Editing Leyton (section)

==History==
[[File:Leytontownhall.jpg|thumb|[[Leyton Town Hall]]]] [[Paleolithic]] implements and fossil bones show that early man hunted in Leyton. A Roman cemetery and the foundations of a [[Roman villa]] have been found here. From [[Anglo-Saxon]] times, Leyton has been part of the County of [[Essex]]. The name means "settlement (''tun'') on the River Lea" and was also known until 1921 as "Low Leyton".<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/> In the [[Domesday Book]], the name is rendered as ''Leintun''. at which time the population was 43.[[File:View of A12 from opposite Leyton Underground station.JPG|thumb|left|View of A12 from opposite Leyton Underground station]]

[[File:LeytonParishChurch.jpg|thumb|left|Leyton Parish Church]]The ancient parish church of [[St Mary's Church, Leyton|St Mary the Virgin]] was largely rebuilt in the 17th century.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=45472|title=Leyton – British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> The parish of Leyton also included [[Leytonstone]]. The old civil parish was formed into an Urban District within Essex in 1894 and it gained the status of Municipal Borough in 1926. The parish and urban district were officially known as Low Leyton until 1921.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol6/pp174-184|title=Leyton: Introduction – British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> In 1965, the [[Municipal Borough of Leyton]] was abolished and was combined with that of [[Walthamstow]] and [[Chingford]] to form the London Borough of Waltham Forest, within the new county of [[Greater London]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42770|title=Leyton: Local government and public services – British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> Although Leyton did not become officially part of London until 1965, the borough formed part of London's built-up area and had been part of the [[London postal district]] since its inception in 1856 and the [[Metropolitan Police District]] since 1839.

[[File:BakersAlmshouses.jpg|thumb|Gates to London Master Bakers' Benevolent Institution almshouses]]The main route through the town is the High Road, which forms part of the ancient route to [[Waltham Abbey (town)|Waltham Abbey]]. At the top end of the High Road is a crossroads with Lea Bridge Road and Hoe Street. This junction and the surrounding district is known as [[Bakers Arms]], named after the [[pub|public house]] which has now closed down. The pub was named in honour of the almshouses on Lea Bridge Road built in 1857 by the London Master Bakers' Benevolent Institution.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Leyton was a "pretty retiring place from London" for wealthy merchants and bankers; in 1766 there were said to be 50 or 60 gentlemen with houses in the parish. Leyton's development from an agricultural community to an industrial and residential [[suburb]] was given impetus by the arrival of the railway.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/> First at [[Lea Bridge Station]] in 1840, then at Low Leyton in 1856 (now [[Leyton Underground station|Leyton Underground]]).<ref name="Weinreb">Weinreb, Ben (2008)[https://books.google.com/books?id=wN_H-__MBpYC&dq=%22low+leyton%22+station+1856&pg=PA482 ''The London Encyclopaedia''], Macmillan London Limited {{ISBN|978-1-4050-4924-5}} (p. 482)</ref> Finally [[Leyton Midland Road railway station|Leyton Midland Road]] opened in 1894, after an elevated line had been built on brick arches across the already developed streets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.barking-gospeloak.org.uk/history.htm |title=A Short History Of The Line |website=www.barking-gospeloak.org.uk/ |publisher=Barking – Gospel Oak Rail User Group |access-date=6 December 2013}}</ref> However, not all the green spaces were lost, {{convert|200|acres|0|abbr=on}} of [[Epping Forest]] within Leyton's borders were preserved by the [[Epping Forest Act 1878]]. In 1897 Leyton Urban District Council purchased the land for a formal park close to the [[Leyton Town Hall|town hall]]; it opened in 1903 as Coronation Gardens, named after the  [[Coronation of a British monarch|coronation]] of [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|King Edward VII]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.londongardensonline.org.uk/gardens-online-record.asp?ID=WAL010 |title=Coronation Gardens |date=1 September 2011 |website=www.londongardensonline.org.uk/ |publisher=The London Parks & Gardens Trust  |access-date=6 December 2013}}</ref> In 1905, the "Lammas land", [[Common land|common pasture]] land on [[Leyton Marshes]], was purchased by the council for use as a recreation ground.<ref name="Weinreb"/>

In [[World War I]], about 1,300 houses were damaged by [[Zeppelin]] raids.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/> By the 1920s, it had become a built-up and thriving urban industrial area known for manufacturing neckties and for its Thermos factory. During the [[The Blitz|Blitz]] of [[World War II]], Leyton suffered as a target because of its proximity to the [[London Docks]] and [[Temple Mills]] rail yard. The yard (named after an ancient mill owned by the [[Knights Templar]]<ref name="ReferenceA"/>) is now reduced in size as part of it has become a retail park 'Leyton Mills', whilst the rest has been renovated to serve as a depot for high-speed [[Eurostar]] trains.

After World War Two, Leyton suffered from large-scale [[deindustrialization|industrial decline]] in the second half of the 20th century.<ref name="hidden-london.com">{{cite web|url=http://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/leyton/|title=Leyton – Hidden London|website=hidden-london.com}}</ref> But, like much of east London, Leyton, which also borders the [[Olympic Park, London|Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park]], has benefited from significant regeneration projects over the past decade. Parks have been spruced up, some new small parks and gardens created and several tower blocks have been demolished. The millennium was marked with a clock tower in the Lea Bridge Rd area and a major piece of street art at Baker's Arms. And, most recently, in the build-up to the Olympics, Waltham Forest Borough Council spent £475,000<ref name=guardian.co.uk>{{cite news|last=Kennedy|first=Maev|title=London Olympics 2012: Leyton 'like a village again' after council makeover|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/jun/22/london-olympic-leyton-council-makeover|newspaper=The Guardian|date=22 June 2012}}</ref> restoring 41 shopfronts on the part of Leyton High Road closest to the [[2012 London Olympic Games]] site. The Olympics authority also funded the smartening up of pavements and street furniture.