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Abbotts Park was formerly called James Lane Recreation Ground, which was created on land purchased in 1885 by the Lammas land commoners and the local board to replace lost Lammas land. The park is a rectangular site between two streets of C19th houses, enclosed by C19th iron railings and planted with shrubs and trees around the perimeter. In 1934 it was recorded as having 6 hard tennis and 7 grass tennis courts, refreshments pavilion, ornamental gardens and a shelter. It remains much the same today with a central area of open grass, tennis courts and a C19th red-brick pavilion at the west end. It now has a miniature golf course and a number of children's playgrounds.
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Ainslie Wood, together with nearby Larks Wood, is an area of ancient woodland that at one time was part of the Forest of Essex, now surrounded by suburban housing, Ainslie Wood was joined to Larks Wood until early in the C20th, privately owned and not publicly accessible until relatively recently, when its preservation became the responsibility of LB Waltham Forest. Ainslie Wood contains a number of Wild Service Trees, relatively rare in urban woodland, and an indicator of ancient woods.
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All Saints Church was formerly Chingford parish church, erected on a site of worship probably in use since Norman times. By 1710 its name had been changed to St Peter and St Paul, but it ceased to be used when it became structurally unsafe and a new parish church was built on Chingford Green. By the early C20th the old church had become derelict, known as ‘The Green Church’ due to its dense ivy-cladding, and an inspiration to artists. When new housing was built in the area, the church was re-built in 1928 and once more took its old name of All Saints. It has a small churchyard.
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The London Master Bakers' Pension and Almshouse Society was founded in 1832. The foundation stone for the new almshouses in Leyton was laid on 5 August 1857. At that time the surrounding area was a small village with a few smart villas belonging to London merchants. The almshouses were designed for the London Master Bakers Benevolent Institution by T E Knightleys, a large 3-sided building around a landscaped courtyard. Described as 'one of the grand almshouses of north-east London', the building has a number of plaques recording that electric light was brought to the almshouses in 1924 and that gas was installed in 1939. The almshouses remain in residential use and are now Council housing.
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Cann Hall Park is a small local park that has been much improved largely through the efforts of Cann Hall Can, a community organisation and charity established in 20?? to breathe new life into the local area, including this previously underused space. A closed pavilion building was opened up for community use, and a cafe and skate park are now provided, funded through LB Waltham Forest's Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy. The new skatepark replaced an older one constructed of wood that was expensive to maintain and badly located. One of the founders of Cann Hall Can, Beth Hardisty, who died in 2020, is commemorated by a plaque in the Patch Cafe, and there are plans to plant a tree in her memory.
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An inter-war development protected by National Playing Fields Association covenant, Chase Lane Park consists of a fenced area of open grass between residential streets with a perimeter path and an enclosed playground. Until relatively recently the park was called Chingford Hall Park, named for the ancient manor house that had existed to the east of Hall Lane. The moated site was still visible in the 1930s, although most of its rural estate was built over between the wars. By 1936 Chingford Hall Playing Fields existed as public open space but by the 1960s the site was renamed Chingford Hall Park and had a model boating pool, playground, pavilion, drinking fountain and toilet. It now provides various play facilities for children and people with disabilities and is home to The Angela Searle Playscheme for children with disabilities.
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Chingford Green, unlike other former rural hamlets in the area, retains some sense of its earlier atmosphere. In 1844 the parish church of St Peter and St Paul was built on the Green, and a few C18th and C19th buildings still overlook the green. The area remained rural until housing development took place largely as a result of the arrival of the railway in the late C19th and by the 1920s suburban housing replaced Chingford's fields.
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Chingford Mount Cemetery was set up by the non-conformist Abney Park Cemetery Company in 1884 when its cemetery in Hackney had become congested. The site purchased was Caroline's Mount or the Mount Caroline Estate, so-called after the wife of the land owner. In 1975 new owners wished to build housing on part of the unused land but this proposal was opposed and the cemetery subsequently became neglected and its chapel and lodges vandalised. In 1977 it was acquired by LB Waltham Forest. The gates at the western main entrance survive from the C19th layout, with a short avenue lined by mature London plane trees, and the cemetery is densely planted with mature trees.
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This small public garden, comprising bedding plants and areas of clipped grass bordered by low fencing, provides a landscaped setting for the Chingford War Memorial. The granite memorial in the form of a Celtic cross on a tapered shaft stands in a paved area within the garden, set on an octagonal paved base. It was designed by W A Lewis and commissioned by public subscription in order to commemorate the 242 local men who fell in WWI. Chingford War Memorial was unveiled on 24 September 1921 by Lord Lambourne and the Bishop of Chelmsford. The memorial was later inscribed to commemorate those who lost their lives in 1939-1945 as well as in later conflicts, both military and civilian personnel. The lettering on the memorial and the landscaping were restored in 2019.
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The Roman Catholic Church was established in Chingford in 1914, and the Church of Our Lady of Grace and St Teresa of Avila was founded in 1919 although it was not until 1930/31 that the present church was built. A Gothic Revival style building designed by architect/builder G W Martyn, with the tower dating from 1956, the church is surrounded on two sides by a small garden with flower beds, shrubs and trees. The south porch is English oak with carvings by Don Potter (Porter?).
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Coronation Gardens is named for the Coronation of Edward VII and opened in 1903. The site was purchased in 1897 by Leyton Council for a recreation ground and laid out with ornamental gardens, paths and grass areas. It was once part of the medieval manor of Ruckholt and in the C19th this area of Leyton was largely used for watercress beds. The borough's only surviving bandstand was erected here in 1904 and the park became a popular venue for events and concerts. In 1922 a War Memorial Fountain was unveiled near the west entrance and a garden of remembrance was opened at the east end in 1945.
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Coronation Gardens Extension came into being in the 1920s when Leyton UDC wished to add to the facilities of the existing Coronation Gardens. Lying across Oliver Road from the more formal landscaping of Coronation Gardens, the Extension provided recreation and sports facilities on former Lammas land, which was acquired piecemeal by the Council from 1904 on. After WWII, people who had lost their homes through bombing were provided with temporary housing built on nine of the tennis courts of Coronation Gardens Extension, with the proviso that the land would be returned to its original state when no longer needed. As a result this area was fenced off and used in this way until 1954. Leyton Orient Football Club had temporary offices on the Extension in 1956 and free use of the tennis courts while their new stadium was built close by.