Romford
Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox UK place Romford is a large town in east London, England.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major metropolitan centres of Greater London identified in the London Plan.<ref name=london_plan_amended>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Romford post town covers all of the former municipal borough and extends over a much wider area, including parts of Barking and Dagenham, Thurrock, and Epping Forest.<ref name=rm_guide>Template:Cite book</ref>
Historically part of the ancient parish of Hornchurch in the Becontree hundred of Essex, Romford has been a market town since 1247. It formed the administrative centre of the liberty of Havering until that liberty was dissolved in 1892, and became a civil parish of its own in 1849.<ref name="bho_economic">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="bho_liberty">Template:Cite book</ref> Good road links to London and the opening of the railway station in 1839 were key to the development of the town.<ref name="bho_economic" /> The economic history of Romford is characterised by a shift from agriculture to light industry and then to retail and commerce.<ref name="bho_economic" />
As part of the suburban growth of London throughout the 20th century, Romford significantly expanded and increased in population, becoming a municipal borough in 1937. In 1965, following reform of local government in London, it merged with the Hornchurch Urban District to form the London Borough of Havering, and was incorporated into Greater London.<ref name="population_new" /><ref name="vob_romford_mb" /><ref name="metro">Template:Cite book</ref> Today, it is one of the largest commercial, retail, entertainment and leisure districts in London and has a well-developed night-time economy.<ref name="urban_strategy" /><ref name="london_night">Template:Cite web</ref> The population of Romford, as of the 2011 census, was 122,854.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
[edit]| 1881 | 9,050 |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 10,722 |
| 1901 | 13,656 |
| 1911 | 16,970 |
| 1921 | 19,442 |
| 1931 | 35,918 |
| 1941 | war<ref group=N>No census was held due to World War II</ref> |
| 1951 | 76,580 |
| 1961 | 114,584 |
| Template:Reflist | |
| source: UK census<ref name=population_new>Template:Cite vob</ref><ref name=population_old>Template:Cite vob</ref> | |
Toponymy
[edit]Romford is first recorded in 1177 as Romfort, which is formed from Old English 'rūm' and 'ford' and means "the wide or spacious ford".<ref name=mills_london>Template:Cite book</ref> The naming of the River Rom is a local 'back-formation' from the name of the town; and the river is elsewhere known as the Beam. The ford most likely existed on the main London to Colchester road where it crossed that river.<ref name=mills_london/>
Economic development
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The town developed in the Middle Ages on the main road to London and the regionally significant Romford Market was established in 1247.<ref name=bho_economic/> The original site of the town was to the south, in an area still known as Oldchurch. It was moved northwards to the present site in the later medieval period to avoid the frequent flooding of the River Rom. The first building on the new site was the 1410 Chapel of St Edward<ref name="london encyclopaedia">Template:Cite book</ref> (since replaced by the 1850 Parish Church of St Edward the Confessor. The early history of Romford and the immediate area is agricultural and it is recorded as being the location of a number of mills used to grind corn.<ref name=bho_economic/> The area was a focus of the leather industry from the 15th to the early 19th centuries and there is record of a wide range of industries such as cloth making, weaving, charcoal burning, metal working and brewing.<ref name=bho_economic/> Communications played an important part in its development; the main road to London was maintained by the Middlesex and Essex Turnpike Trust from 1721 and Romford became a coaching town in the 18th century.<ref name=bho_introduction>Template:Cite book</ref>
