property, homes and houses for sale in Chingford

Chingford offers a superb choice of schools, excellent local amenities and a rapid train service into the City of London.

Living in Chingford

Golf courses, leafy streets and great shopping are just three of Chingford’s many big attractions.

Chingford is in the London Borough of Waltham Forest about 10 miles north-east of Charing Cross. To the north and east is Epping Forest and to the west King George's Reservoir and the River Lea.

Normanhurst School is considered to be one of the best schools in London and is a prominent landmark in Chingford. It was built in the 1800s as a collection of houses and is a prime example of Victorian Chingford.

The most sought after properties are generally in North Chingford, where there are leafy avenues lined with substantial Victorian houses complemented by large gardens.

The Ridgeway offers particularly grand houses but it’s the impressive properties near Chingford Station that are the most coveted. However, Chingford also has many lower priced properties, especially near the A406 in South Chingford.

One of the main shopping centres is Chingford Mount, where you will find classic high street chains, including Tesco and many independent traders. To keep young children amused there is also a playground.

Gold may be a popular colour in Chingford but green is much more apparent. Epping Forest is perfect for long walks and there are several local parks and green spaces in which to relax, picnic, or play sport. It was in Gilwell Park that Lord Baden Powell created the Boy Scouts.

Golf courses abound in Chingford and there are excellent amenities for almost every sport imaginable.

Transport

Chingford railway station is under half an hour from London Liverpool Street. Together with neighbouring station, Highams Park, it is served by National Express East Anglia.

The A406 North Circular Road marks Chingford’s southern border and provides an easy link to Junction 4 of the M11. Chingford also has a good network of bus routes.

For information regarding buses and tubes please visit http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/default.aspx and for details of train services please visit http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/.

History and culture

Originally a tiny hamlet by the River Lea, the name Chingford derives from the Saxon ‘cëgingaford’, which means ‘dwellers by the ford’.

A notable landmark in Chingford is Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, built for Henry VIII in 1543 as a base for stalking deer. It is located on Chingford Plain within Epping Forest and is open to the public.

A granite obelisk on Pole Hill was erected in 1824 to mark true north for the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. It was placed on high ground along the line of the Greenwich Meridian, but was mistakenly positioned 19 feet to the west.

Until the coming of the railway Chingford was a remote rural village, but from the 1870s it began to grow.

Buildings in the town were mostly constructed between the wars when Lawrence of Arabia owned part of Pole Hill, although Chingford was not his home.

The world’s most famous contemporary footballer, David Beckham, was born in Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone. He attended Chingford School and played football for Ridgeway Rovers, a local team.

For further information about Chingford please visit the London Borough of Waltham Forest at http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/.