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North Chingford
North Chingford photos
Displaying the first of 4 old photos of North Chingford. View all North Chingford photos
North Chingford maps
Historic maps of North Chingford and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all North Chingford maps
North Chingford area books
Displaying 1 of 13 books about North Chingford and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of North Chingford
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of North Chingford.
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Where I Was Originally Born
My mother was born at 8 Queens Grove Road in 1921 and lived there for a further 58 years before she moved to Highams Park. I was born in Chingford in 1947 and lived at that address until I got married at 20.
One of my grandfathers was a saddler, his surname was Leech and he had a business at the top of that road, and the other grandfather, his surname was Bowen, and he worked for Hurry's as an undertaker/coffin maker at Leyton.
I went to school at Kings Road School, where my mother and her father before her went. I joined the school at Heathcote which was very modern and had been built for the children on the new estate, living in Chingford I was a bit of an outsider.
My mother was married at St Peter's and St. Paul's Church, as I was years later.
My grandmother and I would tend a relative's grave and I remember 'alms houses' where at Harvest... Read more
Greater London memories
Chingford
As I attended school at St. Egberts College on Ridgeway in North Chingford, we did on occasion get to go swimming at Larkswood Pool. Swimming in any pool was a treat for most of us as the only 'swimming' we usually did was at the sea-side on summer holidays. It wasn't till later in 1947 after we moved to Elm Park Essex, that I had the opportunity to go to Kennylands School, a summer school at Sonning Common near Reading. Here I met and fell for a young lady named Thelma. When I got a free pass home every eight weeks, I took the train from Ibnvreness to London then the Underground and a bus to Chingford. Thelms's parent made me very welcome and I stayed there most pass weekends. They wewre fine people/ Mr's. Loader worked on the sweet counter in Woolworths and we often went to see her on Saturdays.
We dated and finally got engaged. However after promising she would follow me to Canada, she changed her... Read more
Blue Lamp, Buses And A Broken Arm
Used to wait for a trolley bus here which took the family to see Granny and Grandpa at Winchmore Hill. Always great excitement. Remember waiting here for my father to return from a builders' trip to Rotterdam - wonderful to see his face
in the bus window - probably from Liverpool Street station on the 38 bus.
Remember standing in the queue at the cinema. It was my treat for having taken the scholarship. I so wanted to see the Blue Lamp, but the queue was too long and we couldn't get in. And, in case you're interested (not a lot, I hear you say!) I fell down outside the Albert pub and broke my arm. This caused great merriment among the family because I was only 10 years old at a time and couldn't have
been "boozing"!
The photo looking down Old Church Road shows the fence of the cemetery on the left where the Kray brothers and... Read more
War Days in Chingford 1939-46
up to the age of seven from 1939- 46 i lived in middleton close i to remeber the war years , walking across sopers farm to feed the pigs on acorns , catching newts in the little pond , which is now unfortunatly rugby field and golf range, one of my aunts use to be a conductress on the trolly buses during the war, we use to have some wonderful christmas's when all the uncles came home from there different services train sets would come out and sing songs on the piano, do you remeber the three penny rush on a saturday morning rush to see hoppalong cassidy at the odeon, i think it was the A.B.C.minors club. all gone now but memories will always stay.trips on the rowing boats at connaught waters , maynards sweet shop next to the odeon 2 ounces of sweets a week with the ration book.moved away for a few years then married... Read more
Life as A Child And Teenager in S. Chingford (1939-1960)
I lived in Chingford from 1939, when I was born, to 1960 when I left to get married, and moved to Rayleigh, Essex. I remember the war years, and going down the shelter at Chingford Mt. when the siren went off. I used to go to Normanhurst School in N. Chingford, and we had to get under the desks when the siren went. I loved Saturday morning pictures at the Odeon, and going to Woolworths with my mother. She is buried in Chingford Cemetary and also my father. Later I went to Walthamstow High School for Girls, and used to go on the trolley buses. I have lived in Canada since 1967, and miss the old days, and hope to get back one of these days in the future.
Forest Walks
As from Easter 1956 my family and lived in Loughton, Essex, having moved there from Preston, Lancashire. One of our favourite walks was through Epping Forest which lies between Loughton and Chingford to this old picturesque church buried in the middle of the woods. In 1964 I attended a wedding there, but my own wedding, held later that year, was held in Loughton.
Stay in This Hotel
When we moved to Loughton at Easter 1956 the alterations to our new house which my father had ordered were not ready, so we had to stay in this hotel, because I think there wasn't a suitable hotel in Loughton. My room was right at the top of the building, looking towards the road, and in those days there was a bus terminus there; several buses started from the hotel to different destinations in and around London. Very near the hotel stands Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge.
