ILFORD

THE GROWTH OF ILFORD.

Ilford village, in 1653, comprised about 50 houses, mostly north and east of the central road junction, along that part of the High Road now called the Broadway. (fn. 1) South and west of the junction was Spurle Grove, an 'island' site belonging to Ilford Hospital, on which there were only two or three buildings apart from those of the hospital itself. There were also a few houses on the south side of Back (now Roden) Street, and in Green Lane. It was stated in 1650 that the 'town' of Ilford contained 'above 60 families'. (fn. 2) Ilford grew considerably during the next two centuries. This seems to have been largely due to the development of the hospital estate, in and near the centre of the village. In the later 18th century the Gascoynes, as masters of the hospital, began to grant plots of land on building leases. Mark Gibbard, who took up one of these leases in 1765–6, was in 1771 granted a lease of the whole hospital estate, on terms authorizing him to develop Spittel Field, in Ilford Lane, as a brickfield. (fn. 3) The village was also expanding north and east (fn. 4) and by 1796 contained 149 houses. (fn. 5) In the north of the parish, along the edges of Hainault Forest, were hamlets and farms, which in 1650 were said to contain 100 families. (fn. 6) The main settlements there were Barkingside and Little Heath.

Ilford Municipal Borough. Ermine, an oak tree eradicated and fructed proper, surrounded by seven crowns, or, in base waves proper

Ilford in 1653. Scale c. 15 in. to 1 mile

In 1801 the population of Ilford ward was 1,724 and that of Chadwell ward 317. It rose to 3,742 (Ilford) and 758 (Chadwell) in 1841. (fn. 7) During the 1840's the population of both wards remained almost stationary, probably because the opening of the railway had weakened Ilford's substantial coaching trade, but growth continued in the 1850's. By 1881 the population of the sub-district (i.e. Ilford and Chadwell wards) was 7,645, (fn. 8) spread over a wide area, including that brought under cultivation, in the 1850's, by the destruction of Hainault Forest. Ilford still had a rural aspect, (fn. 9) but its distinctively urban growth was beginning. When the Clements estate (fn. 10) was broken up in 1879, substantial parts of it, lying immediately south of the High Road, between Ilford Lane and Green Lane, were bought for building by Aaron Withers, of Ilford Hall, with his partner James Withers of Southend, and by A. Cameron Corbett. (fn. 11) North of the High Road, between Cranbrook Road and Ley Street, the Ilford Lodge estate (fn. 12) was bought in 1883 by J. W. Hobbs, a builder associated with Jabez Balfour. At that time building was also taking place on the Birkbeck estate, about a mile north of Ilford village, at the Horns (now Newbury Park). This small estate lay east of Horns Road in the area now bounded south by the King George V Hospital and east by the railway. (fn. 13) It was a curious piece of development, comprising Birkbeck Road, Perrymans Farm Road, and five other streets, laid out on a gridiron plan in isolated rural surroundings. Building of small urban-type terraces had started by the 1870's, but it proceeded very slowly, with many gaps, now filled by later houses.

SOUTH ILFORD & BARKING 1964

By 1891 the population of Ilford had risen to 10,913. During the next twenty years it grew phenomenally, to 78,188 in 1911. (fn. 14) The principal developer during this period was A. Cameron Corbett, in association with a local contractor, Robert Stroud. (fn. 15) In 1894 Corbett began work on the Grange estate, north of Ilford station, (fn. 16) and in 1898 the Downshall (Seven Kings) and Mayfield (Goodmayes) estates, which lay respectively west and east of Seven Kings Water, about a mile east of the old village. (fn. 17) He operated on a large scale, with speed and vigour, selling his houses at cost, and 'looking for his profit to ground-rents'. (fn. 18) He stimulated demand by promoting the reconstruction of Ilford railway station, and the building of new stations at Seven Kings and Goodmayes. (fn. 19) The Cranbrook estate, immediately north of the Grange estate, was developed from 1897 by (Sir) Peter Griggs, a local contractor. (fn. 20) About the same time building also started on the Loxford estate, east of Ilford Lane, (fn. 21) and the Uphall estate, to the west of it. (fn. 22)

By 1903 the area between Wanstead Park Road and the Drive had been built up as far north as Seymour Gardens. (fn. 23) Farther east most of the streets between Cranbrook Road, Ley Street, and Valentines Park had been laid out, though not completely built up. On the opposite side of the High Road, the main built-up area, between Ilford Lane and Gordon Road, extended south to Mortlake Road. West of Ilford Lane development was less continuous. At Seven Kings and Goodmayes most of the building was north of the High Road, between Aldborough Road, Meads Lane, and Barley Lane, but there were also a few streets running off Green Lane. By 1910 a few more streets had been added between Wanstead Park Road and Cranbrook Road, along Green Lane, and at Loxford and Uphall, (fn. 24) but the pace of growth was slackening, and between 1911 and 1921 the population rose by only 7,000, to 85,194. (fn. 25)

In 1921 the London County Council started work on the Becontree housing estate. The Ilford portion of this, mostly completed by 1926, comprised only 10 per cent. of the whole, but it was a substantial addition to the town: some 2,500 houses and 11,600 people, in the Becontree Avenue area. (fn. 26) Private building also went on rapidly between the World Wars. The urban area was extended north through Gants Hill and Newbury Park to Barkingside, and there was also development in the south of the town, around Loxford Park, farther east near South Park, and at Chadwell Heath. The population was 131,061 in 1931 and was estimated at 166,900 in 1938. (fn. 27)

Soon after the Second World War the London County Council built a large housing estate at Hainault, part of which lies in the north-east corner of Ilford. At Marks Gate, on the eastern boundary of the borough, the Ilford council has since 1950 built a large estate in collaboration with the Dagenham council. In 1951 Ilford, with a population of 184,706, was the most populous town in the geographical county of Essex, and the second largest non-county borough in England. (fn. 28) It retained its pre-eminence in 1961, in spite of a decrease in population to 178,024. (fn. 29)

During the period of rapid expansion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries the type of residential development in Ilford was remarkably uniform. The link between development and the opening of railway stations suggests that most of the new inhabitants went daily to London. Their housing requirements appear to have been only slightly above current working-class standards. (fn. 30) The lay-out was one of long parallel 'by-law' streets, built up on both sides with continuous terraces of two-storied houses on narrow frontages. (fn. 31) Such streets, of course, were common in all the London suburbs and on the outskirts of expanding towns at the period. In Ilford, however, there were few larger houses, detached or semi-detached. As time went on the by-law streets became wider, the front gardens larger, and the ubiquitous bay-windows lost their 'Gothic' ornament and were surmounted by small gables. Between the wars there was more variety in the size and lay-out of the new houses. The estates developed after the Second World War contained here, as elsewhere, a far wider range of dwelling types, including many blocks of flats.

Few ancient monuments survive in the borough. This is largely the result of modern development, but even before that, in the 18th and early 19th centuries, there was much rebuilding, and little is known of earlier structures. The oldest known monument was Uphall Camp, an earthwork between the Roding and Ilford Lane. (fn. 32) An 18th-century plan shows this as roughly rectangular, enclosing an area of 48 a. (fn. 33) A small section of the northern bank still survives, incorporated in the boundary between Howard's chemical works and the houses in Baxter Road; the gardens of those houses are on the probable site of a ditch. (fn. 34) Another part of the bank, and an adjoining mound called Lavender Mount [O.S. Nat. Grid TQ 43648517] survived until 1960, when they were removed during extensions to the chemical works. Excavation has shown that the two structures were widely separated in time. The banked enclosure can probably be dated to the 1st or 2nd century B.C. The main body of the mound, which was placed exactly on top of what appears to have been a palisaded entrance to the banked enclosure, contained nothing dateable earlier or later than the 16th century. It may have been a beacon-mound. The name Lavender is said to have been derived, about 1800, from a tenant of Uphall Farm. (fn. 35)

The only medieval building in the borough is the Hospital chapel, High Road, and even this was greatly altered in the 19th century. (fn. 36) Of Ilford's many manor houses only three survive: Valentines, Claybury and Loxford. Valentines, in Valentines Park, was built in the late 17th century, but largely rebuilt in the 18th. (fn. 37) Claybury Hall, in the north of the borough, was built about 1790. (fn. 38) Loxford Hall, Loxford Lane, was built about 1830. (fn. 39) All three houses have ceased to be privately owned. Many other manor houses, mostly dating from the 18th century, have been demolished during the past 70 years. (fn. 40) The northern districts of Mossford Green and Aldborough Hatch were favourite areas for other substantial residences in the 18th and 19th centuries. Almost the only survivor is Mossford Lodge, altered beyond recognition. This early-19th-century house was occupied after 1873 by Dr. Barnardo, who developed his Girls' Village Homes on the estate. (fn. 41) Further south in Cranbrook Road the wrought-iron gates, gateposts, and railings of an 18th-century house called Great Gearies are still standing. The house itself was rebuilt c. 1900. (fn. 42) At Aldborough Hatch the former manorial chapel, probably of early-18th-century date, survives. (fn. 43) On the opposite side of Aldborough Road was an 18th-century house in a walled garden, occupied in 1777 by a Capt. Williams. This was probably the Old Clock House, demolished in the earlier 19th century (fn. 44) except for the red-brick garden walls and a former gazebo. The 'Dick Turpin' inn, formerly a beer-house occupying one of the Aldborough Hall Farm cottages immediately to the north, was built on the site c. 1913 and enlarged later. (fn. 45) Aldborough Grange, dating from the 18th century, and other substantial houses in Aldborough Road have also disappeared. At the north end of the road a 19th-century house called Aldborough Hall has recently been demolished except for the stables. (fn. 46) Several farmhouses, all dating from the 19th century, survive at Aldborough Hatch and Hainault, where farming still goes on. There are 19th-century stock brick cottages at Mossford Green and Tanners Lane, Barkingside, in Horns Road, beside the small village green at Little Heath, and elsewhere. In High Road, Chadwell Heath, there is a weather-boarded terrace of six cottages opposite Belfairs Drive. There are three churches more than a century old: St. Mary, Ilford, Holy Trinity, Barkingside, and St. Peter, Aldborough Hatch. (fn. 47)

