Hainault, London

The name Hainault was recorded as 'Henehout' in 1221 and 'Hyneholt' in 1239. It is Old English and means 'wood belonging to a religious community', referring to the ownership of Hainault Forest, part of the larger Epping Forest, by Barking Abbey. The spelling was altered from the 17th century because of a false connection to Philippa of Hainault, the wife of Edward III.[3]

The area was mainly forested, it was owned by Barking Abbey and formed part of the Royal Forest of Essex. The large density of forest meant the area was predominately used for the provision of timber for building ships and houses. A decline in demand for timber, and a greater demand for food, led in 1851 to an Act of Parliament authorising the deforestation of much of Hainault Forest. Within six weeks 3,000 acres of woodland was cleared.[4]

Urban development began after August 1856, when the Great Eastern Railway built a line between Stratford and Loughton. In 1903, from the line at Woodford Junction, a loop line to Ilford was opened. Hainault was one of the stations on that line.

Although it had been hoped that housing development would follow from the building of the railway, it took several decades. Hainault station was closed from 1908, five years after opening; development began in the late 1920s, and the station was reopened in 1930. As a result of the London Passenger Transport Board New Works Programme 1935–40 (not completed until 1948) the line was taken over from the LNER and converted for use by London Underground trains.

Because of the lack of available land in the County of London, the London County Council (LCC) was permitted to build housing and act as landlord outside of its territory. It purchased land in Chigwell, Dagenham, and Ilford in 1943. Building of the Hainault Estate commenced after the Second World War from 1947 to 1953. The development of 2,779 houses was in the style known as a 'cottage estate' with the names of the roads relating to the history of Hainault Forest.[5]

After the development of the Hainault Estate, the area was within three local government districts. Most of Hainault was split between the Chigwell Urban District and the Municipal Borough of Ilford, with a small part to the east within the Municipal Borough of Dagenham. The population of the Chigwell part of the estate was 7,071 in 1961.[6]

The whole area formed part of the review area of the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London. It was recommended by the commission that the three districts should become part of Greater London. During the passage of the London Government Act 1963 Chigwell became excluded from the new administrative area, which would have led to the estate being split by a county boundary. Instead, the opportunity was taken to unite the estate in a single London Borough of Redbridge, by combining the 81 acres (0.3 km²) of the estate in Chigwell with the northern section of Dagenham and the whole of the boroughs of Ilford and Wanstead and Woodford.