The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a

London borough The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at ...

in north-east

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other

London boroughs The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at t ...

: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to the south-west,

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the ...

to the south-east and Redbridge to the east, as well as the non-metropolitan county of

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

to the north. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

s of

Leyton Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and Sout ...

and

Chingford Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow t ...

; it took its name from

Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to t ...

– an institution which managed deer in south-west

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

is a remainder of the former

and forms the eastern and northern fringe of the borough. The

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of ...

lies to the west where its associated marshes and parkland form a green corridor which, along the reservoir-lined reaches, separates

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and

east London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the ...

, and is the historic border between Middlesex and Essex. Waltham Forest was one of the host boroughs of the London Olympics in 2012, with the

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre is a sports and leisure venue located in Leyton, London Borough of Waltham Forest, to the north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It is regularly used for international field hockey fixtures by both the Gre ...

and part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park providing an ongoing legacy in the UK and London.

History

Early history

The area was in the territory of the Trinovantes tribe during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

and through the Roman period, when the tribal area was a unit of local government. It subsequently became part of the Kingdom of the East Saxons a unit which is likely to have its roots in the territory of the Trinovantes. After the Kingdom of Essex lost its independence, it evolved into the county of

. The Domesday book of 1086 records four manors in the area,

, Higham and

. At some point, before or after the Domesday survey these also became

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

, with Higham becoming part of the parish of Walthamstow. These parishes had largely stable borders from which those of the later Municipal Boroughs were derived, and these are the basis of our understanding of the extent of these local areas today.

Preservation of Epping Forest

The southern part of Epping Forest still extends into the north of the borough, 90% of it having been preserved by the Epping Forest Act of 1878. This not only assisted in preserving the forest, the attraction value also helped stimulate urbanisation of nearby areas.

Urbanisation

Until the late Victorian era, the area that became the modern borough was rural in nature with a small dispersed population and a primarily agricultural landscape. Leyton, in particular, grew quite rapidly between 1870 and 1910.

Industrial firsts

In 1892, a private citizen named

Frederick Bremer Frederick William Bremer (12 July 1872 in Stepney, London – 1941 in Walthamstow, England) was a British gasfitter, plumber, engineer and inventor recognised as the man who built the first petrol-fuelled car in Great Britain in 1892. Bremer ...

built the first British motorcar in a workshop in his garden, at Connaught Road, Walthamstow. The vehicle is on display at the Vestry House Museum in Walthamstow. In 1909, the aviation pioneer A V Roe successfully tested the first all-British aeroplane, the

Roe I Triplane The Roe I Triplane (often later referred to as the Avro Triplane) was an early aircraft designed and built by A.V. Roe which was the first all-British aircraft to fly.Jackson 1990 p.6 (Roe's previous biplane had a French engine). Backgrou ...

, on land at

Walthamstow Marshes Walthamstow Marshes, is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It was once an area of lammas land – common land used for growing crops and grazing cattle. In aviation histor ...

Air Raids in World War One

The area now known as Waltham Forest experienced at least two

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

raids during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. On 17/18 August 1915, Airship L10 took a route roughly following the Gospel Oak to Barking railway line, dropping incendiary and high-explosive bombs. The first bomb, an incendiary, fell on Hoe St, Walthamstow, at the junction of Orford and Queens Road; the last was dropped in Aldersbrook area. Ten people were killed in Leyton and another 48 injured across the wider area. On 23/24 September 1916 the German Navy airship L 31 dropped around ten bombs along the line of Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, killing eight there. On both occasions the Germans believed they were bombing the

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, and it is thought they mistook the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain for the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Blitz - World War Two

During the most intense period of the Blitz (October 1940 to June 1941), the area was hit by around 728 high explosive bombs, 17

parachute mine A parachute mine is a naval mine dropped from an aircraft by parachute. They were mostly used in the Second World War by the Luftwaffe and initially by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command. Frequently, they were dropped on land targets. Histo ...

s and an unknown, but much greater number of small incendiary bombs. Subsequent raids were lighter and less frequent, but 1944 saw a number of V-1 'flying bombs' and

V-2 The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...

long-range ballistic missiles hit the area, including a V-1 which landed on central Walthamstow killing 22 and a

which landed on Chingford Road, Walthamstow killing 8.