Many of the public buildings and places of worship in Ilford date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The most favoured ecclesiastical style at this period was Perpendicular Gothic, and there are numerous churches of this type, built of red brick with stone dressings. The unfinished church of St. Luke (1915) has been considered particularly fine. (fn. 48) Between the wars the architectural style of new churches was more varied and such architects as Sir Herbert Baker (St. Andrew's 1923–4) and Sir Charles Nicholson (St. George's 1932) were employed. Two recent places of worship which break more completely with tradition are St. Bede's Roman Catholic church (1963) and Vine Congregational church (1960). (fn. 49)

The Central line stations of Redbridge and Gants Hill were designed by Charles Holden before the Second World War and built in 1947–8. Newbury Park Station, designed by Oliver Hill in 1949–50, has a striking approach beneath arched concrete trusses reaching to the ground. (fn. 50) Ilford's main shopping centre is in and near the High Road. It was originally created between 1890 and 1914, as can be seen from the architecture of many of the buildings, especially in the upper stories. But the shops of that period, and churches on valuable corner sites, are gradually giving way to supermarkets, and large stores like Harrison Gibsons and Moultons. The latter was rebuilt after an extensive fire in 1959. (fn. 51) Light industries are carried on in the borough by many small firms, and a few large ones, including Ilford Ltd., Howards, and Plessey. (fn. 52) Several of these have impressive new office buildings and factories.

No feature of modern Barkingside is more conspicuous than Dr. Barnardo's Village Home, which occupies a site of 60 a. between Cranbrook Road and Horns Road. This was formerly part of the estate of Mossford Lodge where Dr. Barnardo lived after c. 1873 and where he founded a home for destitute girls. The idea of providing individual cottages, each with a 'house mother', for girls of different ages was then entirely new. About 26 cottages had been completed by 1880, their cost being borne by different organizations or individual donors. These are detached gabled houses, built of stock brick in a simple mid-Victorian style and arranged on three sides of a large open green. More houses, surrounding two other greens, were added in Dr. Barnardo's lifetime. The 'Childrens' Church', built in 1892, is of brick with stone dressings in the Gothic style and consists of an aisled and clerestoried nave, a chancel, and a north-west porch surmounted by a tower. Other buildings on the site include the Cairns Memorial Cottage with clock tower (1887), Schools (1893) and the Australasian Hospital (1912). A memorial to Dr. Barnardo (d. 1905), by Sir George Frampton, R.A., stands above his grave on one of the greens. In 1964 the Home contained 60 cottages, accommodating about 600 boys and girls. (fn. 53)

NORTH ILFORD & CHADWELL HEATH 1964

Also within the borough are two large mental hospitals. Claybury Hospital, opened by the L.C.C. in 1893, stands high on Tomswood Hill, on the boundary with Chigwell. (fn. 54) Goodmayes Hospital, in Barley Lane, Little Heath, was opened in 1901 by West Ham County Borough Council. (fn. 55)

INDUSTRIES.

Until the modern expansion of Ilford the main occupation of the inhabitants was agriculture. (fn. 56) Tanning was an early industry at Barkingside, shown by the name Tanners Brook (probably the north end of the Cranbrook), which occurs in 1456. (fn. 57) At the beginning of the 19th century there was a tannery in Tanners Lane. This had ceased by about 1840. (fn. 58) Brick-making became important in the later 18th century, when Mark Gibbard developed Spittel Field, near the Hospital, to provide bricks for houses that he was erecting in this area. (fn. 59) In the early 19th century there were several brickfields. One of these was at Uphall, about ½ mile south of Ilford station; another, which belonged to John Scrafton Thompson, was part of his Clements estate. (fn. 60) Brickmaking continued in the Ilford Lane area until about 1870. (fn. 61) Later in the century, when there was great demand for bricks, it was carried on by Henry Clark, in fields south of the High Road, near St. Mary's church, and by Robert Page at the Cauliflower Brickworks, on the north side of the High Road. (fn. 62) Clark's business appears to have ceased by 1906 and Page's by 1912. (fn. 63)

The growth of the town in the late 19th century also created a demand for lime and cement, which were brought up the Roding to Ilford Bridge. (fn. 64) Daldy & Co. were in business as coal merchants and lime burners between 1878 and 1890. (fn. 65) Lime was also supplied by C. H. Binney & Co., in 1894–8; and by Eastwood & Co. Ltd., in 1894–1914. (fn. 66) J. H. Sankey & Son Ltd., manufacturers of fire-cement and similar materials, have been at Ilford since 1898 or earlier. (fn. 67)

H. R. Denne's Euplyton Works, which manufactured celluloid collars and cuffs between 1890 and 1924, (fn. 68) may have been founded to meet the needs of the many 'City' men of Ilford, who also provided a ready market for the new steam laundries, which were a notable feature of the town in 1900. (fn. 69)

Paper making was carried on at the Ilford Paper Mills, near Ilford Station, from c. 1862 to c. 1923. This business, which gave its name to Mill Street, appears to have been founded by William Simpson & Co., but later passed through the hands of several owners. (fn. 70)

The firm of Ilford Ltd., which makes photographic materials, was founded in 1879 by Alfred H. Harman, a professional photographer of Peckham (Lond.) who, like many others, was experimenting with the production of the new gelatino-bromide 'dry' plates. (fn. 71) He went to Ilford to manufacture these plates because it was then a small country town with clean air. 'Langsett', a house in Cranbrook Road, was renamed 'Britannia Works', and there Harman and his wife began to produce the Britannia (later the Ilford) Plate. Later he rented cottages on the Clyde estate, where the Ilford Plate factory and head office now stand, and there the plates were coated and packed, the emulsion still being prepared with great secrecy at the Britannia Works. In 1882 a factory was built near the cottages. Harman converted the business into a private limited company in 1891, and in 1898 into a public company with a nominal capital of £38,000. In 1903 American interests tried to gain control of the company, but were defeated after a stormy meeting of shareholders. In 1906 Col. (later Maj.-Gen. Sir) Ivor Philipps became chairman of Ilford Ltd. He held that position until his death in 1940 and was largely responsible for the progress of the firm during that period.

The manufacture of photographic materials in this country was for a long time carried on by a number of small firms, but as the industry expanded larger units became necessary for efficient production. In 1917 Ilford Ltd. acquired the business of the Imperial Dry Plate Co. Ltd., of Cricklewood (Mdx.) with its subsidiary the Gem Dry Plate Co. Ltd., in 1919 that of Thomas Illingworth & Co. Ltd., of Willesden (Mdx.), and in 1928 that of Amalgamated Photographic Manufacturers Ltd., of Watford (Herts.), New Southgate (Mdx.), and Mobberley (Ches.). This process of expansion was completed in 1929, when Wellington Ward Ltd. of Elstree (Herts.) was taken over. Photographic printing paper, sold as 'Ilford P.O.P.', was made by the company from its early days. Later the production of films was started.

After the Second World War a further great extension of the company's trade took place, especially in foreign markets. Subsidiary selling companies and branches have been established in France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Pakistan, India, and Australia. By 1954 the company had factories at Ilford, Brentwood, and Leyton (Essex), Watford (Herts.), Cricklewood, Park Royal and Edmonton (Mdx.), and Mobberley (Ches.).

Howards & Sons, chemical manufacturers, who had previously been at Stratford, in West Ham, opened a factory in 1899 at Lavender Mount, Uphall, through its subsidiary company, Hopkin & Williams Ltd. (fn. 72) Near this Howards built the Uphall Works, and during the next 15 years moved their departments gradually from Stratford to Ilford. (fn. 73) In 1903 the business became a limited company. The First World War greatly stimulated the production of chemicals, many of which had formerly been imported. In 1916 the firm began the manufacture of aspirin, previously a German monopoly. In 1919 a scientific research department was established. Before that time the firm had produced mainly inorganic chemicals for pharmaceutical use, but since then most of its new products have been organic substances: solvents, plasticisers, and other chemicals for many different industries. In 1932 the firm built its own electric power station. The factory was bombed in 1940, when a director, James Howard, was killed, and many employees injured. A rocket bomb fell on the factory in 1944: the remains of this bomb were used for making sulphate of iron.

The Plessey Company, radio and television component manufacturers, opened a factory at Ilford in 1924, and expanded rapidly. (fn. 74) Its employees at first numbered only a few dozen, but there were 3,000 by 1935 and 6,000 by 1939. During the Second World War government work was carried on at the main factory in Ley Street (which was bombed) and in the underground railway tunnel from Wanstead to Gants Hill. (fn. 75) A production line, with 2,000 workers, was set up in the tunnel. In 1944 the firm had 11,000 employees. The number dropped after the war to 7,000 in 1946, but by 1955 had risen to 15,000. In addition to its radio business, the company makes pumps, actuators, press tools, post office equipment, and scientific instruments. It has a large research department. Its subsidiary companies have works in Ilford at Horns Road, Uppark Drive, Eastern Avenue, and Chadwell Heath, and at Swindon (Wilts.), Rotherham, and Sheffield (Yorks.), Towcester (Northants.), and elsewhere.