Template:Anchor Several failed attempts were made in the early 19th century to connect the town to the Thames via a Romford Canal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was initially intended to terminate at a basin near to the Star Brewery, to transport agricultural products to London and, eventually, to serve growing industrial sites in Romford. A later proposal included an extension to Collier Row, whereby timber from Hainault Forest could be transported to the Thames for use in the Royal Dockyards. Only two miles of canal were constructed and the canal company were unable to reach the town.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The development of the town was accelerated by the opening of the railway station in 1839 which stimulated the local economy and was key to the development of the Star Brewery. Initially Eastern Counties Railway services operated between Mile End and Romford, with extensions to Brentwood and to Shoreditch in 1840. A second station was opened on South Street in 1892 by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway on the line to Upminster and Grays, giving Romford a rail connection to Tilbury Docks. The two stations were combined into one in 1934.<ref name=bho_introduction/> Light industry slowly developed, reaching a peak in the 1970s with a number of factories on the edge of town, such as the Roneo Vickers office machinery company, Colvern manufacturers of wireless components, May's Sheet Metal Works and brush manufacturers Betterware.<ref name=bho_economic/> Suburban expansion increased the population and reinforced Romford's position as a significant regional town centre. The Liberty Shopping Centre was constructed in the 1960s, and has been modernised and supplemented with further shopping centres throughout the town, including The Mall, opened in 1990 (as 'Liberty 2'); and The Brewery, opened in 2000 on the site of the old Star Brewery.<ref name=havering_romford>Template:Cite web</ref>
Local government
[edit]Romford formed a chapelry in the large ancient parish of Hornchurch in the Becontree hundred of Essex; as well as the town it included the wards of Collier Row, Harold Wood, and Noak Hill.<ref name=bho_local_gov>Template:Cite book</ref> Through ancient custom the area enjoyed special status and a charter in 1465 removed the parish from the Becontree hundred and the county of Essex and it instead formed the independent liberty of Havering governed from a court house in the market place.<ref name=bho_liberty/> Over time the vestry of Romford chapelry absorbed the local powers that would usually be held by the parish authorities in Hornchurch<ref name=bho_local_gov/> and in 1849 Romford became a separate parish within the liberty.<ref name=vision_lib>Template:Cite vob</ref> Improvement commissioners were set up in 1819 for paving, lighting, watching, and cleansing of the marketplace and main streets.<ref name=bho_local_gov/> As the town grew this arrangement became ineffective at controlling sanitation and in 1851 a local board of health was set up for the parish; although its area was reduced in 1855 to cover only the town ward.<ref name=bho_local_gov/> The remainder of the parish became part of the Romford rural sanitary district in 1875. These changes and the introduction of the Romford Poor Law Union in 1836<ref name=bho_local_gov/> eroded the powers of the liberty and it was finally abolished in 1892 and reincorporated into Essex.<ref name=bho_liberty/>
The Local Government Act 1894 reformed local government and created the Romford Urban District and Romford Rural District to replace the local board and sanitary district; following which the Romford parish was split into Romford Urban and Romford Rural along the lines of the urban district.<ref name=bho_local_gov/> In 1900 the parish was recombined and the urban district expanded to cover all of the former area of the historic chapelry, except for Noak Hill which remained in the rural district and had become a parish in its own right in 1895.<ref name=bho_local_gov/> The enlarged urban district formed part of the London Traffic Area from 1924 and the London Passenger Transport Area from 1933.<ref name=robson_london>Template:Cite book</ref> The suburban expansion of London caused an increase in population during the 1930s<ref name=population_new/> and the urban district was expanded further in 1934, taking in the parishes of Havering-atte-Bower and Noak Hill.<ref name=vob_romford_mb/> It was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Romford in 1937.<ref name=vob_romford_mb/> In 1965 the municipal borough was abolished and its former area was combined with that of Hornchurch Urban District; it was again removed from Essex and since then has formed the northern part of the London Borough of Havering in Greater London.<ref name=vob_havering_lb>Template:Cite vob</ref> For elections to the Greater London Council, Romford was part of the Havering electoral division until 1973 and then the Romford electoral division until 1986.
