London Borough of Havering
The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. Th ...
, in 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 ...
. It is situated 14.8 miles (23.8 km) east of Charing Cross. Wennington was an ancient parish in the county of Essex that was abolished for civil purposes in 1934. It is peripheral to London, forming a ribbon development extending from the eastern edge of the urban sprawl and surrounded by the
Metropolitan Green Belt
The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...
. Wennington was added to Hornchurch Urban District in 1934 and has formed part of Greater London since 1965.
History
Wennington is recorded in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
of 1086 as ''Wemtuna''. The manor had only three households and was in the possession of
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
. The Church of England parish church, St Mary and St Peter's, dates from the 12th century.
The parish included the Thameside area of Coldharbour, the Wennington Marshes and the village of Wennington. The Wennington parish became part of the Romford Poor Law Union in 1836. It was the smallest parish in the union with a population of 127. In 1875 the parish became part of the Romford
rural sanitary district
Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures:
*Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies
*Rural sanitary dis ...
. In 1894 the
Romford Rural District
Romford Rural District was a local government district in southwest Essex, England from 1894 to 1934. It surrounded, but did not include, Romford which formed a separate urban district.Vision of Britain â€Romford RDparish council.
Following a county review order in 1934, and in anticipation of suburban house building, Wennington became part of an expanded
Hornchurch Urban District
Hornchurch was a local government district in southwest Essex from 1926 to 1965, formed as an urban district for the civil parish of Hornchurch. It was greatly expanded in 1934 with the addition of Cranham, Great Warley, Rainham, Upminster and W ...
and the parish council was abolished. In 1965, Hornchurch Urban District was abolished, and Wennington became part of the
London Borough of Havering
The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. Th ...
in Greater London.
On 19 July 2022, Wennington was hit by a wildfire during the
2022 United Kingdom heat wave
The 2022 United Kingdom heatwaves were part of several heatwaves across Europe and North Africa. The United Kingdom experienced three heatwaves; the first was for three days in June, the second for three days in July, and the third for six days ...
. At least 18 houses were burnt down and many others damaged, while around 90 families were evacuated from the village with a rescue centre set up in a nearby hotel. Around 15 fire engines and 100 firefighters were sent to the scene by London Fire Brigade. The fire reportedly started from a
compost heap
Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...
Havering London Borough Council
Havering London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Havering in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Havering is divided into 18 wards, each elec ...
. All three of the councillors elected in the
2022 London local elections
The 2022 London local elections took place on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 United Kingdom local elections. All London borough councillor seats were up for election. Mayoral elections took place in Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamle ...
were the Conservative Party candidates.
Geography
The village of Wennington is a ribbon development extending southeast of Rainham, along Wennington Road (B1335) near the junction of the A13 road and New Road (A1306). It is about 2 km (over 1 mile) north of the River Thames. It consists of mostly scattered houses and the Wennington Hall farmhouse. The village population is around 300. In the south lie the barren Wennington Marshes, which now form part of the RSPB’s
Rainham Marshes nature reserve
Rainham Marshes is an RSPB nature reserve in the east of London, adjacent to the Thames Estuary in Purfleet, Thurrock and the London Borough of Havering. In 2000, the area of land was bought from the Ministry of Defence, who used it as a test fir ...
.https://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/wennington/ Hidden London: Wennington
To the west and north Wennington has a boundary with Rainham, also in Havering, formed by the Common Watercourse. To the south there is a boundary in the middle of the
River 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 ...
with Erith in the borough of Bexley. To the east are
Aveley
Aveley is a town and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, and forms one of the traditional Church of England parishes. Aveley is 16 miles (26.2 km) east of Charing Cross. In the 2021 United Kingdom c ...
and
Purfleet
Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England. It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater Lon ...