During the past 50 years many other factories have existed at Ilford. It is clear from directories that they were often short-lived. A large proportion were probably small firms engaged in light industry, as many still are. A survey of Ilford industries carried out in 1954 revealed some 75 manufacturers of different types, less than half of whom are recorded in the 1937 Essex directory. (fn. 76) The largest groups of industries are those concerned with chemicals, engineering and plastics, but there is a wide variety of other products, including sweets, paper novelties, water-softeners, blinds, breeze-blocks, and bellfastenings. The industries of Ilford are not concentrated in any one district. Some of the oldest factories are in or near the town centre. The industrial development at Chadwell Heath has been influenced by the growth of Dagenham. That along Eastern Avenue is due to the use of motor transport. (fn. 77) Since 1955, when the borough council bought the airport site at Hainault, large-scale sandand gravel-digging have been carried on there. (fn. 78)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT SINCE 1888.

In 1890 a local board was set up for Ilford. (fn. 79) The problems facing the board, and its successor, the urban district council, were in several respects different from those experienced at this period in Barking. In 1891 the population of Barking was 14,301, mostly concentrated in the courts and alleys of the old town. Ilford, which had 10,711 inhabitants, was a large village with outlying hamlets and farms, but with little urban development. Ten years later Ilford, with a population of 41,235, was almost twice the size of Barking (21,547). Most of the new houses were in a narrow belt close to the Great Eastern railway line. The Ilford Council had therefore to develop and expand its public services, especially sewerage, much more quickly than was necessary at Barking, but it had advantages not shared by Barking. There was no slum clearance problem at Ilford, and the rapid increase in the rateable value of the town gave the council the means and the confidence to plan public works on a large scale. Between 1891 and 1901 provision was made for sewerage, public baths, an isolation hospital, a fire station, an electricity and tramway undertaking, and several public parks. (fn. 80) The council offices were at first in rooms above a shop in Cranbrook Road and, from 1898, council meetings were held in a hired schoolroom in Ilford Hall, High Road, but in 1901 a large town hall, also in High Road, was completed at a cost of about £30,000. (fn. 81) This was designed by B. Woollard in an ornate Renaissance style; it was enlarged in 1927 and 1933. (fn. 82)

The council enlarged its powers by Acts passed in 1898, 1899 and 1904 (fn. 83) and in 1904 it took over the functions of the Ilford School Board. (fn. 84) The population went on rising very rapidly. (fn. 85)

The growth of the town was halted by the First World War, but after 1918 it proceeded even faster than before. (fn. 86) Municipal incorporation was discussed as early as 1907, and preliminary steps were taken in 1914. In 1920 an incorporation committee was formed, in 1922 a charter petition was presented to the Privy Council, and this was granted in 1926. (fn. 87) In 1933 a town planning scheme was approved by the Ministry of Health. (fn. 88) In 1937 the council acquired new statutory powers. (fn. 89) In 1954 the council unsuccessfully promoted a Bill to secure county borough status. The borough is now (1963) divided into 12 wards, and the council consists of 12 alderman and 36 councillors.

PUBLIC SERVICES.

The Ilford Gas Co. was formed in 1839, with a capital of £1,500, and works on an island in the Roding. (fn. 90) Statutory powers were obtained in 1873 and enlarged in 1881 and 1894. (fn. 91) In 1899, after protests against the high price of gas, the urban district council promoted a Bill to take over the gasworks. (fn. 92) The company defeated this, obtained an Act to raise further capital, modernized its mains, and vigorously proclaimed the superiority of its product over that offered by the council's new electricity department. (fn. 93) The Ilford company was merged in the Gas Light and Coke Co. in 1922. (fn. 94) Since 1948 Ilford has been within the area of the North Thames Gas Board.

In 1898 Ilford U.D.C. obtained powers to supply electricity. (fn. 95) A power station was opened in Ley Street in 1901. (fn. 96) The initial cost of the scheme was £64,867. (fn. 97) The prime mover in it was Councillor Benjamin Bailey, chairman of the lighting committee, whose activities included public lectures on the benefits of electric light. (fn. 98) In 1931 the council opened new offices and showrooms in High Road. (fn. 99) Ilford is now in the area of the London Electricity Board.

Sewage works, with an outfall into the Roding, were first constructed at Ilford in 1882. (fn. 100) About 1893 the local board put in hand a new scheme, but the growth of the town soon rendered this inadequate, and in 1900, when the population was about 40,000, the urban district council, on the initiative of Benjamin Bailey, constructed works designed for twice that number, with an outfall into the Thames by Barking Creek. (fn. 101) In 1930 the Ilford and Barking Joint Sewerage Committee was formed, and during the next five years re-organized the local system, linking it with the great Northern Outfall Sewer. Further extensive sewerage schemes were put in hand in 1957. (fn. 102)

About 1850 a 'never-failing public well' supplied good water to many of the villagers of Ilford. (fn. 103) The East London Waterworks Co., under an Act of 1853, (fn. 104) and the South Essex Waterworks Co., under an Act of 1861, (fn. 105) each acquired power to supply Ilford. By 1868 the former company had extended its area of supply to the eastern edge of West Ham, while on the other side the South Essex company's supply had reached Romford. (fn. 106) During the next 30 years both companies extended their mains to Ilford, where, to avoid competition, they divided the district between them, the East London company supplying the west, the South Essex the east. (fn. 107) In the 1890's the service of the South Essex was locally regarded as unsatisfactory, (fn. 108) and in 1898 Ilford U.D.C. joined with neighbouring local authorities in an attempt to replace this company by a public board. (fn. 109) This failed, but in 1901 the company promoted an Act under which they obtained powers to improve their supply by sinking two new wells at Ilford, (fn. 110) and about the same time they agreed to reduce their charges within the urban district. (fn. 111) By 1914 the South Essex, and the Metropolitan Water Board, successor to the East London company, between them provided an adequate main supply to all except 53 of Ilford's 15,832 houses. (fn. 112)

The Ilford Burial Board, established in 1880, laid out a cemetery in Buckingham Road adjoining St. Mary's church. (fn. 113) Barkingside municipal cemetery was opened, at Longwood Gardens, in 1922–3, and an extension to it in 1954. (fn. 114)

The Central Park, now Valentine's Park, was opened in 1899. (fn. 115) It now comprises 136 a., includes a boating-lake, open-air swimming pool, open-air theatre, and a cricket ground used for county matches. (fn. 116) South Park, South Park Road, of 32 a., (fn. 117) and Seven Kings Park, Aldborough Road, now 34 a., were both opened in 1902. (fn. 118) Goodmayes Park, Green Lane, now 69 a., was opened in 1905. (fn. 119) The original portions of the last two parks were given to the urban district by A. Cameron Corbett, later Lord Rowallan, builder of Seven Kings and Goodmayes. There are now 16 parks in Ilford, comprising 453½ a. (fn. 120) The first public baths were built in Roden Street in 1894–5. (fn. 121) New baths, opened in High Road in 1931, include two swimming pools and other facilities. (fn. 122)

Leather hoses, for fire-fighting, were purchased for Ilford ward in 1871, and in 1884 a fire-escape ladder. (fn. 123) These appliances were kept at the 'Red Lion', Ilford Hill. (fn. 124) A volunteer fire-brigade was formed in 1890; in 1893 a fire-station was built in Oakfield Road, and in the following year a steam fire-engine was bought. (fn. 125) Sub-fire-stations were opened in Horns Road and Cranbrook Road, and in 1905 a new central fire-station was opened in Ley Street. Motor fire-engines were introduced in 1914. (fn. 126) By 1935 the fire-brigade consisted of 26 men, all full-time. (fn. 127)

Before the Second World War Ilford had no serious housing problems. During the war, however, 313 houses were destroyed by bombing and 9,410 badly damaged. (fn. 128) After 1945 the borough council greatly accelerated its housing programme. Between 1919 and 1939 772 council houses had been built. By 1959 the total had risen to over 4,000. (fn. 129)

Ilford Isolation Hospital, Chadwell Heath Lane, was opened by the urban district council in 1900. (fn. 130) Ilford Emergency Hospital, Abbey Road, Newbury Park, was opened in 1912. A new hospital on the site, built with the aid of funds raised in Ilford and Barking, was incorporated by royal charter as the King George V Hospital, Eastern Avenue, and opened in 1930. (fn. 131) In 1918 the urban district council opened a maternity home in two houses, and in 1926 a permanent building, subsequently enlarged and now called Ilford Maternity Hospital, was opened in Eastern Avenue, Newbury Park. (fn. 132) All these hospitals are now part of the Ilford and Barking Group.

Ilford's public libraries have been described in a previous volume. (fn. 133) They comprise a central library and four branches. The Ilford tramways, and the reading room, are described above. (fn. 134)

CHURCHES FOUNDED SINCE 1830.

