Editing Walthamstow (section)

==History==
===Toponymy===
Walthamstow is recorded {{circa|1075}} as ''Wilcumestowe'' ("the Place of Welcome") and in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as ''Wilcumestou''.<ref>Mills, A., ''Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names'', [[Oxford University Press]], {{ISBN|978-0-19-956678-5}}, (2001)</ref>

===Early history===
[[File:St. Mary's Church Walthamstow.jpg|thumb|St Mary's Church, the oldest building in Walthamstow, dating as far back as the 13th century]]
The Domesday Book describes '''Wilcumestou''' as a manor owned by the Anglo-Saxon nobleman [[Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria|Earl Waltheof of Huntingdon and Northumbria]] before the Norman conquest of 1066. After the execution of Earl Waltheof, the property of the land passed to his wife, [[Judith of Lens|Countess Judith, also known as Judith of Lens]], a niece of William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book records 36 [[Serfdom#Villeins|villeins]], 25 [[Serfdom#Bordars and cottagers|bordars]] and 4 [[Serfdom#Slaves|slaves]] living in the manor in 1086.  Alice, daughter of Earl Waltheof and Countess Judith, inherited Walthamstow. She married the Norman nobleman [[Raoul IV de Conches|Ralph de Tosny or Toeni (also known as Raoul IV de Conches)]] in 1103. When her husband died, {{circa|1126}}, Alice gave the church of Walthamstow to the [[Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate|Priors of the Holy Trinity]] based in Aldgate, London.

[[John, King of England|King John]] stayed in Walthamstow for two nights in February 1208.

In the 1660s Sir [[William Batten]], Surveyor of the Navy, and his wife Elizabeth Woodcocke had a house in Wood Street where, according to [[Samuel Pepys]], Batten lived "like a prince"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.histparl.ac.uk/volume/1660-1690/member/batten-sir-william-1601-67|title=BATTEN, Sir William (c.1601–67), of the Navy Office, Seething Lane, London and Black House, Walthamstow, Essex. &#124; History of Parliament Online|website=www.histparl.ac.uk}}</ref> and cultivated a [[vineyard]]. The Vestry House, now the [[Vestry House Museum]], was used as the first [[town hall]].

The influential textile designer and craftsman [[William Morris]] was born in Walthamstow in 1834. The Georgian mansion where he lived as a teenager houses the [[William Morris Gallery]]. By 1870 Walthamstow had grown to the size of a small suburb and a new town hall was built in Orford Road from which affairs of the village were run. A new town hall designed by architect [[Philip Dalton Hepworth]] in the [[Nordic Classical style]] was built between 1938 and 1942.{{clear left}}

===Urban development===
{{image frame
 |caption=Walthamstow (parish abolished 1965) population<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10248322/cube/TOT_POP |title=Walthamstow CP/AP through time &#124; Population Statistics &#124; Total Population |publisher=Visionofbritain.org.uk |access-date=2021-01-14}}</ref>
| content={{Graph:Chart|width=250|height=150|type=line|interpolate=monotone
| xAxisTitle=Year
| yAxisTitle=Population
| x=  1871,  1881,  1891,  1901,   1911,   1921,   1931,   1951,    1961 
| y= 10692, 21715, 46346, 95131, 124580, 129395, 132972, 121135,  108845 }}
}}
Until the late 19th century Walthamstow was largely rural, with a small village centre (now [[Walthamstow Village]]) and a number of large estates. The main route through the district was Hoe Street. There were various smaller lanes crossing the town. The road now known as Forest Road was originally called Clay Street. Further south, the High Street was named Marsh Street, and led from the original settlement out to the [[Walthamstow Marshes|marshes]]. Shernhall Street is an ancient route, as is Wood Street, to the east.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42775&strquery=clay%20street%20walthamstow|title=Walthamstow – Introduction and domestic buildings|publisher=University of London & History of Parliament Trust|access-date=2013-06-30}}</ref>

With the advent of the [[railway]]s and the ensuing [[suburbia|suburbanisation]] in the late 19th century, Walthamstow experienced a large growth in population and speculative building.<ref>''[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=42775 Walthamstow: Introduction and domestic buildings]'', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp.&nbsp;240–50. Date accessed: 1 April 2007.</ref>

The Lighthouse Methodist Church which dates from 1893 is situated on Markhouse Road, on the corner of Downsfield Road. There is a lantern at the top of the tower, which also contains a spiral staircase. The church was erected because of the generosity of Captain David King of the shipbuilding firm of Bullard King & Co which also ran the Natal Direct Shipping Line, which ran ships direct from London to [[Durban]] without stopping at [[Cape of Good Hope|the Cape]].

===Transport breakthroughs===
[[File:The Tramworks, Hatherley Mews, E17 (2).jpg|thumb|right|Former tramworks on Hatherley Mews dating to the 1880s; these converted stables were used for London's [[Trams in London|electric trams]] until 1952]]
In 1885, [[John Kemp Starley]], originally from Church Hill in Walthamstow, designed the first modern bicycle,<ref>{{cite book
 |page=38
 |quote=There is also general agreement that J.K. Starley's Rover was the first true safety bicycle.
 |author=Berto, Frank J.
 |author2=Ron Shepherd
 |display-authors=etal
 |title=The Dancing Chain: History and Development of the Derailleur Bicycle
 |edition=3rd
 |year=2008
 |orig-year=2000
 |isbn=978-1-892495-59-4
 |url=http://www.thedancingchain.com/
 |publisher=Cycle Publishing/Van der Plas Publications
 |location=[[San Francisco, CA]], USA
 |access-date=30 May 2017
 |archive-date=6 June 2017
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606172525/http://www.thedancingchain.com/
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> and in 1892, [[Frederick Bremer]] built the first British motorcar in a workshop in his garden, at Connaught Road. The vehicle is on display at the [[Vestry House Museum]] in Walthamstow.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britainbycar.co.uk/walthamstow/171-bremer |title=Bremer |publisher=Britainbycar.co.uk |date=2015-04-14 |access-date=2020-05-11}}</ref>

