Harold Hill
Introduction
Harold hill is a large suburban distict in east london, england, and part of the london borough of havering. located 16.6 miles east-northeast of charing cross andparades of shops. the extensive london county council housing development of harold hill was conceived in the greater london plan of 1944 in order to allevate housing shortages in Inner London. Prior to the con struction of of the estate, which was completed in 1958, it was the location of Dagnams house and grounds. During construc tion, it was within the Municipal Borough of Romford in the coun ty of Essex and was transferred to Greater London in 1965. The first Greater London Council tenant to buy their council house did so here in 1967.The area is part of a long term regeneration project, called Harold Hill Ambitions, led by Havering London Borough Council.
The area that became Harold Hill formed part of the Harold Wood and Noak Hill wards of the parish of Hornchurch; the large ancient parish occupied the same area as the royal manor and liberty of Havering. The boundary between Harold Wood and Noak Hill was formed by a tributary of the River Ingrebourne. In the Harold Hill area the manor was subdvided into Dagnams, Cockerells and Gooshays. The Havering courts and Romford vestry were the principal local government in the area. The Havering liberty was abolished in 1892 and the vestry in 1894. Following the Local Government Act 1894 the area was split between the parishes of Romford Rural (in the west) and Noak Hill (in the east), each with a parish council and within the Romford Rural District.
In 1900 the Romford Rural parish was abolished and the area was then split between the Romford Urban District (in the west) and Noak Hill in Romford Rural District (in the east). In 1934 Romford Urban District absorbed Noak Hill, bringing the whole area under the authority of Romford Urban District Council. Romford was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1937 governed by Romford Borough Councilwhich was
the local authority during the construction of the estate. The Municipal Borough of Romford was abolished in 1965 and Harold Hill became part of the London Borough of Havering in Greater London.
Local Goverment
Harold Hill was a planned community, conceived as part of the Greater London Plan in 1944 as a satellite town on the edge of the built up area, Land for the estate, which consisted of the remaining 850 acres (3.4 km2)
of Dagnams, was purchased in 1947 by the London County Council. The rest of Dagnams had been sold off in 1919, with the land used for the estate consisting of parkland, woodland and farmland. The area was within the designated Metropolitan Green Belt, but an exception was made for the development because of the exceptional housing need in London following the Second World War. Reflecting the urgency of the problem, housing was initially prefab ricated. Construction of 7,631 permanent homes, housing 25,000 people, began in 1948 and was complete by 1958. The devel-
opment is fairly low density with large sections of parkland retained in the centre and edges of the estate. The estate was constructed primarily in brick, with mostly terraces of houses and some flats. Provision was made for community facilities and three shopping areas were planned to break up the size of the development. Some industrial development already existed to the south and adjacent to the A12 road and this was retained.
Urban Development
Geography
Harold Hill has clear geographic boundaries formed in the south by the A12 road, in the east by the M25 motorway and in the north where the built up area ends at Noak Hill
Road. There are large sections of parklands and woodlands in the middle and on the edges of the estate, including Central Park and Dagnam Park. The land is gently un-
Harold Hill. To the south is Harold Wood, to the north is Noak Hill, to the west is Gidea Park and to the east is South Weald. Harold Hill is part of the Romford post town in the
RM3 postcode district, which also includes Harold Wood and Noak Hill. Climate data for Harold Hill is taken from the nearest weather station at Greenwich.
Transport
Harold Hill does not have a London Underground or National Rail station. The nearest railway station is at Harold Wood, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the centre of the estate. The nearest London Underground station is at Upminster, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) to the south. Transport for London provides bus routes 174, 256, 294, 496, 499 which give daytime connections to Becontree Heath, Dagenham, Emerson Park, Gidea Park, Hornchurch, Noak Hill, Queen’s Hospital and Romford; and night bus route N86 which runs to Stratford via Romford and Ilford.
Culture and Community Every year in Harold Hill there is a community festival held in Central Park normally in early July called the Harold Hill Festival.
The song set all three of its verses in real places; the others were Turnham Green and Lambeth Walk. In his double CD Retrospective Reasons To be Cheerful produced by Ian Dury referenced Harold Repertoire Records Dury stated Hill in This Is What We Find: that he never wrote another verse as good as Harold Hill’s verse. “Home improvement expert Harold Hill from Harold Hill The area has been covered in reOf do it yourself dexteri- lation to various murders and atty and double glazing skill tempted murders.Despite its past, Came home to find another Harold Hill is now one of the fastgentleman’s kippers in the grill est improving boroughs since the so he sanded off his winkle council built the Myplace centre alwith his Black & Decker Drill” lowing young people a safe location — Ian Dury to spend time with their friends. The Prime Minister said that since Draper’s Academy opened in Settle Road, it has become one of the
fastest improving schools in England helping Harold hill improve in the future.It has had so much success in the past year that the Queen visited Drapers Academy in October 2012, that being her first visit to Harold Hill. Bedrock is the local hospital radio service available online to the local area and broadcasting a range of health-related information and locally produced entertainment.
This amazing site in Harold Hill which includes Hatters Wood, Fir Wood, Duck Wood and Dagnam Park offers a diversity of different wildlife habitats. The site includes almost twenty hectares of colourful wildflower meadows, over eight hectares of ancient coppiced woodland, ponds, scrub and veteran trees. Not only that but the site also preserves a fascinating historical record which stretches back into the Middle Ages. Dagnam park, formally laid out by the well known Victorian landscape architect Humphrey Repton, preserves its original 18th century boundaries together with a number of original landscape features including copses, ponds and specimen trees. Look out for mature conifers, horse chestnuts and cedar. The site of the original house is now overgrown, but a line of yew trees survives in woodland close to the spot where 19th century castiron gateposts flank the former drive. There is also a scheduled ancient monument, Cockerell’s moated site (of Dagnam Park Farm), in the south of the site - now a well known breeding pond for great crested newts. There is also evidence of medieval field patterns and see if you can spot the medieval road running along the sites eastern boundary! The nature conservation interest in Dagnam Park, Hatters Wood and Fir Wood is recognised in its designation by the Greater London Authority as a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. Nearby Duck Wood is also designated as a site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation.
Special plants and animals Ancient woodland, wildflower meadows, wild service tree, small leaved lime, bluebell, great crested newt, veteran trees, common spotted-orchid, square stemmed St Johns wort, fine-leaved water-dropwort, skylark, yellowhammer, hawfinch. The site is 68 hectares. Access There is a 700m hardened pathway suitable for bicycles, pushchairs and wheelchairs running through Dagnam Park. Duck Wood also has a circular hardened pathway approximately 1km in length. Getting there From Lower Noke Close there is a pathway leading to Dagnam Park. There is pedestrian access to Dagnam Park at entrances from Settle Road and Sedgefield Crescent. There is an entrance to Hatters Wood from Tring Close. Access to Duck Wood can be made from Sheffield Drive. Parking One main car park off Settle Road in the south of the site.
Nature