Gants Hill

Gants Hill is an area of Ilford in East London, England, within the borough of Redbridge. It is a suburban development situated 9.5 miles (15.3 km) northeast of Charing Cross. It is also the name of a roundabout junction within the development.

Gants Hill
Gants Hill
Location within Greater London
OS grid referenceTQ435885
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townILFORD
Postcode districtIG2
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly
Gants Hill Roundabout and entrance to tube station and subway

History

The name could have originated from the le Gant family, who were stewards of Barking Abbey. The name Gantesgrave appears in records as early as 1291. Alternatively, the name may be derived from 'Gnats Cross' in reference to the insects.[1]

Geography

The area is mostly residential with a selection of retail outlets, a wide variety of restaurants, pubs, bars and a hotel. Valentines Park is located between Gants Hill and nearby Ilford.

Valentines High School and Gearies School are schools in the area. Other nearby schools include Beal High School in Clayhall, King Solomon High School in Fairlop, and the selective grammar schools Ilford County High School and Woodford County High School located in Barkingside and Woodford respectively.

Perth Road is the main road of the Commonwealth Estate, overlapping with Ilford proper, in which the roads are named after cities of former British colonies such as Aden, Colombo, Auckland, Toronto, Quebec, Melbourne and Perth.

The Odeon cinema, originally called the Savoy, was demolished in 2003 to provide space for a block of flats.[2] It stood between Eastern Avenue and Perth Road.

Gants Hill is also home to the popular 'Faces' nightclub, which is located in Cranbrook Road. The club has previously been featured in the ITV2 reality series The Only Way Is Essex and opens Thursday to Saturday. The club has six bars, two music rooms and VIP tables.[3]

Nearest places are Newbury Park, Barkingside, Ilford and Redbridge.

Renovation

Gants Hill roundabout and the surrounding area underwent extensive renovation, beginning in June 2009.[4] The works were paid for by Transport For London. The project introduced new signalised pedestrian crossings around the roundabout whilst the Gants Hill subways received new floor tiles and coloured banding on the walls.[5] The renovations were completed in late September 2010 with the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, visiting the roundabout. Boris Johnson also unveiled a plaque to mark his visit.[6]

Transport

Formerly part of the A406, Woodford Avenue has now been renumbered as the A1400 and a new section of the A406 has been built through Redbridge and Ilford to Barking and Beckton. The A12 runs east-west, and the A123, Cranbrook Road, runs north-south, through Gants Hill roundabout, which is also the endpoint of the A1400. All these roads have several bus routes along them (see map). A one-way minor road, Clarence Avenue, also leads onto the roundabout.

Gants Hill Underground station on the Central line of the London Underground.

Nearest stations

The nearest London Underground station is Gants Hill on the Central line. Ilford railway station is a National Rail station to the south of the district.

References
  1. "Gants Hill Directory & Information Site". gants-hill.com. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  2. "Odeon Ilford in Ilford, GB". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  3. http://facesnightclub.co.uk/venue/
  4. "Gants Hill Online Directory, Information Site, Where to go in Gants-Hill Ilford Essex". Gants-hill.com. 22 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  5. Archived 8 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Mayor Boris visiting Gants Hill to mark roundabout relaunch - Travel". Ilford Recorder. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
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