Editing Gidea Park

{{Short description|Suburb of Havering, east London, England}}
{{for|the 1980s band of the same name|Adrian Baker}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name            = Gidea Park
| static_image_name        = Gidea Park - Raphael Park lake.jpg
| static_image_caption     = The lake at [[Raphael Park]] in Gidea Park
| coordinates              = {{coord|51.5926|0.2025|display=inline,title}}
| population               =
| population_ref           = 
| os_grid_reference        = TQ525905
| charingX_distance_mi     = 15.2
| charingX_direction       = WSW
| london_borough           = Havering
| region                   = London
| country                  = England
| post_town                = ROMFORD
| postcode_area            = RM
| postcode_district        = RM2
| dial_code                = 01708
| constituency_westminster = [[Romford (UK Parliament constituency)|Romford]] 
}}
'''Gidea Park''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|ɪ|d|i|ə}}) is a neighbourhood in the east of [[Romford]] in the [[London Borough of Havering]], south-east England. Predominantly an affluent and residential area, it was historically located in the county of [[Essex]]. It saw significant expansion in the early 20th century, with exhibitions of housing and town planning (the first being known as [[Romford Garden Suburb]]) and the construction of a railway station on the [[Great Eastern Main Line|main line]] out from [[London Liverpool Street station]].

==Locale==
Gidea Park is approximately {{convert|15|mi|km}} east of [[Charing Cross]] and {{convert|1|mi|km}} east of [[Romford]] town centre.

It is south-west of the [[Gallows Corner]] junction where the [[A12 road (England)|A12]], [[A127 road|A127]] and [[A118 road|A118]] roads meet.

[[Harold Wood]] is to the east of Gidea Park, [[Ardleigh Green]] and [[Emerson Park]] are to the south-east, and [[Hornchurch]] is to the south.

==History==
===Early history===
[[Thomas Cooke (mayor)|Thomas Cooke]], a Suffolk man who became London Mayor in 1462, was granted a [[Royal Charter]] for [[Royal Liberty of Havering|Royal Liberty of Havering-atte-Bower]], which enabled him to build a country house, which he named "Geddy Hall". The word "geddy" was so named after the lake and its livestock; ''ged'' (meaning [[Northern pike|pike]]) and ''ea'' (water). The house remained unfinished for at least a century, because of his numerous incarcerations in the [[Tower of London]] for [[High treason in the United Kingdom|high treason]]. Upon his death in 1478, the estate was passed down through the Cooke family and eventually to his great-grandson, [[Anthony Cooke]], who was a tutor for [[Edward VI]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/bookofexhibition00romf/page/42 ''The Book of the Exhibition of Houses and Cottages: Romford Garden Suburb, Gidea Park'', p. 42.]</ref> After a brief period abroad, Anthony returned to [[Havering-atte-Bower]] and completed the building of Geddy Hall, which later became [[Gidea Hall]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/bookofexhibition00romf/page/43 ''The Book of the Exhibition of Houses and Cottages: Romford Garden Suburb, Gidea Park'', p. 43.]</ref>
[[File:Gidea Park Preparatory School.jpg|thumb|right|The former Balgores House, dating from the 1850s, is today a preparatory school]]

In 1657, the hall and its grounds were sold to Richard Emes, a local businessman, for £9,000. Upon [[Stuart Restoration|the Restoration]], the estate was bought back by the Crown and passed through the ownerships of various nobilities, before eventually being sold through public auction, shortly before the [[Coronation of Queen Victoria]].<ref>[https://archive.org/details/bookofexhibition00romf/page/35 ''The Book of the Exhibition of Houses and Cottages: Romford Garden Suburb, Gidea Park'', p. 35.]</ref>

===Exhibition houses===
[[File:Gidea Park - Parkway.jpg|thumb|right|Exhibition houses on Parkway, overlooking Raphael park]]
[[File:312Risebridge.jpg|thumb|right|Each property had a drawing and description published in ''The Book of the Exhibition of Houses and Cottages'', 1911]]

In 1909 [[Herbert Raphael]], [[Tudor Walters|John Tudor Walters]] and [[Charles McCurdy]], three [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament]] (MPs) who had links with the [[Hampstead Garden Suburb]] development, formed a company with the objective of building a new garden suburb on the Gidea Hall estate. Raphael also reached agreement with the [[Great Eastern Railway]] for [[Gidea Park railway station|a new station]] on the main line from [[Liverpool Street station|London Liverpool Street]] to serve the new suburb.<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of the County of Essex: Volume 7|year=1978|pages=58–66|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42815|editor=W.R.Powell|access-date=24 March 2012|chapter=Romford: Introduction}}</ref>

[[Romford Garden Suburb]] was constructed between July 1910 and June 1911 on the Gidea Hall and Balgores estates (respectively north and south of Hare Street, now called Main Road) as an exhibition of [[town planning]]. A total of 159 cottages and houses were designed by more than 100 architects, many of them of considerable reputation. Most of the cottages were built in Risebridge Road and Meadway; most of the houses were built in Parkway and Reed Pond Walk. A smaller number of Exhibition houses were also constructed on the Balgores estate, such as in Squirrels Heath Avenue and Balgores Lane.