Creation of the modern Borough

The

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

established the borough in 1965 from the combined areas of the former

Municipal Borough of Chingford Chingford was a local government district in south west Essex, England from 1894 to 1965, around the town of Chingford. It was within the London suburbs, forming part of the London postal district and Metropolitan Police District. Its former ...

, Municipal Borough of Leyton and Municipal Borough of Walthamstow. A petition opposed calling the new borough "Walthamstow", so perhaps for that reason the new borough took its name from the former

, an institution responsible for managing deer in an area that stretched eastwards from the

and included large areas of agricultural land as well as the wooded areas subsequently known as

and

Hainault Forest Hainault Forest Country Park is a Country Park located in Greater London, with portions in: Hainault in the London Borough of Redbridge; the London Borough of Havering; and in the Lambourne parish of the Epping Forest District in Essex. Geograp ...

Settlement

The main centres of population in the borough are

in the north,

in the centre (the administrative hub including the council offices) and

and

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, ...

to the South. Waltham Forest has the fifth largest Muslim population in England and the third largest in London (coming after its neighbouring boroughs,

and

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...

Ethnicity

Open spaces

and the green corridor along the

provide some of the borough's many open spaces, which include: * Epping Forest (part) * Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (part) * Lee Valley Reservoir Chain (part) *

* The

Walthamstow Wetlands Walthamstow Wetlands is a nature reserve in Walthamstow, east London, adjacent to the historic Essex-Middlesex border on the River Lea. It is focused on the Walthamstow Reservoirs, built by the East London Waterworks Company between 1853 and ...

Reserve, opened in 2017, provides of open space. * Leyton Jubilee Park * Lloyd Park * Ridgeway Park * Chingford Mount Cemetery * Mansfield Park * Highams Park Field

Arts, culture and leisure

Historically known as the seat of the Arts and Crafts Movement under the stewardship of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He w ...

, Waltham Forest has continued to succour many contemporary artists & art groups. These include the North East London Independent Artists (NELIA) group, based at the Changing Room Gallery in Lloyd Park, the

491 Gallery The 491 Gallery was a squatted self-managed social centre and multi-disciplinary gallery in Leytonstone, London, England, that operated from 2001 to 2013. Taking its name from its street number, 491 Grove Green Road, the former factory was home ...

in Leytonstone, and a number of independent artists, also mainly in the Leytonstone area. The annual E17 Art Trail, which includes open studios, exhibitions and events, is the biggest art event in the borough, and there is now a similar event in Leytonstone. Eamon Everall, founder member of the Stuckism art movement is a long-time resident in the borough where he also maintains a studio. Waltham Forest is home to a number of musicians that have found success in the UK, including

East 17 East 17 are an English pop boy band started by Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell in 1991. As of 2020, the group consists of Coldwell, Robbie Craig, and Joe Livermore. East 17 have undergone multiple lineup changes, wi ...

Blazin' Squad Blazin' Squad were an English hip hop group. The group had seven top ten hits, including "Crossroads", a cover version of the Bone Thugs-n-Harmony original. Jon O'Brien of AllMusic called them the "self-proclaimed pioneers of 'chav' culture ...

, and Indie band Hefner, who formed in Walthamstow. The borough is also a centre of the grime musical genre; grime acts hailing from the borough include

More Fire Crew More Fire Crew is an East London-based English grime crew from Waltham Forest, whose 2002 single " Oi!" with Platinum 45 was widely recognised as the first grime song to reach the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number eight. Background While enr ...

, Lethal Bizzle, and Jammer amongst others. The borough had a key role in the history of

rave music A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mu ...

culture, whether it be clubs, artists, and DJs. Widely regarded as one of the seminal tracks of

jungle music Jungle is a genre of dance music that developed out of the UK rave scene and sound system culture in the 1990s. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopated percussive loops, samples, and ...

