Harold Wood is a suburban neighbourhood of

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romfo ...

in 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. ...

. It is situated east-northeast of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City ...

and near to the

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

boundary with Essex.

History

Toponymy

The name Harold Wood was recorded in about 1237, when it was shown as ''Horalds Wood''. It was named after King

Harold Godwinson Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the ...

, who was defeated by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

in 1066. He held the surrounding

manor of Havering-atte-Bower Havering, also known as Havering-atte-Bower, was a royal manor and ancient liberty whose area now forms part of, and gives its name to, the London Borough of Havering in Greater London. The manor was in the possession of the Crown from the 11th ...

. Some of the original roads are named after Anglo-Saxon kings such as

Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his fir ...

and

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bo ...

Local government

Harold Wood formed a ward in the ancient parish of Hornchurch, although the area now around the station was in the North End ward. The eastern and southern boundary of the parish was the

River Ingrebourne The River Ingrebourne is a tributary of the River Thames 27 miles (43.3 km) in length. It is considered a strategic waterway in London, forming part of the Blue Ribbon Network. It flows through the London Borough of Havering roughly from ...

such that the area around Harold Court was in the parish of

Upminster Upminster is a suburban town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is one of the district centres identified for development in the London Plan. Historically a rural vill ...

. Although locally situated within

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 ...

the ancient Hornchurch parish formed the independent

Liberty of Havering Havering, also known as Havering-atte-Bower, was a royal manor and ancient liberty whose area now forms part of, and gives its name to, the London Borough of Havering in Greater London. The manor was in the possession of the Crown from the 11th ...

and was outside county administration. Harold Wood ward came under the control of the vestry of

chapelry, which also included Collier Row and

Noak Hill Noak Hill is a village in outer East London, in the London Borough of Havering. It is located 17.1 miles northeast of Charing Cross. History Noak Hill was a ward in the ancient parish of Hornchurch. By the 16th century, it had come under the con ...

, however most of the current area of Harold Wood was in the North End ward which remained under Hornchurch parish vestry. In 1836 Romford and Hornchurch became separate

civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. ...

and were grouped into the Romford Poor Law Union. The area of the union, excluding the town of Romford, became a

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 1875. The special status of the Liberty of Havering was abolished in 1892 and the area was reincorporated into Essex. Following the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

, the Romford parish was split with the northern part of the Harold Wood ward becoming a new parish of

and the southern part forming part of the Romford Rural parish, both within 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 �Romford RD Romford Urban District Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

. With suburban house building, the population in the area started to rise soon after which prompted changes to the local government system. Hornchurch parish became the

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 ...

in 1926 and Upminster was added to it in 1934. The area formed part of the

London Traffic Area The London Traffic Area was established by the London Traffic Act 1924 to regulate the increasing amount of motor traffic in the London area. The LTA was abolished in 1965 on the establishment of the Greater London Council. The traffic area ex ...

from 1924 and the

London Passenger Transport Area The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...

from 1933. The whole area was included in the

in 1965 when it was transferred from Essex to Greater London.

Urban development

Harold Wood Hospital Harold Wood Hospital was a hospital in east London, United Kingdom. It was located in Gubbins Lane, Harold Wood in Romford, in the London Borough of Havering. It was managed by Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust. The Havering C ...

, on Gubbins Lane, closed on 13 December 2006 with all patients moved to

Queen's Hospital Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (Saara Aalto song), 2018 * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", a song by ...

in nearby

. The site vacated by the hospital was earmarked for a 470-home housing development which faced fierce opposition from the local population. Developers have now built over 800 properties on the site.

Education

There are three schools in Harold Wood: * Secondary -

Redden Court School Redden Court School is a secondary school with academy status located in Harold Wood, Romford, Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the ...

* Primary
Harold Wood Primary School
and Harold Court School

Geography

Harold Wood borders with the following places: *

Ardleigh Green Ardleigh Green is an area in east London, England, within the London Borough of Havering. It is east-northeast of Charing Cross. This part of London is predominantly residential. Amenities and natural geography Ardleigh Green has a small s ...

Gidea Park Gidea Park () is a neighbourhood in the east of Romford in the London Borough of Havering, south-east England. Predominantly affluent and residential, it was historically within the county of Essex and saw significant expansion in the early 20t ...

* Harold Park *

Harold Hill Harold Hill is a suburban area in the London Borough of Havering, East London. northeast of Charing Cross. It is a district centre in the London Plan. The name refers to King Harold II, who held the manor of Havering-atte-Bower, and who was k ...

* Hornchurch * Brentwood

Demography

86% of the population is White British, as of the 2011 census.

Transport

Buses

Harold Wood is served by several

London Bus Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London ...

routes: * Daily routes include 256, 294, 496,

497 __NOTOC__ Year 497 ( CDXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Anastasius without colleague (or, less frequently, y ...

and 498 * Mon–Sat 347 * School routes 646 and 656

Railway

Harold Wood railway station is situated on the

Great Eastern Main Line The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and the ...

and the

Elizabeth line The Elizabeth line is a high-frequency hybrid urban–suburban rail service in London and its suburbs. It runs services on dedicated infrastructure in central London from the Great Western Main Line west of Paddington to and via Whitechapel ...

. It is served generally by six trains an hour each way between

London Liverpool Street 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 t ...

and

Shenfield Shenfield is a commuter suburb of Brentwood, in the borough of Brentwood, Essex, England. In 2020, the suburb was estimated to have a population of 5,396. History The old village (now town), by the church and Green Dragon pub, lies along the ...

on the Elizabeth line; services are operated by TfL. When the line is fully operational, trains will continue westbound to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

and

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

, via

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road t ...

. The nearest tube stations to Harold Wood are

Upminster Bridge Upminster Bridge is a crossing of the River Ingrebourne carrying the A124 road between the suburbs of Hornchurch and Upminster in northeast London, England. The bridge is known to have existed since at least 1375 and the current brick bridge was ...

and Hornchurch, both on the

District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited serv ...

Roads

The

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...

runs along the easterly boundary and the A12 and A127 roads form the north-west and south-west borders respectively.

References

{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Havering