Editing Hornchurch (section)

===Suburban expansion===
Railway stations opened in the parish of Hornchurch at [[Harold Wood railway station|Harold Wood]] in 1868 and [[Hornchurch tube station|Hornchurch]] in 1885.<ref name="introduction"/> Both stations were some distance from the village and did not initially encourage large scale housebuilding.<ref name="introduction"/>

In 1886 the parish authorities of [[St Leondard Shoreditch]] purchased 80 acres of Harrow Lodge Farm for the construction of the Hornchurch [[cottage homes]] that opened in 1889.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cherry |first1=Bridget |last2=O'Brien |first2=Charles |last3=Pevsner |first3=Nikolaus |title=London. 5: East / by Bridget Cherry, Charles O'Brien and Nikolaus Pevsner; with contributions from Elizabeth Williamson, Malcolm Tucker and Pamela Greenwood |date=2007 |publisher=Yale Univ. Press |location=New Haven London |isbn=9780300107012 |edition=Reprinted with corrections}}</ref> The homes had a population of 306 in 1896.<ref>{{cite news |title=Proposed Division of Hornchurch into Wards |work=Essex Chronicle |date=15 May 1896 |quote=A population of 306 [...] at the cottage homes}}</ref> In 1897 Hornchurch had a population of 4,200. It was a large village with scattered groups of houses throughout rest the parish and in the northwest the built up area of Romford extended into it.<ref name="Health 1897">{{cite web |title=Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health: 1897 | website=Wellcome Collection |date=1898 |publisher=Romford Rural District Council. |page=12 |url=https://wellcomecollection.org/works/syump8f2}}</ref> The growth of Hornchurch from rural village to suburban town began with the sale of the southern {{convert|200|acres|sqkm}} of Nelmes manor for the [[Emerson Park]] housing estate of 200 homes in 1895.<ref name="manors">{{cite web |title=Hornchurch: Manors |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol7/pp31-39 |website=British History Online |access-date=21 August 2023 |date=1978}}</ref> In 1901 the {{convert|241|acres|sqkm}} northern portion of Nelmes was sold for the Great Nelmes housing estate.<ref name="introduction"/> [[Emerson Park railway station]] was opened in 1909 to serve the new estates.<ref name="Butt">{{cite book |last=Butt |first=R.V.J. |title=The Directory of Railway Stations |year=1995 |publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd |location=Yeovil |isbn=1-85260-508-1 |id=R508 |page=91 }}</ref>

Uphavering Terrace, the first 18 [[council house]]s in Hornchurch, were constructed on Abbs Cross Lane in 1914 by Romford Rural District Council at the request of Hornchurch Parish Council.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Council Cottages, Abbs Cross Lane, Hornchurch |url=https://www.facebook.com/HavLib/posts/3154668134581215 |website=facebook.com |publisher=Havering Libraries Local Studies |access-date=23 December 2023 |date=20 August 2020}}</ref> 50 houses at Princes Park and 48 at Priors Park were constructed in the early 1920s by the Romford Rural District Council following the [[Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919]] as "housing of the working classes".<ref>{{cite web |title=Abbs Cross Lane, Priors Park, Hornchurch |url=https://www.facebook.com/HavLib/posts/4298529453528405 |website=facebook.com |publisher=Havering Libraries Local Studies |access-date=23 December 2023 |date=29 September 2021 |quote=Priors Park began with 48 houses erected by Romford Rural District Council in the first years of the 1920s, part of their building programme of "houses for the working classes",}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Princes Park, South Hornchurch postcard view c.1925 |url=https://www.facebook.com/HavLib/posts/4051256051589081 |website=facebook.com |publisher=Havering Libraries Local Studies |access-date=23 December 2023 |date=5 July 2021 |quote= On June 8th 1920, at a special meeting of the Romford Rural District Council, "it was agreed that application be made to the Ministry of Health for sanction to borrow £357,477 for 60 years for the erection of houses for the working classes in Dagenham, Hornchurch and Wennington. The Clerk, Mr. T.W.A. Greenhalgh, said the money was required for the following schemes :- Chadwell Heath, 162 houses; Princes Farm, Hornchurch, 50; Rainham, 108; Wennington, 16; Priors Farm, Hornchurch 48; total 384 houses}}</ref> In total, 186 houses were built by 1922.<ref>{{cite web |title=Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health: 1925 | website=Wellcome Collection | last=Ball | first=Alfred | date=1926 |publisher=Romford Rural District Council |page=14 |url=https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ehkzf63w}}</ref> 60 further houses were built by Hornchurch Urban District Council on Suttons Avenue and Park Lane from 1928.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hornchurch |work=Essex Chronicle |date=14 September 1928 |page=5}}</ref>

The construction of the [[dual carriageway]]s of the [[Southend Arterial Road]] between 1925 and 1940 cut off the Harold Wood part of the parish from the rest.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Ged |title=Even the A127 has a history |url=https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/lifestyle/21550933.nostalgia-even-a127-history/ |access-date=23 December 2023 |work=Romford Recorder |date=21 February 2013}}</ref>

