Chadwell Heath facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Chadwell Heath |
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 St Chad's Church |
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 Chadwell Heath
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| Population | 24,278 (ward, 2011) |
| OS grid reference | TQ485885 |
| • Charing Cross | 12 mi (19 km) SW |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ROMFORD |
| Postcode district | RM6 |
| Post town | DAGENHAM |
| Postcode district | RM8 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| EU Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament |
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| London Assembly |
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Chadwell Heath is an area in east London, England. It is situated on the boundary of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and the London Borough of Redbridge, around 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Romford and 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Ilford, and 12 miles (19 km) north-east of Charing Cross.
The name was first used in the 17th century for a settlement in the parish of Dagenham in Essex, which later absorbed the neighbouring hamlet of Chadwell Street in the parish of Barking (later Ilford). Chadwell Heath railway station, on the Great Eastern Main Line, opened in 1864, connecting the area to Central London. After the First World War, the area developed as a residential suburb and formed the northern limit of the Becontree estate, causing an increase in population density. The area became part of Greater London in 1965.
The area is home to the Chadwell Heath Academy. It was the final residence of Eva Hart, a survivor of the RMS Titanic, and a local pub is named after her.
Contents
History
Toponymy
The name 'Chadwell' is first recorded in 1254 as Chaudewell and means 'the cold spring'. The name was first applied to a settlement on the Barking side of the ancient Barking/Dagenham boundary and it was also known as Chadwell Street; 'Street' having the older meaning of a hamlet. In the 17th century the Blackheath Common in Dagenham parish was renamed Chadwell Heath. As the settlements merged the Chadwell Street name was lost in favour of Chadwell Heath.
Economic development
The railway was constructed through the area from Romford and Ilford and in 1864 Chadwell Heath railway station was opened. It was the 'end of the line' for both the London tram system and later the electric trolley bus service from Aldgate. The trolley buses turned around at Station Road and Wangey Road.
Local government
Chadwell Heath formed a hamlet in the ancient parish of Dagenham, Essex. As Chadwell Heath grew it absorbed the neighbouring hamlet of Chadwell Street in the Chadwell ward of the parish of Barking. The Barking section of Chadwell Heath became part of the new parish of Ilford in 1888. This became Ilford Urban District in 1894. The Dagenham section became part of Romford Rural District in 1894. The parish was removed from the rural district and became Dagenham Urban District in 1926. During the 1920s and 1930s the local government arrangements of the area came under review and various proposals would have merged the two sections of Chadwell Heath into a single district, however this was not acted upon.
Ilford was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1926 and Dagenham was incorporated in 1938. The arrangements of the area were reviewed again in the 1950s and 1960s. The whole area was considered to form part of the Greater London conurbation and in 1957 formed part of the review area of the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London. Following the review, in 1965 the London Government Act 1963 abolished the municipal boroughs of Dagenham and Ilford, and transferred their former area from Essex to Greater London, to form part of the new London Borough of Barking and the London Borough of Redbridge.
Urban development
The London to Colchester Roman Road caused some early 'ribbon' development while much of the rest of the area remained rural. Suburban growth commenced in 1900 and proceeded rapidly until World War I; increasing after the war.
The area suffered several bomb hits during World War Two. A large parachute mine also exploded causing extensive residential damage in Bennett Road destroying the school while a second failed to explode and its parachute became entangled in horse-chestnut trees near Chadwell Heath station. It did not explode because it was cradled in very soft soil as the result of digging near Hemmings Bakery. It was found by Walter Wiffen, a train guard from Cedar Park Gardens on his way to work at the station early the next morning. He reported it at the police station which is now the Eva Hart pub and oversaw the evacuation of Cedar Park Gardens to bomb shelter at the corner of Wangey Road and the High Road. A V2 rocket landed on Blackbush Avenue killing several people and blowing out windows for half a mile around. Later, the local council replaced the windows with much more modern frames and the results provided an incongruous look to the older house designs. A heavy anti-aircraft battery was located east of Whalebone Lane North and traces of the concrete emplacements remain today. A VII Rocket destroyed two houses in Woodlands Avenue and damaged the houses that had been repaired after the landmine had that and destroyed the Whalebone Junior school in Bennett Road
Geography
The London Borough of Havering is to the east. Many major buildings, such as the local school and former police station (now the popular pub, the Eva Hart) actually lie in the London Borough of Redbridge. Royal Mail includes Chadwell Heath as part of a postcode district (RM6) of the Romford post town, however the town of Romford is in Havering.
