Thames Tributary Mayesbrook - Chadwell Heath
Thames Tributary Mayesbrook
The Mayesbrook continues to flow south west, largely unseen
The Great Eastern Railway from Liverpool Street to Shenfield runs north eastwards from Goodmayes Station and through Chadwell Heath Station and onwards.
TQ 47682 87332
Suburban area with acres of largely local authority housing and a shopping centre based around the old main road. Among the houses are old estates and some industrial sites.
Post to the west Goodmayes
Post to the north Chadwell Heath
Post to the east Whalebone Lane
Back Lane
On line of London-Colchester Roman Road and thus probably the oldest road in the area. It was once called Post Office Lane.
1-2 cottages which are thought to be the oldest surviving houses in the area, built in 1827. A blacksmith lived in one.
Burnside Road
Angle Green. Green built in the middle of the London County Council’s cottage estate
Chadwell Heath
Records of the area show that in the 14th it was called Blackheath – and this continued until around 1600. “Chadwell” is a corruption of ‘cald wielle’ – meaning a cold spring, and not to do with St.Chad. This water is said to have never dried up and to have been good for sore eyes. Chadwell Heath itself was a patch of infertile land - a wild and boggy heath on the fringes of Hainault Forest. In the 19th it is said to have been infested with highwaymen, robbers and poachers. Chadwell Heath was developed as a commuter village along with the railway.
Chapel Lane
Garages on the site of Chadwell Heath Chapel and a school for Plymouth Brethren founded by Francis Glenny, the Barking brewer. This had become a warehouse by the 1960s. The yard is on the site of an old burial ground.
Essex Road
Oasis Church
Freshwater Road
Said to be named after a local headmaster.
Berger Paints. The company dated from the mid 18th and had been concentrated on a site in Homerton. In 1934 they bought 29 acres of in Freshwater Road, to manufacture nitrocellulose systems. In the 1950’s this was expanded to with offices, paint and resin production plants, laboratories and warehouses and straddled the road – and a tunnel under the road connected the two sites. The northern part of the site was closed when the Decorative Division was sold and was demolished in 1988. Following various company mergers the company grew to be one of the biggest paint manufacturers in the world. They were taken over by German interests and then sold to DuPont.
DuPont Building - office block built by Berger. Converted to housing.
High Road
The road is mainly on the line of the Roman London- Colchester Road, and was probably a trackway before that. In the area around the road was narrow and buildings were demolished to allow more traffic through Grove Farm. Trading estate and business park on the farm site – and which has retained the name
Chadwell Primary School
Chadwell Arms
Mecca Bingo. This was built as the Embassy Cinema in 1934. It has a very plain tiled frontage and originally included a tea-room, a ballroom as well as a stage and dressing rooms. From the start it had a Compton 3Manual/8Rank theatre organ the back of which a fan of peacock feathers which lit up. Soon after opening it was taken over and re-named Gaumont Palace Theatre which it remained until 1964 when it became the Odeon as part of the Rank Organisation. It closed in 1966 and was converted into a Bingo Club
The Eve Hart. Wetherspoon’s pub in the old police station. Eve Hart was a local lady who survived the Titanic sinking. It is a brick building with some half timbering designed in 1892 by John Butler.
Coopers Arms. Pub which dates to at least 1830, locally listed building,
Baptist Meeting House. Originated in 1829 and the current church was built in 1905 by Frederick Faunch in red brick. It replaced the chapel in Chadwell Heath Lane.
Chadwell Heath Health Centre. This lunch and leisure centre was the Civic Restaurant during the Second World War
Flats opposite the end of Belfairs Drive replace a terrace of half timbered cottages demolished in 1965.
Chadwell County Junior and Infants Schools. This was opened in 1894 and extended in 1897. It was rebuilt in 1933.
Tudor Parade, built around 1938-39.
Kemp Road
Sports ground – this area was originally the company ground for Berger Paints with pitches and tennis courts. Used for additional factory space from the 1970. The cricket pavilion remains.
