Editing Romford (section)

==History==
{| class="wikitable" align="right" style=font-size:85%;margin-left:10px;
|+'''Romford (parish) population'''
|-
!align="center"| 1881
|align="center"| 9,050
|-
!align="center"| 1891
|align="center"| 10,722
|-
!align="center"| 1901
|align="center"| 13,656
|-
!align="center"| 1911
|align="center"| 16,970
|-
!align="center"| 1921
|align="center"| 19,442
|-
!align="center"| 1931
|align="center"| 35,918
|-
!align="center"| 1941
|align="center"| war<ref group=N>No census was held due to [[World War II]]</ref>
|-
!align="center"| 1951
|align="center"| 76,580
|-
!align="center"| 1961
|align="center"| 114,584
|-
|style="font-size:smaller" colspan=2|{{Reflist|group=N}}
|-
|style="font-size:smaller" colspan=2 align=center|source: [[Census#United Kingdom|UK census]]<ref name=population_new>{{ cite vob | name=Romford parish (created 1900) | population=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TOT_POP&u_id=10246027&c_id=10001043&add=N | access-date=6 August 2009}}</ref><ref name=population_old>{{ cite vob | name=Romford parish (abolished 1894) | population=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TOT_POP&u_id=10246003&c_id=10001043&add=N | access-date=6 August 2009}}</ref>
|}

===Toponymy===
Romford is first recorded in 1177 as ''Romfort'', which is formed from [[Old English]] 'rūm' and '[[Ford (crossing)|ford]]' and means "the wide or spacious ford".<ref name=mills_london>{{cite book |title=Dictionary of London Place Names |year=2001 |last=Mills |first=A.D. |publisher=Oxford}}</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===
[[File:ECR(1851) p57a - Romford.jpg|thumb|Romford in 1851]]
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 [[Middle Ages|medieval period]] to avoid the frequent flooding of the River Rom. The first building on the new site was the 1410 Chapel of St&nbsp;Edward<ref name="london encyclopaedia">{{cite book|author1=Weinreb, Ben |author2=[[Christopher Hibbert|Hibbert, Christopher]] |title=The London Encyclopaedia |edition=reprint |year=1992 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]] |page=675|title-link=The London Encyclopaedia }}</ref> (since replaced by the 1850 [[Church of St Edward the Confessor, Romford|Parish&nbsp;Church of St&nbsp;Edward the&nbsp;Confessor]]. The early history of Romford and the immediate area is agricultural and it is recorded as being the location of a [[List of windmills in Greater London|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|Turnpike Trust]] from 1721 and Romford became a coaching town in the 18th century.<ref name=bho_introduction>{{ cite book | url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42815 | title=Romford: Introduction, A History of the County of Essex: Volume 7 | author=Powell, W.R. (Edr.) | series= [[Victoria County History]] | publisher=[[British History Online]] | access-date=6 August 2009 | year=1978 }}</ref>