Suburban expansion
[edit]
There was early expansion in the 1840s when 200 cottages were built in the area formerly occupied by an army barracks; it was known as New Romford.<ref name=bho_introduction/> To acknowledge the military connection, when in 1961 these were in turn replaced with new housing the name Waterloo Road Estate was applied.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> To the east of the market place from 1850 middle class suburban housing was constructed with a much larger area of Template:Convert built-over to the south of the railway from 1851 and by 1861 the population had grown to 3790.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Through a gradual process of selling off former manors, houses were built radiating from the town in all directions for about a mile, and further significant growth occurred between 1910 and 1911 with the construction of Romford Garden Suburb, which included Raphael Park and Gidea Park railway station.<ref name=bho_introduction/> Large sections of land to the north of the town at Collier Row were developed in the interwar period and after World War II, the London County Council built the Harold Hill estate to the north east from 1948 to 1958.<ref name=bho_introduction/>
The right to supply electricity to the town was secured by the County of London Electricity Supply Company in 1913. Initially power was generated within the Star Brewery site, with the supply switching to Barking Power Station in 1925.<ref name=bho_local_gov/> Gas supply began in 1825 with gas works of Template:Convert constructed by 1938.<ref name=bho_local_gov/> Following the Telegraph Act 1899 Romford became part of the Post Office London telephone area<ref name=virtual_geographies>Template:Cite book</ref> and the Romford exchange was recorded as having 240 subscribers in 1916.<ref name=tel_1916>Template:Cite web</ref> The town water supply initially came from the Havering Well, and 1859 a new public well and pump was built at the east end of the market.<ref name=bho_local_gov/> The South Essex Waterworks Company started installing mains water supply in 1863 and had offices in South Street. By 1905 its supply was serving Ilford, Collier Row, Ardleigh Green, Brentwood, and Hornchurch. Sewage works were installed by the local board at Oldchurch in 1862, with further works built in Hornchurch in 1869.<ref name=bho_local_gov/>
Romford Cemetery
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Crow Lane or Romford Cemetery was established by the Romford Burial Board in 1871 when space ran out in the parochial cemetery. It was taken over by Romford Urban District Council in 1900 and is now run by the South Essex Crematorium. It is partially enclosed by 19th-century railings, with ragstone gate-piers and two ragstone chapels joined by a gothic porte-cochère. It contains utilitarian monuments, with older graves near the chapels. The trees in the cemetery include holly, cedar and flowering cherry, and rows of common lime and horse chestnut.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The cemetery contains the war graves of 118 identified Commonwealth service personnel of the First and Second World Wars.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Governance
[edit]
The Romford UK Parliament constituency consists of the Havering wards of Brooklands, Havering Park, Hylands, Mawneys, Pettits, Romford Town, and Squirrel's Heath.
The MP since 2001 is Andrew Rosindell of the Conservative Party, a native of the town. Romford forms part of the Havering and Redbridge London Assembly constituency.
Each ward elects three councillors to Havering London Borough Council. As of the 2018 council elections, all the elected councillors for the wards in Romford constituency were Conservative.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sport
[edit]Romford F.C., who currently play in the Essex Senior League, is the local football team. The London Raiders ice hockey team are based in Romford. Romford is home to the Romford and Gidea Park Rugby Football Club, which was established in 1927. In 2003, the club became one of the first in the country to have a ladies Rugby team.
Geography
[edit]
The town centre is about Template:Convert above sea level on a gravel terrace rising from the River Thames.<ref name=bho_introduction/> The north of the town has developed on London Clay and is situated as much as Template:Cvt above sea level. A continuous gentle rise in the eastern suburbs towards Gidea Park and Harold Wood peaks around Template:Convert around the Harold Court. On the northern side, Harold Hill peaks at Template:Cvt. The semi-rural area north of Collier Row and Harold Hill consists of many rolls of hills, with elevation peaking at the village of Havering-atte-Bower, Template:Convert. The town centre is for the most part contained within a ring road formed of St Edwards Way, Mercury Gardens, Thurloe Gardens, Oldchurch Road and Waterloo Road. The market place and much of South Street and the High Street are pedestrianised.<ref name=urban_strategy/> The railway cuts through the town from east to west on a viaduct, with the bulk of the central Romford area to its north. The River Rom flows through the town in underground channels and joins the Thames after flowing through Hornchurch;<ref name=bho_introduction/> elsewhere along its course it is known as the River Beam<ref name=mills_london/> and forms part of the strategic waterways Blue Ribbon Network.<ref name=ribbon>Template:Cite web</ref>
Romford has formed part of the continuously built-up area of London since the 1930s<ref name="robson_london_26">Template:Cite book</ref> and is contiguous with Rush Green to the west, Collier Row to the north, Gidea Park to the east and Hornchurch to the south east. Neighbourhoods of Romford include: Collier Row, Gidea Park, Harold Hill, Harold Park, Harold Wood, Havering-atte-Bower, Rise Park and Rush Green.
Romford is located Template:Cvt northeast of Charing Cross in central London; Template:Cvt northeast of Ilford; Template:Cvt north of Dagenham; Template:Cvt northwest of Grays; Template:Cvt south-west of Brentwood; Template:Cvt west of Basildon; and Template:Cvt southeast of Epping.
Climate
[edit]Climate data for Romford is taken from the nearest weather station at Greenwich, around Template:Convert southwest of the marketplace.
