Ivor Novello, Lawrence of Arabia, Queen Victoria and the Forgotten Father of English Sport are among the characters with connections to the area that Joanna will introduce you to on this walk around Chingford and the part of Epping Forest beside it that was a hunting ground for Henry VIII. After the Epping Forest Act of 1878 and the arrival of the railways, Chingford and the Forest became a day out for hordes of Eastenders. Following an 1838 tithe map showing footpaths which still exist today, you will hear, among other things, about a family whose actions dramatically improved the lives of Chingford residents and a World War One Aerodrome, with connections to Novello, now lying beneath a reservoir. The walk finishes at a 19th Century refreshment retreat on the edge of the forest a short walk from the station.
Guide: Joanna Moncreiff
Meet at Chingford Railway Station, Station Road, London E4 6AL
Ada Salter was the first female mayor in London and the first Labour woman mayor in the British Isles. With her husband, local doctor and MP Dr Alfred Salter, she made a significant impact on health, housing, employment and labour relations, helping to make Bermondsey world famous for its flowers and its Garden City estate, still occupied today. Find out about the legacy of Ada on this charming riverside walk, which tells her story from the Bermondsey Uprising of women jam factory workers in 1911, to her years as a pacifist in the First World War, and her radical policies as Bermondsey Councillor.
Guide: Sue McCarthy
Meet at Bermondsey Station, London SE16 4RX
Join Joanna for a walk around the mean streets of the Queen’s Road area of Walthamstow. Street names, building styles and plaques all give clues as to the area’s fascinating history. Former field boundaries are reflected in the street pattern and former pubs have connections to local events one of which made national headlines. People featured on the walk include a family of publicans who are buried in a rather impressive grave in Queen’s Road Cemetery and the philanthropist who bequeathed penny loaves to help the poor. This walk is in conjunction with the Queen's Boundary Community.
Guide: Joanna Moncreiff
Meet at Park hut café, Thomas Gamuel Park, Walthamstow, London E17 8NP
In the 1980 classic thriller The Long Good Friday, Bob Hoskins’ character, Harold Shand, gives his view on the future of Docklands: “I believe this is the decade in which London will become Europe's capital. Having cleared away the outdated, we've got mile after mile and acre after acre of land, for our future prosperity. No other city in the world... has got right in its centre, such an opportunity... for profitable progress.” While things don't go well for Harold - his vision of the future proves fairly accurate and the old docks are redeveloped and London does host the Olympics. On this walk, Rob visits many of the East London locations from the film -- some recognisable, some changed beyond Harold's wildest dreams -- and also talks about the recent history of Docklands that brought the changes about.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Tower Hill Tube Station, Trinity Square, EC3N 4DJ
Blackwall in London’s Docklands has as much maritime history as Greenwich – it’s just that you have to look a bit harder to find it. In this two-hour walk, Rob Smith uses fragments of the old dockyard and street names to tell the story of the East India Company, who made Blackwall their home for almost 250 years. You will hear stories of bravery, greed and ingenuity. The walk also visits the Leamouth Peninsula, one of the most unusual places on the Thames with a maritime history of its own. Rob will also tell the stories of some of the ships built in the famous Blackwall Yard and you’ll hear how Blackwall is at the heart of communications in the 21st century.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at East India DLR Station
This walk looks at three pieces of engineering that have influenced East London history, threading its way through an area that has slowly been evolving for the last 30 years. The Royal Docks were the largest docks in the world when built. We will look at their construction, the goods that were traded there, and hear about the docks in wartime and the numerous plans for redevelopment since their decline. The Thames Barrier, built as a response to the horrendous floods of 1953, today keeps London safe without many Londoners giving it a second thought. We’ll view it from Thames Barrier Park, one of London's best kept secrets. We’ll then see some of London's largest surviving factories, before finishing with an optional but recommended trip across the Thames on the Woolwich Ferry, one of London's last genuinely retro experiences.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Emirates Airline Royal Docks Terminal
One of a series following the Thames from London looking at industrial, maritime and military history, this walk takes in an area that was once dominated by the testing grounds of the Royal Woolwich Arsenal. We'll walk along canals that were once used for carrying gunpowder, see the site of storage facilities for cordite, land where tanks were tested and a stretch of water once used for testing torpedoes. This stretch of the Thames features a dangerous bend called Tripcock Ness – we’ll go past a lighthouse which still marks the area, and hear tales from the river. In the 1960s, the area was built on to create a New Town within the boundaries of London - Thamesmead. We’ll look at the idealism of the plan and how Thamesmead is developing today. The walk also visits Medieval Lesnes Abbey, before finishing at Abbey Wood station.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Plumstead Station, Walmer Terrace
Dagenham is instantly associated with the huge Ford factory that opened in 1931. However, the Dagenham Dock has an industrial history going back to the early 1800's. This walk will look at a complex history that includes explosives manufacturing, shipbuilding and power generation. You'll get to see the site where the last battleship built on the Thames was completed, London's other flood relief barrier, oil storage depots, scrapyards and a fantastic stretch of the Thames which is an empty white patch on the A-Z. This is a longer walk - around 5 miles - but fans of Patrick Keiller's Robinson films, and Iain Sinclair's books will enjoy being in this extremely off the beaten track part of London.
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Dagenham Dock Station, Chequers Lane
One of Rob Smith’s series of walks along the Thames going East, this takes us from Rainham where we'll visit the gardens of Rainham Hall - a house built by a ship’s captain who operated his shipping fleet from the village when it was a busy port – before crossing the site of a former military training camp until we reach the Thames, where we'll look at the history of industry in the area. Then it is a peaceful stroll along the Thames through an area that is now an RSPB nature reserve but once rattled to the sound of machine gun fire. The walk ends in Purfleet which used to be a popular destination for day trippers and Dracula!
Guide: Rob Smith
Meet at Rainham Station, Ferry Lane, London RM13 9HY
There’s so much more to Walthamstow than just its famous mile-long Market. The grand tombs in St Mary’s Churchyard offer clues to the area’s history, which is not what you might think. Starting at the award-winning William Morris Gallery, on this walk we will hear about the plagiarist who brought us Sweeney Todd and an interior designer nicknamed “Come and Seduce Me”, see a remnant of a post office designed by Robert Smirke and a theatre hidden within a school, visit the real and original Walthamstow Village with its Ancient House and finish at an industrial estate home to the jaw dropping God’s Own Junkyard, the Wild Card Brewery and the Mother’s Ruin Gin Palace.
Guide: Joanna Moncreiff
Meet at William Morris Gallery (outside front entrance), London E17 4PP