, the creator of "

We Are I.E. "We Are I.E." is a song by British breakbeat hardcore producer Lennie De Ice (real name Lenworth Green). It was first recorded in 1989, but not released until 1991 when it appeared on a four-track EP from Reel 2 Reel Productions, one of a number ...

" Lennie de Ice grew up and lived in Walthamstow.

was also home to

DJ Rap Charissa Saverio (born 7 December 1969), and better known as DJ Rap, is a British drum and bass, house and progressive electronic music producer and DJ. While the majority of her work is in the jungle style, her more successful work is in ...

and MC Navigator. The venue Dungeons was located on the Lea Bridge Road in

, and a number of

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...

stations including Friends FM, Dance FM, and Eruption FM broadcast from tower blocks such as the Cathall Estate in

. The only theatre in the borough, The Waltham Forest Theatre, was situated in Lloyd Park. Though a local campaign was launched to save it in 2008 the theatre was demolished in 2011. Leyton Orient F.C. is the local professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team, based at Brisbane Road, Leyton. In the 1962–63 season the club played in the top tier of English football, the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

, but currently are in League Two, the fourth tier of the

English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...

. Truman's Brewery is moving to Waltham Forest close to Blackhorse Road underground station in 2020, which will be a new entertainment hub in Walthamstow. Waltham Forest is the first ever

London Borough of Culture London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

. The award from the Mayor of London ensures that arts and culture are placed at the heart of our communities. Some of the programmes are: Hennography, Polish Jazz London Series, Human Library, E17: My Home, Waltham Forest Cello Fest - "London Borough of Culture meets Classical Music", We're all bats, E17 Designers Winter Night Market, Red Light Busking, Underground Lunchtime Recitals, Forest Uprising, Welcome to the Forest and Fighter Workshops.

Housing

Waltham Forest was one of six local authorities to set up a

Housing Action Trust Housing action trusts (HAT) were non-departmental public bodies, set up to redevelop some of the poorest council housing estates in England's inner-city suburbs. Six housing action trusts were established under the Housing Act 1988. Each HAT was ...

under the Housing Act 1988. The Waltham Forest HAT covered various estates in need of regeneration:

Cathall Road Cathall is a housing estate in the Cathall ward, Leytonstone, East London. It is currently managed by Community-based Housing Association. History Cathall estate was built in 1972, consisting of two 20-storey tower blocks, Hornbeam Tower and R ...

, Oliver Close in

, Boundary Road in

and Chingford Hall in

. The HAT transferred its redeveloped estates to

Community-based Housing Association The Peabody Trust was founded in 1862 as the Peabody Donation Fund and now brands itself simply as Peabody.

and shut down in April 2002. English Partnerships then demolished four empty tower blocks. The remaining

Council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

in the borough is now managed by an arms-length management organisation, Waltham Forest Housing (formerly Ascham Homes).

Olympics

Waltham Forest was one of four host boroughs in

for the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. The northern part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is located in

Eton Manor Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre is a sports and leisure venue located in Leyton, London Borough of Waltham Forest, to the north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It is regularly used for international field hockey fixtures by both the Great ...

. The borough hosted events in its three Olympic-size swimming pools, one synchronised swimming pool and one water polo pool. These pools were used for athlete training. During the Paralympic Games, Eton Manor hosted the Wheelchair Tennis events, with temporary seating for 10,500 spectators. In April 2012, the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

identified the roof of Fred Wigg Tower as a potential location for

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

defences during the Games.

Education

Waltham Forest has a number of institutes, including 3 colleges of further education. Leyton Sixth Form College was the second

sixth form college A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate ...

Southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes ...

to get a licence, and was awarded the title of best college in London for sport in 2013. Others include Waltham Forest College and

Sir George Monoux College Sir George Monoux College is a sixth form college located in Walthamstow, London. It is a medium-sized college with around 1,620 full-time students as of 2018. Brief history Sir George Monoux, the founder of the Grammar School (later College) ...