The division of the ancient parish of Barking, suggested in 1650, (fn. 135) was not carried out until 1830. The building of a new church at Ilford was under discussion in 1823. (fn. 136) In 1825 local Churchmen, vigorously led by Robert W. Hall-Dare of Cranbrook, began to agitate for the formation of a new parish for both civil and ecclesiastical purposes. (fn. 137) Some of them were spurred on by rivalry of the flourishing Baptist church at Ilford. (fn. 138) They met strong opposition during the next three years and decided not to press for civil division, but with the help of the Church Building Commissioners they succeeded in their limited objective. The new ecclesiastical parish of Great Ilford was created by Order in Council in 1830. It included the whole of Ilford ward, and the part of Chadwell ward to the north of Green Lane and west of Faircross Lane. (fn. 139) The parish church of St. Mary was built in the High Road in 1829–31, on land given by John Scrafton Thompson of Clements, who had been a powerful supporter of Hall-Dare. (fn. 140) The first vicar of Great Ilford was appointed in 1837, receiving 4/9 of the tithes of the ancient vicarage of Barking, commuted in 1847 for £740. (fn. 141) The advowson was at first vested in All Souls College, Oxford, but in 1904, after St. Clement's had become the principal parish church of Ilford, St. Mary's became a perpetual curacy in the gift of the Vicar of Ilford. (fn. 142)

The church of ST. MARY, which stands in a large graveyard, is a brick building designed by James Savage, in the 'Decorated' style. It originally consisted of an unaisled nave and a small west tower with a spire; there was no projecting chancel. The present tower was built in 1866 as a memorial to John and Elizabeth Davis of Cranbrook. In 1920 a tall chancel, Lady chapel, organ chamber, and vestries were added. (fn. 143) It was evidently intended that the remainder of the church should be altered to correspond with the new chancel, but this scheme was never carried out. (fn. 144) The church plate includes a silver paten of 1703. (fn. 145)

The parish of St. Mary, Great Ilford, was subsequently divided by the creation of the parishes of Holy Trinity, Barkingside (1841), St. Chad, Chadwell Heath (1895), and St. Clement, Ilford (1904). Other parts of St. Mary's parish have been transferred to those of St. John, Seven Kings, All Saints, Goodmayes, and St. Thomas, Becontree. (fn. 146)

The church of ST. CLEMENT, Park Avenue, was built between 1889 and 1896 on land given by Mrs. Clement Ingleby of Valentines. (fn. 147) In 1902 it became the principal parish church in place of St. Mary's. (fn. 148) It is a large red-brick building with stone dressings in the Gothic style, consisting of an aisled and clerestoried nave, chancel, Lady chapel, organ chamber, and a bell-cote containing one bell. The vicarage is in the gift of All Souls College.

The church of ST. ALBAN, Albert Road, was erected in 1900–6 to replace a temporary building. (fn. 149) It remained a chapel-of-ease of St. Clement's until 1958, when a separate parish was formed, the vicarage of which is in the gift of the Bishop of Chelmsford. (fn. 150) The building, of red brick in the Gothic style, contains an aisled and clerestoried nave, a chancel, an organ chamber, and a west porch; there is a bell-cote with one bell.

Building development in the Cranbrook district of St. Clement's parish was met in 1906 by the opening of a church hall. In 1923–4 a permanent church, dedicated to ST. ANDREW, was built in the Drive, and a new parish formed. The church, of red brick both inside and out, was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and incorporates Gothic and Renaissance features. It has a tall west bell turret and contains a lofty nave with passage aisles, a west baptistery, an apsidal chancel, and a north chapel. The advowson of the vicarage is held by the Bishop of Chelmsford. (fn. 151)

At Uphall, also in St. Clement's parish, a church hall was built in 1909. The church of ST. LUKE, Baxter Road, built on an adjacent site, was consecrated in 1915, and in 1916 the district became a separate parish. In 1940 the church was wrecked by bombs, and the congregation worshipped in the church hall until 1954, when the rebuilding of the church was completed. The building is of stone and red brick, designed by E. T. Dunn (fn. 152) in a scholarly Perpendicular style. It consists of an aisled nave and transepts, but the cruciform plan was never completed and the chancel has remained unbuilt. The advowson is held by the Bishop of Chelmsford. (fn. 153)

The church of ST. MARGARET, Perth Road, which was also a chapel-of-ease to St. Clement's, was built in 1914. (fn. 154) A conventional district was formed in 1960. The church is of red brick in the Perpendicular style, containing an aisled nave and a chancel. The advowson is held by the Bishop of Chelmsford. (fn. 155)

The new parish of St. Chad, Chadwell Heath, (fn. 156) created in 1895, included part of Goodmayes, formerly in that of St. Mary, Ilford. In 1903 the first part of the church of ST. PAUL, Barley Lane, north Goodmayes, was built. The building was completed by additions in 1905, 1917, and 1929. (fn. 157) It is a large church in the Perpendicular style, of red brick with stone dressings and has an aisled and clerestoried nave, west baptistery, chancel, Lady chapel, organ chamber, and two south porches. The church remained a chapel-of-ease to St. Chad until 1917, when St. Paul's became a separate parish, the advowson of the vicarage being vested in the Bishop of Chelmsford. (fn. 158)

In south Goodmayes a church hall was opened and a mission district formed in 1909. The church of ALL SAINTS, Goodmayes Lane, was consecrated in 1913, and in 1914 the district was constituted a separate parish, being formed from parts of the parishes of St. Mary, Ilford, Chadwell Heath, and Dagenham. (fn. 159) The building is of brown brick with stone dressings, having a fleche and a bellcupola on the roof. It consists of a nave with wide aisles, chancel, side chapel, organ chamber, and west porches. The advowson of the vicarage is vested in the Hyndman Trustees.

In 1900 Anglican services were started in the Central Hall, Seven Kings, in St. Mary's parish. (fn. 160) The church of ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, Aldborough Road, Seven Kings, was dedicated in 1903. (fn. 161) In 1904 a new parish was created, the vicarage of which is in the gift of the Bishop of the diocese. (fn. 162) The church is a large building of brown stock brick with red-brick dressings, designed in the Perpendicular style by J. E. K. and J. P. Cutts. (fn. 163) It has an aisled and clerestoried nave, a chancel flanked by chapels, and a bell-cote.

The movement for a new parish church at Barkingside began in 1838, when a petition was sent to the Church Building Commissioners by inhabitants of Ilford, who promised to raise £1,000 for the purpose. The petition stated that the people of Barkingside were 'very destitute and degraded' owing to the temptations to which they were exposed by the proximity of the forest, the nature of their occupations, and their visits to the London markets. The local landowners, who were nonresident, were said to take little interest in the inhabitants. The only place of worship in the district was the private chapel at Aldborough Hatch. (fn. 164) The commissioners agreed to give £350 towards a church, and a site was given by the owners of Gayshams Hall. The building was completed in 1840, and in 1841 Barkingside became a district chapelry. The new benefice was a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Vicar of Great Ilford. In addition to the money spent on building the church, £1,455 had been invested as an endowment, a tithe rent charge of £45 was allotted from the vicarage of Great Ilford, and 20 a. of glebe were provided. (fn. 165) The church of THE HOLY TRINITY, Mossford Green, which stands in a graveyard, was designed by Edward Blore. (fn. 166) It is a yellow-brick building in the 'Norman' style consisting of nave, chancel (added about 1895), and a north-west porch forming the base of a small tower with a spire. North and west vestries were added in the 20th century. The church plate includes a silver paten of 1724. (fn. 167)

Under the Hainault Forest Inclosure Act (1851) land was set aside for the erection of a church for the new population expected in the district. (fn. 168) In 1861 the Commissioners of Woods and Forests agreed to give £1,000 for a building that would take the place of the chapel at Aldborough Hatch, and promised that they would continue the annual payment of £20 towards the salary of the incumbent. (fn. 169) In 1863 a church was built, and a district chapelry, taken from the parish of Holy Trinity, Barkingside, was formed. The new benefice was endowed with a tithe rent charge of £25 from the vicarage of Great Ilford, 3 a. land valued at £350, and also the sum of £550. (fn. 170) In 1865 the commissioners added the further endowment of 11 a. of land, for which they agreed to pay an annuity of £21 13s. 4d. (fn. 171) In 1866 the living was declared a vicarage, in the gift of the Crown. (fn. 172) The church of ST. PETER, Aldborough Road, was designed by Arthur Ashpitel in a 13th-century style, and was built with stone which had previously formed part of Westminster Bridge. (fn. 173) It stands in a graveyard and consists of nave, chancel, south porch and small north-east bell turret. The church plate includes a cup, flagon, and almsdish of 1771, which came from the former chapel of Aldborough House. (fn. 174)

In 1862 Major G. E. Ibbetson built a chapel behind his residence at Heath House, Little Heath. It was originally intended for the use of his family and friends, but it attracted a considerable congregation from outside. Ibbetson maintained it and employed a succession of curates until his death in 1908, when the Heath House estate was bought by the County Borough of West Ham for the extension of Goodmayes Mental Hospital. The chapel was leased by West Ham to the congregation, and the last curate, H. R. Landon, remained until 1918. Financial difficulties then caused the congregation to appeal to the bishop, who executed a new lease and placed the chapel under the administration of the Vicar of Aldborough Hatch, in whose parish it lay. Services were continued until about 1930. In 1933 the building was demolished. The chapel, known as the chapel of ST. JAMES, was never consecrated. It was built of brick, with stone dressings, and consisted of nave, chancel, aisles, transepts, and a west tower with five bells. Panelling from the chapel, the processional cross, and the baptismal register, have been preserved in St. Peter's church, Aldborough Hatch. (fn. 175)

In 1899 an iron mission church was opened at the southern end of the parish of Barkingside, in the district then called the Beehive and now Gants Hill. (fn. 176) In 1927 a larger, temporary church was built and in the following year a new parish was formed from parts of Holy Trinity, Barkingside, and St. Clement, Ilford. The church of ST. GEORGE, Barkingside, consecrated in 1932, is in Woodford Avenue on the site of the original iron church. (fn. 177) It was designed by Sir Charles Nicholson (fn. 178) and is built of red brick, having nave, chancel, Lady chapel and organ chamber; the base of the west tower forms a baptistery. The Bishop of Chelmsford is patron of the vicarage.