Demography
[edit]| Romford compared (2001 Census) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statistic | Romford Town<ref name=stat_town/> |
Brooklands<ref name=stat_brook/> | Havering<ref name=stat_town/> | London<ref name=stat_town/> | England<ref name=stat_town/> |
| Ethnic group | |||||
| White | 12,247 | 11,987 | 213,421 | 5,103,203 | 44,679,361 |
| Asian | 388 | 374 | 4,088 | 866,693 | 2,248,289 |
| Black | 234 | 389 | 3,139 | 782,849 | 1,132,508 |
| Mixed | 200 | 161 | 2,298 | 226,111 | 643,373 |
| Chinese/Other | 131 | 113 | 1,302 | 193,235 | 435,300 |
| Population | |||||
| Total | 13,200 | 13,024 | 224,248 | 7,172,091 | 49,138,831 |
| Density(/hectare) | 46.05 | 31.00 | 19.97 | 45.62 | 3.77 |
| Households | 5,829 | 5,361 | 91,722 | 3,015,997 | 20,451,427 |
The Havering committee area for Romford is defined as the wards of Romford Town and Brooklands.<ref name=area_notes>Template:Cite web</ref> Demographic data is produced by the Office for National Statistics for these wards. In 2001 the population of Romford Town was 13,200<ref name=stat_town>Template:Cite web</ref> and Brooklands was 13,024,<ref name=stat_brook>Template:Cite web</ref> giving a total population of 26,224. In contrast, the approximate population of the area within the 2005 Romford Urban Strategy was estimated to be 36,500.<ref name=urban_strategy/> 71.52% in Romford Town and 70.48% in Brooklands report their religion as Christian, compared to 76.13% for Havering, 58.23% in London and 71.74% in England. 15.71% in Romford Town and 16.62% in Brooklands report having no religion, compared to 13.18% in Havering, 15.76% in London and 14.59% in England.<ref name=stat_town/><ref name=stat_brook/>
In 2011, the Romford Parliament constituency was 82% White British, 5.8% Asian, 5% Other White and 4.7% Black out of a total population of 95,894. The constituency is predominantly Christian with 64% of the residents reporting that religion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Out of the wards that make up Romford overall, the highest male life expectancy was in Squirrel's Heath (80.7 years) while the highest female expectancy was in Romford Town (85.7 years). The lowest were Heaton (76.2 years) and Heaton and Gooshays (both 81.3 years) respectively.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref>
The average house price as of 2014 was £225,000 in Romford Town ward. In the Pettits ward, 87.5% of houses were owned by households; the lowest figure, and the only minority one, was Gooshays ward with 48.6%.<ref name="auto"/>
Economy
[edit]
Romford is recognised in the London Plan as one of 13 regionally significant metropolitan centres in Greater London, with a considerable catchment area.<ref name=urban_strategy>Template:Cite web</ref> The total commercial floorspace in the town was Template:Cvt in 2002, of which Template:Cvt was retail space and Template:Cvt was offices. The retail space is growing and in 2005 consisted of Template:Cvt.<ref name=havering_romford/> The retail economy is complemented by a central business district close to the railway station, where the offices of employers such as Aon are located. Employment in the town centre was categorised in 2002 as approximately 40% commercial office, 40% comparison retail, 10% hospitality, 5% public sector, 2.5% service retail and 2.5% arts and entertainment.<ref name=urban_strategy/> Compared to the similar east London areas of Ilford, Stratford and Barking, there is more comparison retail and commercial office employment in Romford and less public sector work.<ref name=urban_strategy/> The total turnover of £413,395,000 in 2002 for Romford was larger than any other comparable town centre in east London and approximately 70% came from the commercial office businesses.<ref name=urban_strategy/>Template:Needs update
There is a developed night time economy, greater than in any other metropolitan centre in Greater London, with Template:Cvt of cinemas, theatres and concert hall space; Template:Cvt of bars and pubs; Template:Cvt of cafés and restaurants; and Template:Cvt of fast food and take away venues.<ref name=london_night/> The night time economy is almost as significant as the day economy with around 12,000 visits to Romford during the day and 11,000 visits to pubs, clubs and bars at night.<ref name=urban_strategy/>
As of 2012, Romford has Template:Cvt of total town centre floorspace (retail, leisure and vacant), placing it fifth in Greater London only behind the West End, Croydon, Kingston upon Thames and Stratford for "town centre vitality and viability".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Transport
[edit]Railway
[edit]
The town is served by Romford railway station; it is situated on the Great Eastern Main Line in London fare zone 6.<ref name=high_freq>Template:Cite web</ref> Elizabeth line trains on the line's Shenfield branch call at the station.<ref name=timetable_shenfield>Romford Rail Station Transport for London</ref>