Competitions were held to select the best town planning scheme for the suburb, and the best designs for houses resulted in those being sold at a well-above average £500 and cottages at £375. Of the 159 properties, 132 were entered into the competitions. The winner of the best designed house was No. 54 Parkway by [[Thomas Geoffry Lucas|Geoffry Lucas]] and the best cottage was No. 36 Meadway, designed by C. M. Crickmer. A competition for the builders for best workmanship was won by Falkner & Son who built No. 35 Meadway and No. 43 Heath Drive.

Known today as the "Exhibition houses", and set in their garden suburb known as the "Exhibition estate", the properties are fine examples of the domestic architecture of their time and are a significant feature of the Gidea Park area. Six of them are now [[listed building]]s: Nos. 41 and 43 Heath Drive, Nos. 16 and 27 Meadway and Nos. 36 and 38 Reed Pond Walk.

A further 35 houses, mostly of contemporary flat-roofed design, were built in 1934–35 in Heath Drive, Brook Road, and Eastern Avenue for a Modern Homes Exhibition. One such house, No. 64 Heath Drive, by Berthold Lubetkin's Tecton Group architectural group, was the special responsibility of Francis Skinner and is now also a listed structure.<ref name="English Heritage">{{NHLE|desc=64 Heath Drive|num=1257402|access-date=25 October 2013}}</ref> The area was provided with a parish church in the form of [[St Michael's Church, Gidea Park]] in 1931.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stmichaelsgideapark.org.uk/our-history/ |title=Our History – St Michael and All Angels |publisher=Stmichaelsgideapark.org.uk |access-date=2018-10-08}}</ref>

The area was designated a [[Conservation area (United Kingdom)|conservation area]] in 1970.

==Society and leisure==
The [[Royal Liberty School]] in Upper Brentwood Road was the first school in Britain (and possibly in Europe) to install an electronic computer (an [[Elliot 903]]), in 1965.

[[Romford Hockey Club]] is based in Gidea Park. It is also the location of Gidea Park Lawn Tennis Club, Romford Golf Club, and two public parks: [[Lodge Farm Park|Lodge Farm]] and [[Raphael Park|Raphael park]]. There are also a number of shops, pubs, restaurants and a library.

[[Essex County Cricket Club]] played [[first-class cricket]] at the Gidea Park Sports Ground between 1950 and 1968.

==Transport==
[[File:Gidea Park Railway Station.jpg|thumb|right|Gidea Park station in 2007]]
[[Gidea Park railway station]] is on the [[Great Eastern Main Line]]; it is served by  [[Elizabeth line]] trains between {{rws|Shenfield}}, [[Liverpool Street station|London Liverpool Street]], {{rws|London Paddington}} and {{rws|Heathrow Terminal 5}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elizabeth Line Timetables |work=Elizabeth line|date=10 December 2023 |access-date=5 February 2024 |url= https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/elizabeth-line/elizabeth-line-timetables&lang=en |quote=}}</ref>

[[Romford railway station]] is the next station on the line towards London. It sees additional express and stopping services to and from Liverpool Street, operated by [[Greater Anglia]]; it is also the terminus of [[Romford to Upminster Line|a branch line]] to [[Upminster station|Upminster]].<ref>{{Cite web |work=Greater Anglia |title=Timetables |date=10 December 2023 |access-date=5 February 2024 |url= https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/timetables |quote=}}</ref>

A number of [[London Buses|London Bus]] routes run through Gidea Park towards Romford, [[Lakeside Shopping Centre]], [[Dagenham]], [[Harold Hill]], Harold Wood, Gallows Corner and [[Brentwood, Essex|Brentwood]]; these are operated by [[Stagecoach London]] and [[Blue Triangle]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stops in Gidea Park|url=https://bustimes.org/localities/gidea-park |website=Bustimes.org |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Gidea Park}}
*{{gbmaprim|TQ525901|Maps and aerial photos}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120204050809/http://www.havering.gov.uk/pls/portal30/PORTAL30.wwv_media.show?p_id=138225&p_currcornerid=135718&p_settingssetid=8223&p_settingssiteid=0&p_siteid=119&p_type=text&p_textid=138226 Romford Garden Suburb]
{{LB Havering}}
{{Areas of London}}

[[Category:Areas of London]]
[[Category:Districts of the London Borough of Havering]]
[[Category:Romford]]