At Horns Village, now Newbury Park, an iron mission church, dedicated to St. Laurence, was already in existence in Netley Road in 1890. (fn. 179) It was enlarged in 1898. (fn. 180) It remained attached to Holy Trinity, Barkingside, until 1934, when a conventional district was created from parts of the parishes of Holy Trinity, Barkingside, St. Peter, Aldborough Hatch, and St. Clement, Ilford, and a church hall was built in Emmott Avenue. (fn. 181) In 1939 the present church of ST. LAURENCE, Barkingside, was opened, and the district became a parish. (fn. 182) It stands at the junction of Hamilton Avenue and Donington Avenue and is of brown brick with an aisled nave, transepts, and a central tower; structural provision has been made to add a chancel and raise the height of the tower at some future date. The advowson of the vicarage is held by the Bishop of Chelmsford.

Another iron church, called the Maypole Mission, was opened in 1890 at Fulwell Hatch, north Barkingside. (fn. 183) In 1935 the foundation stone of a temporary church was laid and in 1938 a conventional district was formed. The present church of ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, Fencepiece Road, was opened in 1956. (fn. 184) It is of brown brick and was designed in a traditional style by J. J. Crowe, (fn. 185) having an aisled nave, baptistery, chancel, Lady chapel, vestries and west tower. The former church is used as a church hall. The advowson of the vicarage is held by the Bishop of Chelmsford.

The conventional district of ST. CEDD, Barkingside, was formed in 1938 from the parishes of Holy Trinity, Barkingside, and Holy Trinity, South Woodford. In the same year a church hall was built at the junction of Marston Road and Chalgrove Crescent for use as a temporary church. (fn. 186) In 1964 services were still held there and a new church, planned to occupy the adjoining site, had not been started. (fn. 187) The advowson is held by the Bishop of Chelmsford.

The conventional district of Becontree, created in 1922, included the whole area of the London County Council estate, in Dagenham, Ilford, and Barking. (fn. 188) Services were held first in a workmen's hut, then in a large parish hall, built in 1923. The church of ST. THOMAS, Burnside Road, was opened in 1927, with the help of funds from the sale of St. Jude's, Whitechapel. It is a red-brick building in the Gothic style, having a nave with west baptistery and passage aisles, a chancel, Lady chapel, and organ chamber. The advowson of the vicarage, originally vested in the Bishop of Chelmsford, was transferred to the Bishop of London in 1926. The church played an important part in the social life of the estate during its early years. (fn. 189) The parish was later subdivided, as other new parishes in Dagenham and Barking were formed on the estate.

ROMAN CATHOLICISM SINCE 1830. (fn. 190)

In 1895 a Roman Catholic mission was opened at Ilford on the initiative of the Revd. A. S. Barnes, a convert who had been chaplain of Ilford Hospital. A temporary iron church was erected in Ilford Lane, and in 1899 the permanent church of ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL was opened in the High Road. This is a brick building in the Perpendicular style, but the entrance front and tower are faced with stone. It consists of an apsidal chancel and an aisled and clerestoried nave, the aisle terminating in side chapels. It also has a baptistery and a west gallery. In 1896 the Revd. (later Canon) Patrick Palmer started an influential ministry at Ilford that lasted for 52 years. (fn. 191)

On the Becontree estate the temporary church of ST. VINCENT, Waldegrave Road, was opened in 1923, and a permanent building was erected in 1934. It is a large building of red brick with stone dressings in the Perpendicular style, having an aisled and clerestoried nave, chancel, side chapels, narthex, baptistery, and west gallery. At Barkingside the temporary church of ST. AUGUSTINE, Cranbrook Road, was opened in 1928 and a large permanent building in 1954. This is built of brownish-red brick in a simplified Italian Romanesque style. It contains a narthex, an aisled and clerestoried nave, and a shallow chancel flanked by chapels. At Chadwell Heath the church of ST. BEDE, Bishops Avenue, was opened in 1935. It became the church hall in 1963 when a new octagonal church in a striking mid-20th-century style was opened on the adjacent site. At Newbury Park the church of ST. TERESA, Eastern Avenue, a plain rectangular building of red brick, was opened in 1952. (fn. 192) The church of ST. MARY AND ST. ERCONWALD, at the junction of Ilford Lane and Khartoum Road, was opened in 1953 in an iron building previously used as the Emmanuel Congregational church. (fn. 193)

PROTESTANT NONCONFORMITY.

Churches founded since 1830.

In 1830 there were a Baptist chapel and a Wesleyan chapel in Ilford village, and one belonging to the London Itinerant Society at Barkingside. (fn. 194) Of these the first, which was the earliest and for many years the strongest nonconformist chapel in Ilford, has alone survived to the present day, as the High Road Baptist church.

Ebenezer Strict Baptist church was formed in 1836 by seceders from the High Road congregation, who built a chapel on leasehold land in Cranbrook Road, almost opposite the present railway station. (fn. 195) In 1898 a new iron chapel was erected on a freehold site in Cleveland Road. Ebenezer was joined in 1928 by the last 9 members of Elim Chapel, Limehouse, the sale of which provided part of the funds for the building of a new Ebenezer-Elim, opened in 1932.

The Baptists were the first denomination to open a church at Seven Kings. (fn. 196) In 1898 James Parker, minister of High Road, Ilford, persuaded the Revd. John F. Chadwick to start work on the Downshall estate. In 1899 Chadwick opened a temporary church in Cameron Road, with financial help from his friends, and from A. Cameron Corbett, builder of the estate, who also gave the site for a hall. For some years Chadwick drew no salary and paid all expenses. In 1905 negotiations were started with the Baptist church in Commercial Road, London, which traced its origin to a group meeting under Samuel Loveday about 1653, and had decided that its spiritual value in that area was declining owing to the influx of Jews from Russia. It was eventually agreed that the Commercial Road church should take over the Seven Kings premises, thus preserving its own continuity, and that it should be joined by the members from Seven Kings. A new church was to be erected at Seven Kings from the proceeds of the sale of Commercial Road and, on its completion, Chadwick was to retire and the Revd. Joseph Fletcher, of Commercial Road, was to become minister. The new church was opened in 1913, with 167 members, the old building being moved to the back of the site for use as a Sunday school. The union of churches was not entirely successful, and in 1914 59 members withdrew to found another church at Goodmayes. (fn. 197)

Cranbrook Road Baptist church was opened in 1899 on a site bought eight years earlier by the High Road Baptists, and subsequently conveyed to the London Baptist Association. (fn. 198) A minister was appointed in the same year, and in 1900 the church was formally constituted. A Sunday school hall was opened in 1906; during the Second World War this building was damaged by incendiary bombs.

Clementswood Baptist church originated about 1903, when a group of evangelists led by P. E. Brand met in Loxford Assembly Room, Ilford Lane. (fn. 199) In 1904 they moved to a hall belonging to Brand in Kingston Road, in 1905 J. A. Sutherland became their first minister, and in 1906 the church was formally constituted as Kingston Road Tabernacle. A controversy soon arose over the 'new theology' of which Sutherland was said by some to be an exponent, and in 1907 Brand gave the church notice to quit the building. Services were then held in the schoolroom of Ilford Lane United Methodist church, and later in the Britannia Institute, Ilford Lane. In 1908 an iron church was erected on a site in Ilford Lane previously acquired by James Parker, minister of the High Road Baptist church. A permanent church, delayed by the First World War, was opened in 1927, and the old church became the Sunday school. The church's present name, which came into use after the move to Ilford Lane, is taken from Clementswood ward of Ilford.

Goodmayes Baptist church was formed in 1914 by a group seceding from the Seven Kings Baptist church. (fn. 200) For some years services were held in Seven Kings Library, but in 1920 a timber and asbestos building was erected in Kinfauns Road. During the pastorate of George Hicks (1927–8) a similar, but smaller, building was added. Hicks also promoted the foundation of the Becontree Avenue Baptist church. (fn. 201) The small hall was burnt down in 1952 and replaced by a Nissen hut. A permanent church was opened in 1959.

Ashurst Drive Baptist church was built in 1929 to serve the rapidly-growing area north of Eastern Avenue. (fn. 202) Missionary work there had been fostered by the London Baptist Association and especially by its president, Frank Smith, minister of the High Road church. Nathaniel Beattie, a local doctor, acted for three years as lay pastor.

The Baptist church in Roding Lane South originated in 1932, when H. E. Borton of Wanstead built a free church at his own expense on land given by P. E. Brand. (fn. 203) Further buildings were added in 1942 and 1952. In 1940 Dr. Nathaniel Beattie became lay pastor. In 1952 the church became definitely Baptist, with Open Communion, and its premises were vested in the Baptist Property Board.

Claybury Park Baptist church started about 1936, with meetings in a house on the Claybury estate. (fn. 204) A tent mission led to the opening of a Sunday school, in the Peel Institute, Woodford Avenue. Help was given by the High Road Baptists, and in 1938 a building was opened on a site in Harewood Drive provided by the builders of the estate. The church was formally constituted in 1940.

Hainault Baptist church started in 1938. (fn. 205) During the war its meetings, led by Mrs. E. F. Hutton, were held in the pavilion of a playing field. After the war meetings were held in the home of a member. A tent mission, organized by the Revd. David Hood, Mildmay Staff Evangelist, resulted in a large increase in membership, a minister was appointed, and in 1948 a church was built in Franklyn Gardens.

