Sewardstone is a hamlet in the parish of Waltham Abbey, in the Epping Forest District of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England. It is located south of the main built-up area of Waltham Abbey, lying between

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 Lond ...

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

and Enfield. It is 11.6 miles north-northeast of

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

and is in the London commuter belt.

History

The name of the hamlet is derived from "Seward’s ton", with 'ton' meaning a farmstead. Settlement at Sewardstone could date back to the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, indicated by the discovery of a

dugout canoe A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed-out tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (tr ...

. Sewardstone formed part of the ancient parish of Waltham Holy Cross.'Waltham Holy Cross: Introduction and manors', in A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5, ed. W R Powell (London, 1966), pp. 151-162. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol5/pp151-162 ccessed 1 June 2023 It was one of the four ancient subdivisions of the parish.'Waltham Holy Cross: Economic history and local government', in A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5, ed. W R Powell (London, 1966), pp. 162-170. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol5/pp162-170 ccessed 1 July 2023 Sewardstone was the only part of the parish of Waltham Holy Cross that had not formed part of the manor of Waltham and instead formed the Sewardstone manor. Waltham Abbey owned most of the land in the parish from the 12th century. The whole parish adopted the Public Health Act 1848 ( 11 & 12 Vict. c. 63) in 1850 which created the Waltham Holy Cross Local Board of Health. The hamlet was recorded as being in 1888. In 1874 the Waltham

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

built a school at Sewardstone with about 100 places. Attendance declined after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and it closed in 1939. In 1934, an area near Yardley House of 58 acres with a population of 23 (in 1931) was transferred from Sewardstone to Chingford. In 2013 a new community of 119 homes was built at Gillwell Hill on the boundary with Chingford. The land was formerly used as kennels for the greyhound racing at Walthamstow Stadium.

Governance

There are three tiers of local government for Sewardstone. The parish council is Waltham Abbey Town Council, the district council is Epping Forest District Council and the county council is

Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock which ...

Geography

The area has scattered development, with large sections of open land. It is more or less linear, being centred on the A112 road (Sewardstone Road), which connects Waltham Abbey and

. The King George V Reservoir and Sewardstone Marsh form the boundary with the

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London boroughs, London borough in Greater London, England. The main communities in the borough are Edmonton, London, Edmonton, Enfield, London, Enfield, Southgate, London, Southgate and Palmers Green. Enfi ...

, to the west. There is a connection to Enfield Island Village by a footpath but not by road. A section of

forms the boundary with the

London Borough of Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is an Outer London, outer London boroughs, London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of the municipal boroughs of Municipal Borough of Leyton, Leyton, Municipal Borough of Walthamstow, Walthamstow an ...

to the south, aside from in the southwest where the built-up area of Chingford extends into Sewardstone at Gilwell Hill. To the east is High Beach. The headquarters of the world

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

movement, Gilwell Park, is in Sewardstone.

Nearest places

* Sewardstonebury * High Beach *

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

* Waltham Abbey

Transport

To the south of the hamlet,

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 ...

Route 215 offers a frequent service from Lee Valley Camp Site to Walthamstow Central. The nearest railway station is Chingford Station, which is on the

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greate ...

network and has frequent trains to London Liverpool Street Station. The nearest

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

station is at

on the

Central Line (London Underground) The Central line is a London Underground line that runs between or in the west, and or Hainault Loop, Woodford via Hainault in the north-east, via the West End of London, West End, City of London, the City, and the East End of London, East En ...

and has frequent trains to both

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and Epping.

Notes

References

{{Epping Forest Hamlets in Essex Waltham Abbey