Spies Hecker Training Centre was built 1997 on lower left of the above view.
Chadwell Heath Industrial Park – on the site of some of the Berger Factory
East London Community Foundation in LCCM House
Mayfield Road
At the junction with Green Lane the Mayesbrook was known as Heavy Waters
Pedley Road
Mayfield School. Mayfield School was originally a secondary school in Goodmayes Lane opened in 1934 and closed in 1959. This is a new school with the same name following a series of amalgamations and closures.
Station Road
Chadwell Heath Station. This was opened in 1839 by the Eastern Counties Railway and now lies Between Romford and Goodmayes stations. It was built on the site of Wangey House and station buildings were erected in 1864, but were demolished for rebuilding in 1900.. There were only two platforms until 1902. Alongside the station were sidings for the temporary line to the London County Council building sites. Another siding ran to William Boyer's gravel pit.
Signal Box. This came out of use in 1972 and was later demolished.
Wangey House The manor of Wangey spanned the main toad. In the 15th it was part of the Barking Abbey estate and following the dissolution it was held by various lessees and sub lessees. It had an observation platform on the roof. It was partly demolished for the railway in 1836, but some survived until 1936.
Chadwell Heath Farm site. Part of the Wangey estate - later known as Broomfields.
Wangey Hall Farmhouse built before 1777 to the west of Chitty's Lane. Hemmings Bakery opened in 1938 on the site.
A.B. Hemmings had a large bakery building north of the station. They had a chain of 230 shops throughout London and were taken over by Associated British Foods in the 1960s. The bakery was derelict by the 1970s and later demolished for housing.
Sources
Archives of the Chemical Industry.
Brennand. Ilford to Shenfield
Bygone Dagenham and Rainham
Essex Journal, Web site
London Borough of Havering. Web site
London Borough of Redbridge. Web site
Nature Conservation in Barking and Dagenam
Victoria County History. Essex
Mayfield School. Web site
Nature Conservation in Redbridge
The Mayesbrook continues to flow south west, largely unseen
The Great Eastern Railway from Liverpool Street to Shenfield runs north eastwards from Goodmayes Station and through Chadwell Heath Station and onwards.
TQ 47682 87332
Suburban area with acres of largely local authority housing and a shopping centre based around the old main road. Among the houses are old estates and some industrial sites.
Post to the west Goodmayes
Post to the north Chadwell Heath
Post to the east Whalebone Lane
Back Lane
On line of London-Colchester Roman Road and thus probably the oldest road in the area. It was once called Post Office Lane.
1-2 cottages which are thought to be the oldest surviving houses in the area, built in 1827. A blacksmith lived in one.
Burnside Road
Angle Green. Green built in the middle of the London County Council’s cottage estate
Chadwell Heath
Records of the area show that in the 14th it was called Blackheath – and this continued until around 1600. “Chadwell” is a corruption of ‘cald wielle’ – meaning a cold spring, and not to do with St.Chad. This water is said to have never dried up and to have been good for sore eyes. Chadwell Heath itself was a patch of infertile land - a wild and boggy heath on the fringes of Hainault Forest. In the 19th it is said to have been infested with highwaymen, robbers and poachers. Chadwell Heath was developed as a commuter village along with the railway.
Chapel Lane
Garages on the site of Chadwell Heath Chapel and a school for Plymouth Brethren founded by Francis Glenny, the Barking brewer. This had become a warehouse by the 1960s. The yard is on the site of an old burial ground.
Essex Road
Oasis Church
Freshwater Road
Said to be named after a local headmaster.
Berger Paints. The company dated from the mid 18th and had been concentrated on a site in Homerton. In 1934 they bought 29 acres of in Freshwater Road, to manufacture nitrocellulose systems. In the 1950’s this was expanded to with offices, paint and resin production plants, laboratories and warehouses and straddled the road – and a tunnel under the road connected the two sites. The northern part of the site was closed when the Decorative Division was sold and was demolished in 1988. Following various company mergers the company grew to be one of the biggest paint manufacturers in the world. They were taken over by German interests and then sold to DuPont.