Hornchurch was quickly built upon as part of the [[interwar period|interwar]] private housing boom that saw workers migrate from the inner districts of London. This was encouraged by the introduction of the electric [[District Railway]] service from 1932 and the availability of cheap agricultural land for development. The population of Hornchurch grew by 335% from 1921 to 1938 as new homes were occupied.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Porter |first1=Roy |title=London: a social history |date=1995 |publisher=Harvard Univ. Pr |location=Cambridge,Mass |isbn=9780674538382 |edition=2. print}}</ref> 50 acres of Haynes Park Farm was sold in 1925 for development as the Haynes Park building estate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Haynes Park Road, Hornchurch c. 1928 |url=https://www.facebook.com/HavLib/posts/3278546408860053 |website=facebook.com |publisher=Havering Libraries Local Studies |access-date=23 December 2023 |date=27 September 2020 |quote=The sale of part of the farm in 1925 for housing was soon followed in 1928 by the neighbouring Slewins Farm. Development at Slewins Farm was not without difficulty.}}</ref> The New College lands were sold for development between 1927 and 1931.<ref name="manors"/> The density of interwar development was much higher than the Emerson Park and Great Nelmes estates. In 1930 the development of the Wych Elm Farm estate caused an arbitration case which only partially upheld the restrictive covenant on the size of houses that could be built.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hornchurch Arbitration Result |work=Essex Chronicle |date=22 August 1930 |page=8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Estates Gazette Digest of Land and Property Cases |date=1931 |publisher=Estate Gazette, Limited}}</ref> [[Grey Towers]] mansion was demolished in 1931 and the grounds used for the Grey Towers housing estate and the [[Towers Cinema]].<ref name="introduction"/> Stafford Allen and Sons built houses for factory employees along Stafford Avenue around 1931.<ref name="Stafford"/>

In 1931 Hornchurch Hall, Priors Farm and Grove Farm were being developed for housing and the Crescent and Ravenscourt estates were being built.<ref>{{cite web |title=Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health: 1931 |url=https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ujrtgzmu | website=Wellcome Collection | last=Ball | first=Alfred | publisher=Hornchurch Urban District Council |access-date=27 December 2023 |page=9 |date=1932}}</ref> In 1932 the [[Hardley Green]], Harold Wood Hall, Lee Gardens and Redden Court estates were being built.<ref>{{cite web |title=Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health: 1932 | website=Wellcome Collection | last=Ball | first=Alfred | url=https://wellcomecollection.org/works/kcgkj9k3 |publisher=Hornchurch Urban District Council |access-date=27 December 2023 |page=7 |date=1933}}</ref> In 1933 an extension to the Hardley Green estate was under construction and work on the Maylands, Dorset House and Hornford estates was underway.<ref>{{cite web |title=Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health: 1933 | website=Wellcome Collection |url=https://wellcomecollection.org/works/kmwtwxgm |publisher=Hornchurch Urban District Council | last=Ball | first=Alfred | access-date=27 December 2023 |page=7 |date=1934}}</ref> Wyebridge, Elm and Uphavering farms were purchased in 1933 by Richard Costain and Sons for the [[Elm Park Garden City]] development. 7,000 houses were planned with the official opening of the estate in 1935. This coincided with the opening of [[Elm Park tube station]] and [[Harrow Lodge Park]]. Elm Park had a higher density of development than previous schemes and had its own town centre.<ref name="Story">{{cite book | last1=Hipperson | first1=Chris | last2=Donoghue | first2=Simon | last3=Brandon | first3=Ingrid | title=The Elm Park Story | year=2009 | publisher= Lavenham Press | location=Suffolk | isbn=9780956327208 }}</ref> 2,600 houses were built by 1939 with further development halted by the Second World War.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Ged |title=Elm Park - a garden city |url=https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/lifestyle/21550447.nostalgia-elm-park---garden-city/ |access-date=23 December 2023 |work=Romford Recorder |date=31 March 2013}}</ref> After the war, the estate was completed with over 1,000 council houses.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Ged |title=Forgotten local authority was Havering’s parent |url=https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/lifestyle/21505980.heritage-forgotten-local-authority-haverings-parent/ |access-date=1 January 2024 |work=Romford Recorder |date=7 July 2019}}</ref>

Nelmes manor house and immediate grounds survived until 1967 when the house was demolished by the owner to avoid a preservation order by the Greater London Council.<ref>{{cite news |title=Owner Destroys Ancient Essex Manor |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=28 August 1967}}</ref> The land was used for The Witherings neo-Georgian style housing development.<ref>{{cite news |title=How Nelmes' glory days ended with wrecking ball |url=https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/lifestyle/21522359.nelmes-glory-days-ended-wrecking-ball/ |access-date=21 August 2023 |work=Romford Recorder |date=14 October 2017}}</ref>