Highams Park

The whole of the Highams Park area was once known as Hale End, as evidenced by the name of Hale End Library, and the Halex factory.

Although postcode areas are not intended to define districts, it might be said that Hale End approximates to the part of Highams Park which shares the postal district of IG8 with Woodford Green. The rest of Highams Park, which takes the Chingford postal district, E4. The park from which the area is (partially) named is located within the IG8 postcode area.

There are two main sports grounds in Highams Park, Jubilee Sports Ground (formally Truman's Sports Ground) and Rolls Park. Jubilee is positioned off The Avenue, it is now owned by Waltham Forest Council. It is mainly used for football, with local teams and youth teams training and playing on the field and astro-turf. The ground is not open to the public. Rolls Park is slightly bigger and is open to the public. The field is used mainly for football and cricket. There is also a tennis club and a small gym at the edges of the field. There is also a bar/clubroom owned by West Essex football and cricket clubs.

There is another Tennis club (Whitehalls) situated on Larkshall Road. Highams Park Lake is used for Kayaking by members of The Scout Association.

There are initial plans to build a velodrome in the grounds of Highams Park School. This would be used by the school and also local sports teams, it will be many years before any building work is undertaken.

The Lake

The park is known officially as "The Highams Park" but is often known locally as "Highams Park Field", "The Field", "The Park" or "The lake". Most of the park is on a hill with a gradual rise to the north end. It is frequented by dog walkers, runners and families. The park has a cafe, open 08:00 - 18:00, an under-8's playground and public notice boards.

Highams Park Lake is to the west of the park, and is owned by the City of London Corporation although the rest of the park is maintained by the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The lake was formed by the landscape gardener Humphry Repton who created it by damming the River Ching. The lake, the adjoining park and the Manor House (now Woodford County High School) were owned by Highams Bensted. The lake itself is about 450m long and about 80m wide at the widest point. At the south end of the lake is a boat house built by Kenneth Robert John Ford and owned by Waltham Forest South Scouts. The north end of the lake is much narrower and shallower, and it often dries out into mud in the summer. The River Ching flows past the lake but does not actually flow into it; a small outflow at the south end of the lake flows into the river.

There is a small island in the lake which is inhabited by nesting swans. Near the top of the lake are some large rocks thought to have been placed there by Humphry Repton to improve the lake's appearance. A public toilet block used to be situated on the east side of the lake although it was demolished many years ago, and only the foundations remain.

The Halex factory was situated on Larkshall Road and was a major local employer from 1897–1971. The factory was established by the British Xylonite Company to produce a variety of goods mostly from plastic. The Halex company had a virtual monopoly on manufacturing table tennis balls. The factory closed in the early 1970s and has since been knocked down and replaced by new smaller factories and industrial buildings. A blue plaque on Jubilee Avenue marks the spot where the building stood; it reads "Plastics Historical Society. On this site, from 1897–1971, stood the Halex factory of the British Xylonite Company."

Some of the land in this area is now owned by supermarket chain Tesco, which was initially refused permission to build a store on the site in June 2007 by then Local Government Secretary Ruth Kelly[2] after a protracted process of planning applications dating back to early 2005.[3] The reasons cited for the refusal involved the size of the proposed store and the building not being in keeping with local Victorian and Edwardian buildings.[2] However, in 2009 a revised planning application was passed despite the efforts of some local residents to stop this from happening.

A recent campaign seeks to honour the men of Highams Park who worked in the Halex Factory and gave their lives in both world wars. The campaigners also wish to see the return of the local war memorial to its original site.[4]

Highams Park station is on the London Overground Chingford branch which runs from London Liverpool Street to Chingford, The line is one of the Lea Valley lines. The railway line cuts through the area with a level crossing, close to the station, this being the only place actually in Highams Park where vehicles can cross the track. The level crossing itself, until 2002, was controlled by a signalman who worked in the traditional signal box next to the crossing. However, in 2002, despite local opposition, the gates began to be operated from a central office at Liverpool Street station. The signal box was marked for demolition, but due to the efforts of "The Highams Park Forum" (a group of local residents), and local Member of Parliament (and then leader of the Conservative Party) Iain Duncan Smith, the box was saved with the intention of turning it into a museum or a tea room. In 2017 the signal box was reopened as a crêperie called LaBoite.[5]

Highams Park is served by London Buses routes 212, 275, W16 and school route 675.[6]

• Fred Pontin, founder of the holiday parks company Pontins, was born in Highams Park in 1906. He lived on Forest Glade and attended Sir George Monoux Grammar School in Walthamstow.
• Trevor Bailey, Essex and England cricketer.
• Graham Barnfield, pundit and academic, moved to Highams Park in 2001.
• John Berger, socialist artist and writer, lived in Highams Park as a child.
• Blazin' Squad (band): Members of the band Blazin' Squad lived in or near Highams Park and studied at Highams Park School.
• Johnny Dankworth, musician and soloist, born in Highams Park in 1927.
• Sir George Edwards, aircraft designer and industrialist, born in Hale End Road, Highams Park, on 9 July 1908.
• Chris Moncrieff, political journalist
• Tara Moran, actress
• Teddy Sheringham, footballer, born on 2 April 1966 in Highams Park.
• John Smith, filmmaker, born in Highams Park and attended Selwyn Avenue School and George Monoux School.
• John Maxwell Hutchinson, English architect, BBC broadcaster, and Anglican deacon, former President of the Royal Institute of British Architects

• Chingford
• Walthamstow
• Woodford Green
• Leytonstone

• Images of Highams Park at the English Heritage Archive