The Baptist church, Marks Gate, originated about 1917, when Miss Fleet started a Sunday school. In 1951 Cranbrook Road Baptist church, with assistance from the London Baptist Association, took over the school, and in 1957 erected the present church in Barfield Avenue. (fn. 206)

There appears to have been a Congregational church at Ilford in 1854–7, but no later reference to it has been found. (fn. 207) The Vine Congregational church, formerly known as Ilford High Road church, was founded in 1892 by the Metropolitan District Committee of the London Congregational Union. (fn. 208) Services were held in the Thompson Rooms and later in a house in Oakfield Road. Edward T. Egg, a veteran minister, who after his retirement from a pastorate at Woodford promoted the formation of several new churches in metropolitan Essex, became temporary leader at Ilford, and in 1894 opened an iron church in High Road. In 1895 a large hall was opened, with A. G. Spears as minister. He was succeeded in 1897 by Charles H. Vine, who remained until his death in 1930.

Under Vine's leadership High Road became one of the strongest churches in Essex. Soon after his arrival the hall was enlarged, and in 1901 a new church was opened, with seats for 1,400. In 1910 an adjoining site was purchased and additional buildings erected. One of Vine's most important enterprises was the Men's Meeting, founded in 1901 and rising to a membership of 2,000. (fn. 209) This organization undertook social work of many kinds. As early as 1904 it had a labour exchange for its members, (fn. 210) and it also ran a sick benefit society, a holiday savings club, a hospital savings group, a horticultural society, a benevolent fund, and clubs for swimming and tennis.

From the first Vine was active in fostering new churches in the Ilford area. In 1900 he started a mission at Horns Village, Barkingside. (fn. 211) This apparently closed about 1903, but in 1906 he established a branch church, Emmanuel, in Ilford Lane, and in 1918 another in Birkbeck Road, Newbury Park. Both were closed during the Second World War. He also promoted the formation of new churches at Goodmayes, Seven Kings, and Woodford Avenue. (fn. 212) After his death the High Road church incorporated his name in its title, being known as the Vine Memorial church and later as the Vine church. During his ministry church membership rose from 110 in 1897 to a peak of 979 in 1927. (fn. 213) On the Sunday in November 1903 when Mudie-Smith's census was taken, this church had easily the largest congregation in Ilford, with total attendances of 2,130; the second in size was the principal parish church, with 1,458. (fn. 214) During and after the Second World War membership declined.

In 1960 the High Road part of the site, including the church of 1901, was sold for redevelopment. A new, smaller church in a simple mid-20th-century style was built in 1961, facing Richmond Road, and the church hall, facing Grosvenor Road, was renovated.

Wycliffe Congregational church, Cranbrook Road, originally called Christ Church Congregational, started in an iron building in 1895, mainly through the work of Robert Pettigrew. (fn. 215) It was formally constituted in 1896. In 1906 it was joined by the members of Wycliffe Congregational church, Stepney, who traced their history back to 1642. Christ Church had changed its name to Wycliffe in 1904, in anticipation of this union. The Stepney church was sold, and in 1907 the united congregation built a new Wycliffe on the Ilford site. (fn. 216)

Goodmayes Congregational church, Green Lane, originated in 1900, when an iron building was erected. (fn. 217) It was at first a branch of Ilford High Road church, but in 1905 became separate. (fn. 218) The present church was built in 1927. (fn. 219)

Seven Kings Congregational church, Meads Lane, was formed in 1902, with help from Ilford High Road church. (fn. 220) A hall was built in 1907 and in 1909 Seven Kings became separate. A new church was built in 1936.

Woodford Avenue Congregational church was also sponsored by Ilford High Road. (fn. 221) A site was given anonymously, and the London Congregational Union gave part of the proceeds from the sale of a church at Harley Street, Bow (Lond.). A building was erected in 1927, and in 1928 the church was formally constituted. In 1929 a church hall was built. Later the same anonymous donor gave more land, and money, for the present church, a brownbrick building with a long frontage, Gothic windows, and a tower, completed in 1931. He also gave a minister's house, and a sports field.

The three Methodist connexions which united in 1932 all had churches in Ilford, but none of these was directly descended from the original Wesleyan chapel in the village, founded about 1817. That chapel was weakened by the Reform controversy of 1849–51, which led to the formation of the rival United Methodist Free chapel in Ilford Lane, and closed soon after 1863. (fn. 222) The controversy also affected Barkingside, where a Wesleyan chapel, founded a few years earlier, appears to have gone over to the Reformers, and subsequently joined the United Methodist Free Church. (fn. 223) Both U.M.F. chapels, at Ilford and Barkingside, belonged to the Forest Gate circuit, and went with it into the United Methodist Church at the union of 1907. The same circuit later built the United Methodist church in Eastern Avenue. Meanwhile Wesleyan Methodism had been revived in Ilford in 1883, by missionaries from Stratford, and the Wesleyan churches in Ilford High Road, Newbury Park, Goodmayes, and Cranbrook Park thus joined the Stratford circuit. In 1908 these churches became part of a new Ilford circuit which later established a church at Gants Hill, and a central hall at Becontree. The Primitive Methodists erected two churches, in Connaught Road, Ilford, and Meads Lane, Seven Kings. Both were in the Upton Park circuit.

The Methodist Union of 1932 led to the closing of the ex-Wesleyan church at Newbury Park, and both the ex-Primitive churches, and the formation of a new church at Newbury Park, which was placed in the Upton Park circuit, but joined the Forest Gate circuit in 1937. In 1946 all the churches in the Forest Gate circuit which were within the borough of Ilford were transferred to the Ilford circuit. (fn. 224) The most important change since that time has been the amalgamation of the Ilford Lane and High Road churches in a new building in Ilford Lane. Accounts of the individual churches are given below.

The High Road (Wesleyan) Methodist church originated in 1883, when Henry Clark joined with Robert Gilderson, then a member of the United Methodist Free church in Ilford Lane, to invite John Jackson, a Wesleyan minister in the Stratford circuit, to visit Ilford. (fn. 225) Services were held in the Workmen's Hall, behind Gilderson's premises in High Road. (fn. 226) Land was bought in High Road, an iron building was erected in 1884, in 1895 a permanent church was opened, (fn. 227) and in 1902 a school hall was added. In 1903 this was the strongest Methodist church in Ilford, with congregations of over 500. (fn. 228) In 1924 the hall was remodelled to provide more accommodation. In 1959 the members of High Road were joined by those from the Ilford Lane Methodist church, thus forming a new society called the Ilford Methodist church, which in 1961 moved into a new building on the Ilford Lane site, and sold the High Road church for demolition. (fn. 229)

Newbury Park (Wesleyan) Methodist church was promoted by members from High Road, led by J. R. Jackson. (fn. 230) In 1906 a cottage was rented in Youngs Road, and in 1910 a small church was built in Perryman's Farm Road. The church was closed in 1934 on the opening of the Oaks Lane Methodist church.

Goodmayes (Wesleyan) Methodist church began with open-air services led by Arthur Tatchell, later a medical missionary in China. (fn. 231) In 1900 an iron building was erected in Blythswood Road, in 1904 a permanent church was built, and in 1910 a school hall was added. A large choir vestry was built in 1927.

Cranbrook Park (Wesleyan) Methodist church, the Drive, was formed in a temporary building in 1904. (fn. 232) A permanent church was completed in 1914, and a Sunday school and institute in 1925. (Sir) W. J. Oliver Sheat was a member of this church, and a generous benefactor to it. Cranbrook Park also benefited under the will of C. A. Meyer of Southend. From 1911 to 1913 and again from 1921 to 1928 the church conducted mission services at Beehive.

Gants Hill (Wesleyan) Methodist church, Gants Hill Crescent, was opened in 1928, mainly at the expense of Joseph Rank. (fn. 233) Leslie A. Newman was appointed as minister in the same year and the church was immediately successful: congregations were so large that it was sometimes necessary to display 'church full' notices. A church hall was opened in 1935.

Becontree (Wesleyan) central hall, Bennetts Castle Lane, was built in 1925 at a cost of £21,000, of which £10,000 was given by Joseph Rank. (fn. 234) It included a main hall seating 1,000, and two smaller halls. It is built of brown brick with red-brick dressings, in a neo-Georgian style. The main hall, surmounted by a cupola, is flanked by lower ancillary buildings. The initial local membership was only 2, but within three months this had increased to 100. In 1940 the hall was transferred from the Ilford circuit to the East Ham Mission.

Ilford Lane (United) Methodist church was probably founded about 1850 by a group of Wesleyan Reformers seceding from the old Wesleyan church. An Ilford society appears on a Wesleyan Reform plan of 1852, (fn. 235) and this was no doubt the origin of the United Methodist Free church there, which traced its descent back to about 1860. (fn. 236) Early meetings were held in a room in Ley Street, and later in Barking (now Ilford) Lane, where a church was built in 1867. The first resident minister was appointed in 1887. Some members seceded to the High Road Wesleyan church when that was formed in 1883. In 1902 a new church was built. This was in the Perpendicular style, designed by F. W. Dixon. (fn. 237) The old church was used as a Sunday school until 1932, when a new hall was built. The 1902 church was wrecked by bombing early in the Second World War. Services were subsequently held in the hall until 1959. Ilford Lane then amalgamated with the High Road Methodist church, whose buildings were used until 1961, when the new Ilford Methodist church was opened on the Ilford Lane site. (fn. 238)

Barkingside (United) Methodist church, Fremantle Road, seems to have originated as a Wesleyan chapel, which in 1847 was on the east side of the High Street, on the same site as the later United Methodist chapel. (fn. 239) This probably went over to the Wesleyan Reformers about 1850, and subsequently joined the United Methodist Free Church. (fn. 240) The building was enlarged in 1877. (fn. 241) In 1937 it was sold and a new church was built in Fremantle Road. In 1959 the present church was opened, and the 1937 building became the church hall. (fn. 242)

Seven Kings (United) Methodist church, Seven Kings Road, originated in 1903 as a society of the United Methodist Free Church. (fn. 243) Services were held at first in the central hall. A church was opened in 1905 and enlarged in 1923. Among the leading members of this church was A. E. Williams, secretary and biographer of Dr. Barnardo.