The [[LGOC X-type]] and [[LGOC B-type|B-type]] buses were built at Blackhorse Lane from October 1908 onwards. The B-type is considered one of the first mass-production buses. The manufacturing operation later became [[Associated Equipment Company|AEC]], famous as the manufacturer of many of London's buses. On 13 June 1909, A. V. Roe's aircraft took to the air from Walthamstow Marshes. It was the first all-British aircraft<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/4471811.walthamstow-historic-celebration-av-roe-flight-next-sunday/|title=WALTHAMSTOW: Historic celebration of AV Roe flight next Sunday|website=East London and West Essex Guardian Series|date=2 July 2009 }}</ref> and was given the ominous nickname of the "Yellow Terror" but officially carried the name Avro1. Roe later founded the [[Avro]] aircraft company, which later built the acclaimed [[Avro Lancaster]].{{clear|left}}

===Walthamstow Power Station===
{{main | Walthamstow Power Station}}
''Walthamstow Borough Corporation'' had been authorised in 1904 to supply electricity to the Borough. The power station in Exeter Street had three brick chimneys and an array of wooden cooling towers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/walthamstowinpictures/photos/exeter-road-power-station-walthamstow-1950s/1087131977997752/|title=Exeter Road power station|date=1950s|website=Facebook|access-date=3 February 2020}}</ref> In 1923 the revenue to the Borough from sales of electricity was £109,909.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=London statistics 1924-5 vol. 30|last=London County Council|publisher=London County Council|year=1926|location=London|pages=298–305}}</ref> Upon [[Nationalization|nationalisation]] of the electricity industry in 1948 ownership of the station passed to the [[British Electricity Authority]] and later to the [[Central Electricity Generating Board]]. The CEGB closed the station in 1967 when the [[thermal efficiency]] was 9.30 per cent.<ref name=":3">''CEGB Statistical Yearbook (1964–67)''. CEGB, London.</ref><ref>''CEGB Statistical Yearbook 1964–67''. CEGB, London.</ref> It was subsequently demolished.

===Local government===
From 1894 the [[Municipal Borough of Walthamstow]] was an [[Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland)|urban district]] and from 1929 a [[municipal borough]] in [[Essex]]. In 1931 the population of the borough, covering an area of {{convert|4342|acre|ha|abbr=off}}, peaked at 132,972.<ref name=vision>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/722|title=History of Walthamstow, Essex|publisher=University of Portsmouth|access-date=2013-06-21}}</ref> In 1965 the borough was abolished and its former area merged with that of the [[Municipal Borough of Chingford]] and the [[Municipal Borough of Leyton]] to form the [[London Borough of Waltham Forest]] in [[Greater London]].<ref name=vision/> Other places in east London formerly of the county of Essex, such as [[Ilford]] and [[Romford]] were placed into London Boroughs along with Walthamstow. None of the postal district names or codes was changed at this time (e.g. [[Ilford]] remained Ilford, Essex [[IG postcode area|IG1-IG6]] and Walthamstow remained {{nowrap|[[London E17]]).}}

===Post-war history===
[[File:Central Parade, Walthamstow.jpg|thumb|right|Central Parade on the corner of Hoe Street and Church Hill – this was designed by [[F. G. Southgate]] and built in 1957 on the site of a 1944 war-era bomb attack that killed 22 people]]
Since the [[2012 Summer Olympics]], the town has become increasingly popular mostly as a result of [[gentrification]]. Local property prices increased at a high rate of 22.3% from 2013 to 2014, compared to London's average of 17.8%.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-02-06 |title=London's Walthamstow: transformation from transient to trendy |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/230e6062-a70b-11e4-8a71-00144feab7de |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/230e6062-a70b-11e4-8a71-00144feab7de |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=2022-10-10}}</ref> It has turned Walthamstow into a 'trendy' town similar to [[Shoreditch]]. The leafy [[Walthamstow Village]] in particular has become sought-after by buyers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/dec/17/gentrification-fears-east-london-property-millionaires|title=Gentrification fears loom over rise in east London 'property millionaires'|first=Rupert|last=Jones|date=16 December 2015|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

On 29 May 2015, a regular local [[unicycle|unicyclist]] was hit and dragged under by a double decker route 212 bus in Hoe Street. Locals numbering up to 100 people helped to pull the bus off the unicyclist.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/29/unicyclist-in-hospital-after-collision-with-bus-in-london|title=Londoners drag doubledecker bus off injured unicyclist|first1=Jessica|last1=Elgot|last2=agencies|date=29 May 2015|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32993891|title=When 100 people lift a bus|first=Tom|last=Heyden|work=BBC News |date=4 June 2015}}</ref> The MP for Walthamstow, [[Stella Creasy]], later said she was "proud" of the community for saving the unicyclist's life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/stella-creasy-i-m-proud-of-how-my-community-lifted-a-bus-to-save-that-cyclist-10304905.html|title=Stella Creasy: 'I'm proud of how my community lifted a bus to save|date=8 June 2015}}</ref>