. Waltham Forest has a sixth form college reorganised system which it adopted in 1985.

Neighbouring authorities

Neighbouring authorities are

(

) in the north, Redbridge in the east, with

and Hackney to the south. Haringey and Enfield lie to the west.

Constituent districts and wards

Waltham Forest_London_UK_labelled_ward_map_2002

Districts

* Bakers Arms * Cann Hall *

Chingford Hatch Chingford Hatch was one of the three hamlets comprising the old parish of Chingford, before the area was developed in the nineteenth century. The name is still widely used for the area immediately around Hatch Lane (A1009) at the foot of Friday H ...

Friday Hill Friday Hill is a housing estate in Chingford (in the London Borough of Waltham Forest; OS Grid Reference ), named after the hill of the same name, lying north of Chingford Hatch. It takes its name from a John Friday who held land there in the ...

Hale End Hale End is a locality in East London in the borough of Waltham Forest, very near Woodford Green, two miles from Tottenham and one mile from Walthamstow. It adjoins Highams Park in the E4 postal district. Much of Highams Park until the late 19t ...

Highams Park Highams Park is a suburban district in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, England, near Epping Forest and 8.1 miles (13 km) north-east of Charing Cross. Traditionally a part of Walthamstow parish and municipal borough, it is primarily a ...

* Upper Walthamstow *

* Whipps Cross

Wards

* Cann Hall *

Cathall Cathall is a housing estate in the Cathall ward, Leytonstone, East London. It is currently managed by Community-based Housing Association. History Cathall estate was built in 1972, consisting of two 20-storey tower blocks, Hornbeam Tower and R ...

* Chapel End *

Chingford Green Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow to t ...

* Endlebury *

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

* Grove Green * Hale End and Highams Park * Hatch Lane *

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

* Higham Hill * Hoe Street * Larkswood *

Lea Bridge Lea Bridge is a district in the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Waltham Forest in London, England. It lies 7 miles (11.3 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The area it takes its name from a bridge built over the River L ...

* Markhouse *

* Wood Street *

Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

Transport

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 ...

serves the south of the borough, running alongside the A12 road with stations at

and

. The Victoria line runs roughly through the middle of the borough with stations at Walthamstow Central and Blackhorse Road. The Gospel Oak to Barking line of

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

has stations at Walthamstow Queen's Road, Blackhorse Road,

Leyton Midland Road Leyton Midland Road is a London Overground station in Leyton of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is on the Gospel Oak to Barking line, down the line from and situated between and stations in Travelcard Zone 3. It is the closest ra ...

and Leytonstone High Road.

also runs services on the

Lea Valley lines The Lea Valley lines are two commuter lines and two branches in north-east London, so named because they run along the Lower Lea Valley of the River Lea. They were part of the Great Eastern Railway, now part of the ''Anglia Route'' of Network ...

from

Liverpool Street station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

and serves stations at St James Street, Walthamstow Central, Wood Street,

and

. Greater Anglia serves the south-west of the borough with a station at

. A number of

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus s ...

routes serve the borough, as well as six night bus routes. The Central line and the Victoria line are both part of the

Night Tube The Night Tube and London Overground Night Service, often referred to simply as Night Tube, is a service pattern on the London Underground ("Tube") and London Overground systems which provides through-the-night services on Friday and Saturday ...

, which provides overnight tube services on Friday and Saturday nights. The pioneering Mini Holland program has begun to provide protected cycle lanes across the southern half of the borough, increasing the ability to use bicycles as a transport option. In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: underground, metro, light rail, tram, 21.0% of all residents aged 16–74; driving a car or van, 7.0%; bus, minibus or coach, 7.0%; train, 6.5%; on foot, 4.3%; work mainly at or from home, 2.1%; bicycle, 1.8%.

Law enforcement

There is one police station which is based in Chingford and a number of additional patrol centres throughout the borough. Policing is now provided by the North-East Basic Command Unit (BCU) following a merger of Waltham Forest's and Newham's policing in 2018

Notable residents

Waltham Forest is the birthplace of

, best known as one of the principal founders of the British Arts and Crafts Movement. Morris was a designer of wallpaper and patterned fabrics, a writer of poetry and fiction, and a pioneer of the socialist movement in Britain. Other notable people, such as footballer and former England Captain

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending ...