Eastern Avenue (United) Methodist church was opened in 1928, mainly through the efforts of (Sir) Sydney W. Robinson, who gave a site in a housing area which he was then developing, and (Sir) William Mallinson, Bt., who gave £12,000. (fn. 244) A Sunday school was built in 1932.

Connaught Road (Primitive) Methodist church was an iron building opened in 1897. (fn. 245) In 1936 it was closed as part of the scheme for building the Oaks Lane church, Newbury Park, and the members joined the Ilford Lane Methodist church. (fn. 246)

Seven Kings (Primitive) Methodist church started with services in the house of Mrs. Templar. (fn. 247) A church was erected in Meads Lane in 1904. It was closed about 1934 as part of the scheme for building Oaks Lane church.

Oaks Lane, Newbury Park, was the first Methodist church to be built in England after the Union of 1932. (fn. 248) Shortly before the Union William Potter, Superintendent of the Upton Park Primitive Methodist circuit, proposed that the Primitive Methodist churches at Ilford, and Seven Kings, and the Wesleyan church at Newbury Park, should be sold and the proceeds used to build a new church on a more central site at Newbury Park. This scheme was adopted and the Oaks Lane church was opened in 1934. Its first trust was composed of an equal number of Wesleyan, United, and Primitive Methodists, and the trust deed was the Model Deed adopted by the uniting conference of 1932. Potter himself became first minister of Oaks Lane.

Ilford Presbyterian church, Oakfield Road, was formed in 1896, in an iron building. (fn. 249) It was raised to a full charge in the following year and a permanent church was built in 1903. The organ, installed in 1905, had been built in 1820 for the church of St. Mary, Moorfields (Lond.).

Goodmayes Presbyterian church, Goodmayes Road, was formed in 1905 in an iron building. (fn. 250) A permanent church was erected in 1912, and a small hall added in 1924–5. In 1941 the church was damaged by bombing. Services were held in the small hall until 1950, when the church was reopened. In 1952 a new hall was opened.

The Ilford Friends' Meeting, Cleveland Road, was formed in 1906 in a temporary building. A permanent meeting house was erected in 1927. (fn. 251)

The Salvation Army had a hall behind High Road, Ilford, by 1887. (fn. 252) They were active in the 1890's, and about 1901 opened the present hall in Clements Road. (fn. 253) Another hall was built, in Goodmayes Avenue, Goodmayes, in 1906. (fn. 254) There is also a Salvation Army meeting in Birkbeck Road, Newbury Park. (fn. 255)

Ilford Unitarian church was formed in 1906, through missions organized by E. R. Fyson and others. (fn. 256) The congregation met in the Assembly Room, Broadway, until 1909, when the present church was opened in High Road.

The Christadelphian Hall, Scrafton Road, has existed since about 1903. (fn. 257) The International Bible Students Association (Four Square Gospel Alliance) had a meeting in Albert Road in 1922; Elim Four Square Tabernacle, Clements Road, is recorded from 1926. (fn. 258) The First Church of Christ Scientist, Eastern Avenue, was established by 1935. (fn. 259) In 1903 the Brethren were meeting in Clements Road and in Ilford Lane. (fn. 260) Their Ley Street Gospel Hall is recorded from 1904. (fn. 261) In 1903 the Ilford Spiritualists were meeting in Clock House Hall. (fn. 262) Their present church in Clements Road was licensed in 1933. (fn. 263) The Apostolic church, Connaught Road, was opened shortly before the Second World War. During the war it was wrecked by bombing and rendered unusable. In 1960 a new building was erected on the site as part of an amalgamation scheme between the Apostolic congregations of Ilford and Barking. (fn. 264)

Several undenominational missions have existed at Ilford. (fn. 265) Among these was the Ilford Tabernacle, which originated about 1885 with services in the Broadway. In 1889 a cottage in High Road was rebuilt as the Tabernacle, which was enlarged in 1891, and was used for worship until about 1925. (fn. 266) The building is now (1963) used by Ladygate fashions.

SYNAGOGUES.

The Ilford and Valentines Park Synagogue, Coventry Road, was founded in 1927, and the Ilford District Synagogue, Beehive Lane, in 1936. (fn. 267) The Becontree Synagogue, founded before 1933 in temporary premises in Becontree Avenue, amalgamated in 1949 with that of Barking. In 1954 the Barking and Becontree Synagogue was built on the Becontree Avenue site. (fn. 268)

SCHOOLS.

A school board was formed for Ilford in 1893. (fn. 269) There were then five elementary schools in the parish, of which four belonged to the Church of England and one to the Baptists. Two were in Ilford village, one at Barkingside, one at Aldborough Hatch, and the other in Beehive Lane. During the ten years of its existence the school board built seven (fn. 270) elementary schools to serve the rapidly growing town, and also a higher grade school, the first of its kind in Essex. In the same period the Baptist school was closed and a Roman Catholic school opened.

In 1904 Ilford Urban District Council became a 'Part III' authority, under the Education Act (1902) with responsibility for elementary education. It built four more schools before the First World War. The higher grade school was transferred to the county and became Ilford county high school. During the same period the Church school at Aldborough Hatch was closed and the Beehive Church school became Valentines council school. After the war it was again necessary to provide schools quickly in new areas. The first part of the Becontree housing estate, on which building started in 1921, was mainly in Ilford, and a council elementary school, at first in a church hall, was opened there in 1922. (fn. 271) Development began at Gants Hill and Barkingside soon after this, and between 1929 and 1939 the council built five elementary schools in those areas, while three old village schools, two of them Church schools, were closed. During the same period the Roman Catholics built a new elementary school at Becontree and another at Barkingside. Between the two world wars there were also changes in south Ilford, the older part of the town: the Church elementary school was closed and two council infant schools were built. A council special school for delicate and physically handicapped children was opened in 1929.

Higher education was also extended between the wars. The county high school became two, one for boys and one for girls, each in new buildings. High school places were also provided at the new Barking Abbey county school. Meanwhile the Ilford council had started advanced courses at some of its elementary schools, and in 1927 departments taking these courses were combined to form South Park selective senior or central school. In 1931 Beal central school, built for the purpose, was opened, replacing South Park. Four other central schools, one of them at Becontree, were opened before 1939. Efforts were made to co-ordinate courses to facilitate the transfer of pupils from central schools to high schools. (fn. 272)

Under the Education Act (1944) the Borough of Ilford exercised its right to become an excepted district, within the county's system of divisional administration. (fn. 273) Between 1945 and 1962 five county primary schools and a secondary (modern) school were built, and four other secondary (modern) schools created by the re-organization of all-standard schools. The Beal central school was re-organized as two separate schools: a grammar school for girls and a grammar-technical school for boys.

Many of the secondary (modern) schools in Ilford are now separately organized for boys and girls, and many of the primary schools separately for juniors and infants. This may mean that what was originally a single school has become a pair of schools, often on the same site and with a common name.

In the following chronological sections the account of each school is placed according to the date of its original foundation. Since there has been much rebuilding and re-organization the information in a section overlaps the dates contained in the heading.

Elementary schools founded before 1893.

Early in the 19th century Charles Welstead of Valentines built the Forest Side school in Horns Road, Barkingside. From 1813 this was being supported, and perhaps partly controlled, by the Barking Church school committee, (fn. 274) which in 1822 decided that all Ilford boys should attend it. (fn. 275) After Welstead's death in 1832 the committee closed the school and let the buildings, (fn. 276) the income from which was in 1837 settled on the Cricklewood school in Ilford village. (fn. 277) In 1841 the Forest Side school was conveyed to the new ecclesiastical district of Barkingside. After the building of the Barkingside Church school in 1842 the rents from Forest Side were used for that school. (fn. 278)

In 1830 the Barking Church school committee built a school on a site called Cricklewood, east of St. Mary's church in Ilford High Road. (fn. 279) This, which was at first called the Cricklewood school, was in union with the National Society. (fn. 280) In 1837 it was taken over by a separate Ilford committee. In 1846 Nancy and Eleanor Thompson of Clements built an infant department farther west on the opposite side of the road. (fn. 281) The school was enlarged in 1885 to provide 680 places. (fn. 282) Attendance rose to about 580 in 1903–4 but subsequently declined. (fn. 283) Part of the school was closed in 1920 and the remainder in 1922. (fn. 284) The buildings east of the church (fn. 285) were demolished in 1964 to make way for an office block. The infant school, which bears a tablet 'To God and the Church, 1846', is still standing, part being used as public rooms. The gabled façade is in yellow brick, in a 'Tudor' style.

Barkingside National school was built in 1842, to the east of Holy Trinity church. (fn. 286) Attendance, especially of older children, was at first small and the standard of attainment low, (fn. 287) but by the end of the 19th century the school had been enlarged to provide 400 places and had achieved a good reputation. (fn. 288) It was closed in 1935. (fn. 289) In 1964 the buildings were in use by Toc H and the Barkingside branch library.

