[1] 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 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.[2]
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.
Friday Hill House, Simmons Lane. The present building 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.
Pimp Hall Dovecote, 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.
Handy Links in Chingford.
Chingford Times. http://www.chingfordtimes.co.uk/index.cfm
The Bookshop: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Bookshop-North-Chingford/147337928610832?ref=ts
Chingford Newsreel.
For further information e-mail d.piggott39@btinternet.com
on how to purchase the following DVD's:
Chingford 2003
Chingford 2004
Chingford 2005
Chingford 2006/07
Coming soon DVD's of 50's 60's 70's and 80's with extra footage.
The running time on each DVD is 55 minutes.
The price is £11.00 which is including postage and packaging.
One of our wonderful supporters webpage is: http://yesteryear.ning.com have a look it's a very interesting site...thank you Martin Clift for all your support.