, rapper, songwriter and actor Redzz, ''

I, Claudius ''I, Claudius'' is a historical novel by English writer Robert Graves, published in 1934. Written in the form of an autobiography of the Roman Emperor Claudius, it tells the history of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the early years of the Ro ...

'' star

Derek Jacobi Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as '' Hamlet'', '' Much Ado About Nothing'', '' Macbeth'', '' Twelfth Night'', '' The Tempest'', ' ...

, former Essex and England cricket Captain

Graham Gooch Graham Alan Gooch, (born 23 July 1953) is a former English first-class cricketer who captained Essex and England. He was one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation, and through a career spanning from 1973 until 2000, ...

, and the film director and producer

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

, were also born in the borough. The heavy metal band

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harr ...

was formed in Leyton, and Eastenders actress Rita Simons was born in Leytonstone. Notable Eastenders Actor Adam Woodyatt is from Walthamstow. The poet Pascale Petit, shortlisted three times for the TS Eliot poetry prize, lives in Walthamstow. Notable rap/grime artist Lethal Bizzle is from Walthamstow, and

Grayson Perry Grayson Perry (born 1960) is an English contemporary artist, writer and broadcaster. He is known for his ceramic vases, tapestries, and cross-dressing, as well as his observations of the contemporary arts scene, and for dissecting British "pre ...

, the 2003

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

-winning artist, has his studio in Walthamstow. X Factor finalist Fleur East is also from Walthamstow as well as British Taekwondo Athlete

Lutalo Muhammad Lutalo Muhammad (born 3 June 1991) is a British taekwondo athlete who represented Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal, and the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal. He won the gold medal in the −87 k ...

Sports teams

Leyton Orient Football Club Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profe ...

* West Essex F.C. * Leyton Football Club *

Lee Valley Lions The Lee Valley Lions are an ice hockey team based in Leyton, East London where they play at the Lee Valley Ice Centre. They are the senior Ice Hockey team at the rink, with other users including the affiliated Lee Valley Lions Junior Ice Hock ...

Twinned cities

The London Borough of Waltham Forest is twinned with *

Saint-Mandé Saint-Mandé () is a high-end commune of the Val-de-Marne department in Île-de-France in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. It is one of the smallest communes of the Île-de-France by land area, but ...

, France, *

Wandsbek Wandsbek () is the second-largest of seven boroughs that make up the city and state of Hamburg, Germany. The name of the district is derived from the river Wandse which passes through here. Wandsbek, which was formerly an independent city, is ur ...

, Germany, *

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two majo ...

, and *

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographical ...

. Friendship links have also been established with * Mirpur,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Gallery

File:Walthamstow Town Hall 20 Apr 2006.jpg, Waltham Forest Town Hall File:Hunting Lodge Chingford.JPG, Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge File:Walthamstow Stadium 1.JPG,

Walthamstow Stadium Walthamstow Stadium was a greyhound racing track in the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London.BBC News - Walthamstow race track to close' It was regarded as the leading greyhound racing stadium in Britain following the closure of Whit ...

File:Leytontownhall.jpg, Leyton Town Hall File:Walthamstow Marshes.JPG,

File:LU Leytonstone sign.jpg, Leytonstone Station File:Beaumont.jpg, All Saints and St Paul's Tower File:Walthamstow, The Ancient House.jpg, The 'Ancient House' in Walthamstow Village File:Former Chingford Town Hall (geograph 4814495).jpg, Chingford Town Hall (No longer in use) File:Walthamstow Bus Station - geograph.org.uk - 1768510.jpg, Walthamstow Bus Station just off Selborne Walk

References

External links

Waltham Forest Council

Local newspaper

Waltham Forest Police
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Borough Of Waltham Forest

1965 establishments in the United Kingdom Pakistani-British culture in London