The area has four allotments. One adjacent to St Chad's Park on Alexandra Road, another on Chadwell Heath Lane, one in Percival Gardens and also a plot in Little Heath next to the Eastern Avenue / A12 (next to the Hargreaves Scout centre).
Transport
Chadwell Heath is served by London Buses services and TfL Rail at Chadwell Heath railway station which is currently being upgraded as part of the Crossrail Project. It has easy rail access to Liverpool Street Station in the City of London. London Buses routes that serve Chadwell Heath are the 62 from Marks Gate 'Billet Road' to Barking 'Gascoigne Estate'; 86 from Romford Station to Stratford Station; 173 from King George Hospital 'Goodmayes' to Beckton Station; 362 from King George Hospital 'Goodmayes' to Grange Hill Station; 368 from Chadwell Heath 'Police Station' to Barking 'Harts Lane' and night bus N86 from Stratford Station to Harold Hill 'Dagnam Park Square'.
Culture and community
Chadwell Heath was known for a strong community spirit, with a thriving white working class community, that consisted of English and Irish residents; many of whom worked for the number of factories that were in the area in the 1970/80s - located, roughly where Halfords and Iceland now are. Many Dagenham residents moved to Chadwell Heath to become owner occupiers. Today the area is largely middle class.
The Hinds Head pub on the corner of Station Road / Burnside Road closed in 2009. According to CAMRA, pubs are closing due to changing demographics, the smoking ban, supermarket subsidised alcohol and direct taxation on beers and spirits.
The area enjoys a number of gastro and general pubs. The Harvester Greyhound, the Toby Carvery Moby Dick, the Rendezvous (formerly 'Chadwell Arms'), the Eva Hart (named after a survivor of the RMS Titanic), the Coopers Arms (now closed), the White Horse, and the Tolgate.
There are two private members clubs in the area. One on Grove Road (the 'Grove Social Club'), and adjacent to Sainsbury's there is the 'Cedar Club'.
There are two libraries in Chadwell Heath. One in the LB of Barking and Dagenham local authority boundary, called 'Robert Jeyes Library' on the High Road and one in the LB of Redbridge local authority 'The Keith Axon Centre' on Grove Road.
Archant, a leading local newspaper group covers the area in its 'Ilford Recorder', 'Romford Recorder' and 'Barking & Dagenham Post' newspapers. Because of Chadwell Heath's bizarre political position (across two 'London Boroughs' and three local authority 'Wards') there are often stories pertaining to the area in each of the three newspapers. As well as a local radio station Time 107.5, that covers Havering, Barking & Dagenham and Redbridge.
The area is home to the high-performing Chadwell Heath Academy.
Religion
St Chad's Church (Church of England) stands on St Chad's Road, next to the White Horse public House. The Roman Catholic Church, St Bede's, is on Bishops Avenue, RM6 5RS, and forms part of the overall site of St Bede's Roman Catholic primary school (main entrance on Canon Avenue). Chadwell Heath has two baptist churches; one is found in the town centre on the High Road opposite Sainsbury's; the other in East Road at its junction with Havering Gardens. Other churches include the United Reformed Church (URC), and the Brethren Assembly in Wangey Road.
Demography
In the 2011 census, the combined wards of Chadwell in Redbridge and Chadwell Heath in Barking and Dagenham had a total population of 24,278 people. The two combined wards had no single ethnic majority, with the largest group being White British people comprising 44.3% of the population. The next largest groups were Indians (9.5%), Black Africans (9.3%), Black Caribbeans (5.7%), Bangladeshis (5.6%), Pakistanis (5.5%) and Other Whites (5.2%).
Sport
West Ham United's training ground was located in the area until late 2015. On 10 December 2015, Slaven Bilic, then West Ham manager, announced that from 14 December the club would be moving from the old training ground (at Saville Road) to the new training ground at nearby Rush Green, London.
Notable people
- Mary Wollstonecraft
- Henry Gillard Glindoni
- Eva Hart
- Millicent Martin
- Michelle Dockery
- Mark Summers
- Rhian Brewster
- Jackie Oliver
- Mark Lazarus
- Jim Peters (athlete)
