Borough of Redbridge

This northeast outer London borough is 7 miles from central London.  It comprises the urban districts of Wanstead, Woodford and Ilford.  The River Roding is a natural feature of the area.  Its name formerly was the River Hyle which led to the name Hyleford and then evolved into Ilford.  The name “Redbridge” comes  from a red brick bridge that spanned the river near the current Redbridge Underground station. Because it was outside the centre of London, it was a haven for rich families to build larger homes.  Remnants of these estates still exist today including Valentines House, which sheltered Belgian refugees during World War I. Due to the further expansion of London this area was designated as a Green Belt area, safeguarding green open spaces around London. Redbridge has two forests that lie within its boundaries which are Epping Forest and Hainault Forest Country Park. Hainault Forest was a Royal Forest from the time of Edward the Confessor in 1066 giving the king exclusive hunting rights on this ground.  Later kings, such as James I and son Charles I also hunted in this area and began using the timber for shipbuilding for the Royal Navy.  Tree felling declined for the purpose of shipbuilding in the mid-1800s.  However, an Act of Parliament in 1851 gave permission for much of the trees in the Forest to be felled to make way for the increased need for agricultural land to feed an ever-expanding London.  In the 1900s the area of Hainault helped defend London by providing airfields that housed the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War and the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.  After the Second World War, Redbridge saw the influx of the Jewish community who moved north after the East End was destroyed during the Blitz.  It also became a new home to East African Indians who were moved from India to Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in the early 1900s to help with British colonial railroad expansion.  Seventy years later when the British African colonies gained independence, the resettled Indian population were once again resettled in areas such as Redbridge. The areas of Wanstead and Woodford were represented, in Parliament, by Sir Winston Churchill who served as MP for forty years.  Clement Atlee, who followed Churchill as Prime Minister, was also from the area.

Prayer Requests for this Borough