{{anchor|Romford Canal|Romford Canal Act 1880}}
Several failed attempts were made in the early 19th century to connect the town to the Thames via a Romford Canal.<ref>{{cite news |last1=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Navigable cut from Rainham to Romford |work=[[The London Gazette]] |issue=16409 |date=2 October 1810 |page=1539}}</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, London#Development|Hainault Forest]] could be transported to the [[Thames]] for use in the [[Royal Navy Dockyard|Royal Dockyards]]. Only two miles of canal were constructed and the canal company were unable to reach the town.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gill |first1=Jonathan |title=The Romford Canal Essex |url=https://docslib.org/doc/5772453/the-romford-cai-al-essex |publisher=[[Oxford Archaeology|Oxford Archaeology Unit]] |access-date=18 February 2022 |language=en}}</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 [[Port of Tilbury|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, [[AB Electronic|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 (Romford)|The Mall]], opened in 1990 (as 'Liberty 2'); and [[The Brewery (shopping centre)|The Brewery]], opened in 2000 on the site of the old Star Brewery.<ref name=havering_romford>{{cite web | url=http://www.havering.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2402 | author=Havering London Borough Council | title=Romford Town Centre | access-date=6 August 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927021237/http://www.havering.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=2402 | archive-date=27 September 2007 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Local government===
Romford formed a chapelry in the large ancient parish of [[Hornchurch]] in the [[Becontree (hundred)|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>{{cite book | url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42818 | publisher=[[British History Online]] | title=Romford: Local government, A History of the County of Essex: Volume 7 | year=1978 | author=Powell, W.R. (Edr.) | series= [[Victoria County History]] | access-date=6 August 2009}}</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 [[Royal Liberty of Havering|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>{{Cite vob | url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10199463&c_id=10001043 | name=Havering atte Bower liberty | access-date=6 August 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001043708/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10199463&c_id=10001043 | archive-date=1 October 2007 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[Improvement commissioners]] were set up in 1819 for paving, lighting, [[Watchman (law enforcement)|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 [[sanitary district|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 [[Municipal Borough of Romford|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 Board|London Passenger Transport Area]] from 1933.<ref name=robson_london>{{cite book |title=The Government and Mis-government of London |last=Robson |first=William |year=1939 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=London }}</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>{{cite vob | url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10166913&c_id=10001043 | name=Havering LB | map=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/boundary_map_page.jsp?u_id=10166913&c_id= | access-date=6 August 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211082200/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10166913&c_id=10001043 | archive-date=11 February 2009 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> For elections to the Greater London Council, Romford was part of the [[Havering (electoral division)|Havering]] electoral division until 1973 and then the [[Romford (electoral division)|Romford]] electoral division until 1986.

===Suburban expansion===
[[File:Romford borough 1911.png|thumb|200px|[[Romford Urban District]] (1) absorbed Havering-atte-Bower (2) and Noak Hill (3) in 1934<ref name=vob_romford_mb>{{cite vob | url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10073303&c_id=10001043 | map=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/boundary_map_page.jsp?u_id=10073303&c_id=10001043 | name=Romford UD/MB | access-date=14 August 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605032340/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10073303&c_id=10001043 | archive-date=5 June 2011 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>]] 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>{{cite book |last1=Foley |first1=Michael |title=Essex at war through time |date=2009 |publisher=Amberly |location=Stroud |isbn=9781445624983 |chapter=The Early Barracks}}</ref> To the east of the market place from 1850 middle class suburban housing was constructed with a much larger area of {{convert|200|acres|ha|abbr=off|round=5}} built-over to the south of the railway from 1851 and by 1861 the population had grown to 3790.<ref>{{cite book |last= Bradshaw |first= George |title= 1861 Bradshaws Handbook |publisher= Collins |location= Bishopbriggs |year= 2015 |page= Section IV p.32 |no-pp=yes |isbn=978-0-00-794195-7}}</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 {{convert|25|acres|ha}} 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>{{ cite book | title=Virtual Geographies | year=1999 | last= Crang, Crang & May | publisher=Routledge}}</ref> and the Romford exchange was recorded as having 240 subscribers in 1916.<ref name=tel_1916>{{cite web|url=http://www.privateline.com/TelephoneHistory3A/london1916big.gif |publisher=Private Line |title=London Telephone Area in 1916 |access-date=14 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214003002/http://www.privateline.com/TelephoneHistory3A/london1916big.gif |archive-date=14 December 2006  }}</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, Essex|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===
[[File:Romford Cemetery – IMG 20180212 123803988 edited (40189717442).jpg|thumb|Romford Cemetery entrance]]
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 Revival architecture|gothic]] [[porte-cochère]]. It contains utilitarian monuments, with older graves near the chapels. The trees in the cemetery include [[holly]], [[Cedrus|cedar]] and [[flowering cherry]], and rows of [[common lime tree|common lime]] and [[horse chestnut]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/romford-cemetery |title=Romford Cemetery (also known as Crow Lane Cemetery) |date=2023 |publisher=parksandgardens.org |access-date=30 April 2023}}</ref> The cemetery contains the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|war graves]] of 118 identified Commonwealth service personnel of the First and Second World Wars.<ref>{{cite web|last=CWGC|title=Romford Cemetery {{!}} Cemetery Details|url=https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/38457/romford-cemetery/ |access-date=2023-09-19|website=CWGC|language=en}}</ref>