DuPont Building - office block built by Berger. Converted to housing.
High Road
The road is mainly on the line of the Roman London- Colchester Road, and was probably a trackway before that. In the area around the road was narrow and buildings were demolished to allow more traffic through Grove Farm. Trading estate and business park on the farm site – and which has retained the name
Chadwell Primary School
Chadwell Arms
Mecca Bingo. This was built as the Embassy Cinema in 1934. It has a very plain tiled frontage and originally included a tea-room, a ballroom as well as a stage and dressing rooms. From the start it had a Compton 3Manual/8Rank theatre organ the back of which a fan of peacock feathers which lit up. Soon after opening it was taken over and re-named Gaumont Palace Theatre which it remained until 1964 when it became the Odeon as part of the Rank Organisation. It closed in 1966 and was converted into a Bingo Club
The Eve Hart. Wetherspoon’s pub in the old police station. Eve Hart was a local lady who survived the Titanic sinking. It is a brick building with some half timbering designed in 1892 by John Butler.
Coopers Arms. Pub which dates to at least 1830, locally listed building,
Baptist Meeting House. Originated in 1829 and the current church was built in 1905 by Frederick Faunch in red brick. It replaced the chapel in Chadwell Heath Lane.
Chadwell Heath Health Centre. This lunch and leisure centre was the Civic Restaurant during the Second World War
Flats opposite the end of Belfairs Drive replace a terrace of half timbered cottages demolished in 1965.
Chadwell County Junior and Infants Schools. This was opened in 1894 and extended in 1897. It was rebuilt in 1933.
Tudor Parade, built around 1938-39.
Kemp Road
Sports ground – this area was originally the company ground for Berger Paints with pitches and tennis courts. Used for additional factory space from the 1970. The cricket pavilion remains.
Spies Hecker Training Centre was built 1997 on lower left of the above view.
Chadwell Heath Industrial Park – on the site of some of the Berger Factory
East London Community Foundation in LCCM House
Mayfield Road
At the junction with Green Lane the Mayesbrook was known as Heavy Waters
Pedley Road
Mayfield School. Mayfield School was originally a secondary school in Goodmayes Lane opened in 1934 and closed in 1959. This is a new school with the same name following a series of amalgamations and closures.
Station Road
Chadwell Heath Station. This was opened in 1839 by the Eastern Counties Railway and now lies Between Romford and Goodmayes stations. It was built on the site of Wangey House and station buildings were erected in 1864, but were demolished for rebuilding in 1900.. There were only two platforms until 1902. Alongside the station were sidings for the temporary line to the London County Council building sites. Another siding ran to William Boyer's gravel pit.
Signal Box. This came out of use in 1972 and was later demolished.
Wangey House The manor of Wangey spanned the main toad. In the 15th it was part of the Barking Abbey estate and following the dissolution it was held by various lessees and sub lessees. It had an observation platform on the roof. It was partly demolished for the railway in 1836, but some survived until 1936.
Chadwell Heath Farm site. Part of the Wangey estate - later known as Broomfields.
Wangey Hall Farmhouse built before 1777 to the west of Chitty's Lane. Hemmings Bakery opened in 1938 on the site.
A.B. Hemmings had a large bakery building north of the station. They had a chain of 230 shops throughout London and were taken over by Associated British Foods in the 1960s. The bakery was derelict by the 1970s and later demolished for housing.
Sources
Archives of the Chemical Industry.
Brennand. Ilford to Shenfield
Bygone Dagenham and Rainham
Essex Journal, Web site
London Borough of Havering. Web site
London Borough of Redbridge. Web site
Nature Conservation in Barking and Dagenam
Victoria County History. Essex
Mayfield School. Web site
Nature Conservation in Redbridge
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