Borough in London, England
Waltham Forest
The first all-British powered aeroplane flight took off from its marshes, its market stretches about a kilometre, and Hitchcock and Beckham both started out here: welcome to Waltham Forest.
Key information
- County
- Greater London (historically Essex)
- Nation
- England
- Population
- About 277,000 (2021 Census)
- Known for
- William Morris, Alfred Hitchcock, Walthamstow Market, Walthamstow Wetlands, Epping Forest
- Famous people
- William Morris, Alfred Hitchcock, David Beckham
- Football clubs
- Leyton Orient (the O's)
About Waltham Forest
The aeroplane that took off from a marsh
In July 1909, Alliott Verdon Roe wheeled his Avro Triplane out onto Walthamstow Marshes and flew it. It is credited as the first powered flight by an all-British aircraft. Roe had built the machine in a workshop beneath a railway arch, then took it outside to the marshes to fly. He went on to found Avro, the company behind the Lancaster bomber. The marshes are still there, flat and reedy beside the River Lea, with trains rattling past. Another pioneer of motion lived nearby. Frederick Bremer built one of Britain's first petrol-driven cars in a workshop in Walthamstow in 1892. The Bremer car belongs to the collection of Vestry House Museum, housed in a former workhouse built in 1730.
The man who wanted beauty on every wall
William Morris was born in Walthamstow in 1834. His family moved to a big house on the edge of Epping Forest, and the young Morris roamed the woods, an upbringing that you can see in the leaves, birds and tangled flowers of his wallpapers and textiles. His later teenage home, the Water House, is now the William Morris Gallery in Lloyd Park. It is the only public gallery devoted to him, and it holds the patterns, furniture, tiles and stained glass that helped to launch the Arts and Crafts movement. Morris, a committed socialist, believed good design should be for everyone, not only the rich.
Hitchcock, Beckham and a mosaic of suspense
Alfred Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone in 1899, above his family's greengrocer's shop. Today he is honoured at Leytonstone Underground station, where 17 mosaics along the subway tell the story of his life and films. Look out for the birds, which nod to The Birds, and a very ominous silhouette. David Beckham was born in Leytonstone too, and grew up in Chingford, playing football on local pitches before Manchester United and England. Between them, one small corner of east London produced the master of suspense and one of the most photographed footballers on the planet.
A market about a kilometre long and a dog track that became a landmark
Walthamstow Market is often described as the longest outdoor street market in Europe. It runs for about a kilometre, roughly 0.6 miles, along the High Street, with hundreds of stalls selling fruit, veg, fabrics, phone cases and household bargains. It has been trading for well over a century. The Walthamstow Stadium greyhound track opened on 17 May 1932 and closed in 2008. It was one of London's best-loved evening haunts, and its Art Deco entrance still stands as a reminder. For something more luminous, visit God's Own Junkyard, a warehouse gallery crammed with neon signs collected by the late Chris Bracey, who made neon for Soho and for film sets.
Forest, reservoirs and a Tudor hunting lodge
The borough takes its name from the old Waltham Forest, and Epping Forest still runs along its eastern side, with ancient hornbeams and open grassland. In Chingford stands Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, a timber-framed Tudor grandstand built in 1543 for Henry VIII so that guests could watch deer being driven past. In the west, Walthamstow Wetlands opened to the public in 2017. Its Victorian reservoirs, which still supply London with water, are now a huge nature reserve of around 200 hectares, with herons, bitterns and cormorants. It is one of the largest urban wetland reserves in Europe. The Victoria line reached Walthamstow Central in 1968, and the area has become a popular place to live ever since. In 2019 it was named the first London Borough of Culture.
Why Leyton Orient are the O's
Leyton Orient began in 1881 as the Glyn Cricket Club, formed by former students of Homerton College. The name Orient arrived in 1888, reportedly suggested by a player who worked for the Orient Steam Navigation Company. Fans call the club the O's. They have played at Brisbane Road in Leyton since 1937, a compact ground tucked among terraced streets and flats. Leyton also has a cricketing past: Essex County Cricket Club played first-class matches at Leyton for decades, and the old county ground is still a sports ground today.