The United Methodist Free church in Ilford Lane was by 1870 maintaining a day school. (fn. 290) This appears to have ceased between 1874 and 1878. (fn. 291) From 1903 to 1906 the school board used premises belonging to this church as a temporary school, but there is no evidence of a connexion between this and the earlier school. (fn. 292)

Aldborough Hatch Church school was built in 1867, on land next to the church, given by the Crown. (fn. 293) It was closed in 1912, (fn. 294) and the building has been adapted and enlarged for use as a church hall.

Beehive Church school, Beehive Lane, was built before 1870 on the Valentines estate, at the instance of Mrs. Ingleby. (fn. 295) About 1908 it was taken over by the Ilford Education Committee, and re-named Valentines school. (fn. 296) It was closed in 1936–7. (fn. 297)

About 1882 a school was opened in connexion with the Baptist chapel in Ilford High Road. (fn. 298) When the school board was formed the Baptist school ceased, but the building was for a time used as a board school. (fn. 299)

Elementary schools founded between 1893 and 1921.

Chadwell county junior and infants schools (High Road, Chadwell Heath). Chadwell infants board school was opened in 1894. A mixed department for older children was added in 1897. A new building was opened in 1933. In 1938 the school was reorganized for juniors and infants. (fn. 300)

Newbury Park county primary school (Perrymans Farm Road). Horns board school was opened in 1895, enlarged in 1904, and re-named Newbury Park school about 1907. It was re-organized for mixed juniors and infants in 1940. (fn. 301)

Cleveland (Road) county junior and infants schools. Cleveland Road board school was opened in 1896. The three-story building, accommodating 1,800, was the largest erected by the school board. (fn. 302) It was re-organized for juniors and infants in 1931. (fn. 303)

Downshall county junior and infants schools (Meads Lane and Aldborough Road, Seven Kings). Downshall temporary board school was opened in 1899. (fn. 304) A permanent building was completed in 1902. In 1947 the school was re-organized to provide a secondary school in addition to those for juniors and infants. (fn. 305)

Christchurch county junior and infants schools (Wellesley Road). Christchurch board school was opened in 1900. It was re-organized for juniors and infants in 1936. (fn. 306)

St. Peter and St. Paul's Roman Catholic junior and infant schools (High Road) originated in 1900 as an all-standard school. This was granted Aided status in 1951 and in 1961 was re-organized for juniors and infants. (fn. 307)

Highlands county junior and infants schools (Lennox Gardens). Highlands temporary board school was opened in 1902. A large permanent building was completed in 1905. The school was re-organized for juniors and infants in 1936. (fn. 308)

Loxford council school (Eton Road), planned by the school board, was opened in 1904. In 1931 it was re-organized as a central school for boys. An infants department, also opened in 1931, later became Woodlands school. During the Second World War, when the senior boys were evacuated, Loxford was used as a mixed school. (fn. 309)

Goodmayes county junior and infants schools (Airthrie Road). Goodmayes temporary council school was opened in 1905. A permanent school was built in 1909. In 1934 this was re-organized for juniors and infants. (fn. 310)

Uphall county primary school (Uphall Road). Uphall council school was opened in 1906, in a temporary building. A permanent building was opened in 1909. In 1931 the school was re-organized for juniors and infants. (fn. 311)

South Park junior and infants schools (Water Lane, Seven Kings). South Park council school was opened in 1907. Between 1927 and 1930 the building was used for a temporary selective central school. South Park reverted to elementary status in 1931, and in 1937 was re-organized for juniors and infants. (fn. 312)

Little Heath council school was opened in 1910 and closed in 1933. (fn. 313)

Mossford, Dr. Barnardo's primary school, in the Village Homes, Barkingside, was founded in 1893, as the gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Newberry. (fn. 314) It was receiving local authority grants from 1924, and in 1954 was given Controlled status. (fn. 315)

Secondary schools founded before 1921.

In 1901 the school board opened the Park higher grade school, Melbourne Road, with 600 places. This provided an advanced course, including Latin, French, geometry, and science, modelled on that at the Cowper Street school in Shoreditch (Lond.). It was taken over by the county council in 1904 as a high school. The boys and girls, in separate departments, remained on the same site until 1929, when Ilford county high school for girls moved to new buildings in Cranbrook Road. In 1935 Ilford county high school for boys was transferred to new buildings in Fremantle Road. The old building in Melbourne Road is now (1963) used by the Dane secondary (modern) school. A pupil teacher centre attached to the Park school was also taken over by the county and was closed about 1911. (fn. 316)

The Ursuline high school for girls, Morland Road, was established by the Roman Catholics in 1903. It was originally independent but later sought aid from public funds and is now (1963) a direct grant school. (fn. 317)

Elementary schools founded between 1921 and 1939. (fn. 318)

All the schools in this section, except the two Roman Catholic schools, were built by Ilford Education Committee, and are now county schools.

Becontree junior and infants schools. Becontree temporary council school was opened in the St. Thomas's church hall, Burnside Road. Permanent buildings in Stevens Road were opened in 1925. The school was re-organized in 1945, the senior department becoming a secondary (modern) school. (fn. 319) Fairlop junior and infants schools (Fencepiece Road, Barkingside). Fairlop council school was opened in 1929. A new building was provided for the seniors in 1935. In 1945 the school was re-organized, the seniors being formed into secondary (modern) schools. (fn. 320) St. Vincent's Roman Catholic primary school (Waldegrave Road, Becontree) was opened in 1929. It was granted Aided status in 1951, and in 1954 was re-organized for juniors and infants. Gearies junior and infants schools (Gaysham Avenue). Gearies council school was opened in 1929. In 1945 it was re-organized, the seniors being formed into secondary (modern) schools. Gordon infants school (Golfe Road) was opened in 1930. Mayesbrook temporary junior school (Goodmayes Lane), was opened in 1930 and closed in 1934 when Mayfield central school was opened on the same site. Woodlands infants school (Eton Road), originally a department of Loxford council school, was opened in 1931. The William Torbitt junior and infants schools (Eastern Avenue) and the Redbridge junior and infants schools (College Gardens) were opened in 1937. St. Augustine's Roman Catholic primary school (Cranbrook Road, Barkingside) was opened in 1938 and was granted Aided status in 1951. Parkhill junior and infants schools (Lord Avenue) were opened in 1939.

Secondary and senior schools founded between 1921 and 1939.

Barking Abbey school (Longbridge Road), a mixed grammar school, was opened by the county in 1922. (fn. 321) It is situated just within Ilford borough.

Beal grammar-technical school for boys (Woodford Bridge Road) and Beal grammar school for girls (Ley Street) originated in 1931, when the Ilford Education Committee opened a selective central school in Ley Street. In 1948 the school was re-organized into separate boys and girls grammar schools. In 1957 the boys school was transferred to its present new building and re-organized as a bilateral school. (fn. 322)

The following schools were formed by the Ilford Education Committee as non-selective central schools, and are now secondary (modern). The Mount girls school (Uphall Road) was formed in 1931. (fn. 323) Loxford boys school (Eton Road) was opened in 1931, in the buildings of the former Loxford elementary school. Mayfield boys school (Goodmayes Lane) and girls school (Christie Gardens, Chadwell Heath), originated in 1934, when a central school was opened in Goodmayes Lane on a site occupied from 1930 to 1934 by Mayesbrook temporary junior school. The girls were transferred to their present building in 1953. (fn. 324) Dane school (Melbourne Road), opened in 1936, occupies the buildings previously used by the county high school. (fn. 325)

Primary schools founded since 1945.

The county council built the Glade junior and infants schools (Harewood Drive) (1948); Barley Lane junior and infants, Chadwell Heath (juniors in Huxley Drive, infants in Eccleston Grove) (1952); Gilbert Colvin primary school (Strafford Avenue) (1952); Mossford Green primary (Fairlop Road, Barkingside) (1952); John Bramston junior and infants (Dryden Close, Hainault) (1952–3).

Secondary schools founded since 1945.

The following county secondary schools were formed by the re-organization of existing primary schools of the same names. Becontree school (1945), Fairlop schools (1945), Gearies schools (1945), and Downshall school (1947). Fairlop boys school was transferred in 1958 to a new building in Forest Road. Gearies boys school remained at Newbury Park school, where the senior boys of Gearies elementary school had been accommodated since 1943. Becontree and Downshall remained mixed schools.

Caterham (Avenue) county secondary (modern) school was opened in 1956. Canon Palmer Roman Catholic secondary (modern) school (Lombard Avenue, Seven Kings), a Special Agreement school, was opened in 1961.

Special school.

The Benton (Road) county school for delicate and physically handicapped children was opened in 1929 by Ilford Education Committee. (fn. 326)

Private schools.

A widow who had kept a school in Ilford is mentioned in 1659. (fn. 327) Between 1840 and 1890 there were usually about five private schools in the parish. (fn. 328) One of the most important in that period was the Ilford House academy on Ilford Hill, which is said to have been in existence in 1824, and continued until about 1870. (fn. 329) At the end of the century, when Ilford became a middle class suburb, private schools increased in numbers: by 1906 there were over twenty. (fn. 330) Cranbrook college for boys, opened in Cranbrook Lodge in 1896. The present building, facing Mansfield Road, was erected in 1923. (fn. 331) Eastcourt school in Eastwood Road, Goodmayes, was also founded in 1896. (fn. 332) Glenarm college, Coventry Road, was founded in 1893. (fn. 333) In 1960 there were at least twelve private schools in the borough. (fn. 334)

Fowke's educational charity is described elsewhere. (fn. 335)

Footnotes