Some Greater Anglia services to/from Template:Rws and Template:Rws also call at the station. A branch line shuttle between Romford and Upminster (the Liberty line) is operated by London Overground.<ref name=timetable_shenfield/>
Buses
[edit]Romford is a hub of the London Buses network, with services to Canning Town, Stratford, Leytonstone and Dagenham; there are also feeder services from the large housing developments at Collier Row and Harold Hill.<ref name=tfl_bus>Template:Cite web</ref> There are night bus services to Stratford, Harold Hill and Paddington.<ref name=tfl_night_bus>Template:Cite web</ref> Romford town centre has a very high Public Transport Accessibility Level score of 6.<ref name=urban_strategy/>
As of 2009, there was a proposal that Romford will be served by a future extension of the East London Transit.<ref name=elt>Template:Cite web</ref>
Roads
[edit]The A12 trunk road passes to the north of Romford, while the A118 road from Stratford connects with it at Gallows Corner at the start of the A127 road to Southend.<ref name=havering_map>Template:Cite web</ref>
Culture
[edit]
In 2005, Havering Council's urban strategy had the stated aims of making Romford a cultural destination, whilst recognising that Hornchurch forms the main cultural hub of the borough with a large theatre and arts spaces.<ref name=urban_strategy/> As a former market and coaching town, Romford is well served by public houses and two that are located in the market place are listed buildings.<ref name="romford listing">Template:Cite web</ref> The market and adjacent streets also form a conservation area.<ref name=urban_strategy/><ref name=cons>Template:Cite web</ref>
Mass entertainment facilities in the town include the Brookside Theatre, Romford Greyhound Stadium, one of the few remaining dog racing tracks in London;<ref name=bbc_walthamstow>Template:Cite news</ref> 2 multi-screen cinemas;<ref name=urban_strategy/> and until April 2013 Romford Ice Arena, which was home to the local Romford Raiders ice hockey team.<ref name=hockey>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Ice Rink Closes">Template:Cite web</ref> The Dolphin Centre was a popular swimming and leisure facility located in the town from 1982 to 1995, but the site was redeveloped into the current Axis residential tower block and Asda superstore in the mid-2000s. There is also a Romford F.C. associated with the town.<ref name=rom_fc>Template:Cite web</ref> Romford Bowls Club is based in Lodge Farm Park. 1980s Post Punk bands Department S and Purple Hearts both have origins in Romford. The town is strongly associated with the electronic music group Underworld, who cite Romford in their hit "Born Slippy", affiliated to the movie Trainspotting.<ref name=underworld>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:Cquote Romford's position as a focus for electronic music production was reinforced by the presence of the Strictly Underground and Suburban Base record labels, with Suburban Base developing from the Boogie Times record store.<ref name=shapiro>Template:Cite book</ref> According to a Billboard article in 1992, Romford-produced dance music formed part of a trend favouring suburban and provincial "bedroom" record labels over those in central London.<ref name=billboard>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2013, the film Death Walks was filmed in Romford over a four-month period. The cult TV series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace was set in the fictional Darkplace Hospital, in Romford.Template:Citation needed
The local newspapers for the town and the borough of Havering are the Romford Recorder, Romford and Havering Post and Romford Yellow Advertiser.Template:Citation needed
Two radio stations are located in the area: Time 107.5<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Bedrock Radio (a community health and hospital radio station).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A proposed new community service, Radio Romford, is planned to launch in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In April 2023, hoodies were banned from the town centre along with Ski masks and motorcycle helmets in an initiative by Romford Business Improvement District, backed by Havering councillors and local Metropolitan Police officers, as a measure against antisocial behaviour.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Premier Cinemas, located within the Mercury Mall, has served as the venue for the Romford Film Festival since 2017, the Romford Horror Film Festival since 2020, and the East London LGBTQ+ Film Festival since 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Further reading
[edit]External links
[edit]Template:LB Havering Template:London Districts Template:Authority control