Gants Hill is an area of Ilford in East London, England, within the borough of Redbridge. It is a suburb east northeast of Charing Cross. It lends its name to a central roundabout where five roads meet.

History

The name likely originated from the le Gant family, who were stewards of

Barking Abbey Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as having been "one of the most important nunneries in the country". Originally established in the 7th century, f ...

. The name Gantesgrave appears in records as early as 1291. Alternatively, the name may be derived from

gnat A gnat () is any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera, especially those in the families Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae and Sciaridae. They can be both biting and non-biting. Most often they fly in large ...

Geography

The area is mostly residential with a selection of retail outlets, a wide variety of restaurants, pub-restaurants, bars and a hotel. Green space with historic mansion,

Valentines Park Valentines Park is a park, south of Gants Hill, it is the largest green space in the London Borough of Redbridge. The park was originally the grounds of Valentines Mansion, a residence built in 1696. Valentines Park holds a Green Flag Award and ...

, occupies the land between Gants Hill and Ilford. Valentines High School and Gearies School are local schools. Other nearby schools include Beal High School in Clayhall, King Solomon High School in Fairlop, and the selective grammar schools

Ilford County High School Ilford County High School (often abbreviated to ICHS) is a selective secondary grammar school for boys located in the town of Barkingside of the London Borough of Redbridge. The school was formerly called ''Park High Grade School'' and as a res ...

and Woodford County High School in Barkingside and Woodford respectively. Perth Road is the main road of the ''Commonwealth Estate'', overlapping with Ilford proper, in which the roads are named after cities of former British colonies such as Aden,

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

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Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

. The

Odeon cinema Odeon, stylised as ODEON, is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsidiary of AMC Theatres. It uses the famous name ...

, originally called the Savoy, was demolished in 2003 to provide space for a block of flats. It stood between Eastern Avenue and Perth Road. Gants Hill hosts the popular 'Faces' nightclub, which is in Cranbrook Road. The club featured in the ITV2 reality series ''

The Only Way Is Essex ''The Only Way Is Essex'' (often abbreviated as ''TOWIE'' ) is a British reality television series based in Brentwood, Essex, England. It shows "real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way." Originally b ...

'' and opens Thursday to Saturday. The club has six bars, two music rooms and VIP tables. Nearest places are Newbury Park,

Barkingside Barkingside is an area in Ilford, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It includes the major road junction of ''Fullwell Cross'' which also gives its name to the locality near that roundabout. The area is situated 10.6 miles (17km) north east of ...

, Ilford and Redbridge.

Renovation

Gants Hill roundabout and the surrounding area underwent extensive renovation, beginning in June 2009. The works were paid for by Transport For London. The project introduced new signalised pedestrian crossings around the roundabout whilst the Gants Hill subways received new floor tiles and coloured banding on the walls. The renovations were completed in late September 2010 with the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

, visiting the roundabout. Boris Johnson also unveiled a plaque to mark his visit.

Transport

Formerly part of the A406, Woodford Avenue has now been renumbered as the A1400 and a new section of the A406 has been built through Redbridge and Ilford to

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

and

Beckton Beckton is a suburb in east London, England, located east of Charing Cross and part of the London Borough of Newham. Adjacent to the River Thames, the area consisted of unpopulated marshland known as the East Ham Levels in the parishes of Barki ...

. The A12 runs east–west, and the A123, Cranbrook Road, runs north–south, through Gants Hill roundabout, which is also the endpoint of the A1400. All these roads have several bus routes along them (se
map
. A one-way minor road, Clarence Avenue, also leads onto the roundabout. Gants Hill Underground station on the Central line of the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

Nearest stations

The nearest London Underground station is Gants Hill on the Central line. Ilford railway station is a

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...

station to the south of the district.

References

{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Redbridge Road junctions in London District centres of London