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Woodford Green
Coordinates: 51.60482° N 0.02742° E
OS grid reference	TQ405915
London borough	Redbridge
	Waltham Forest
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WOODFORD GREEN
Postcode district	IG8
Dial code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Chingford and Woodford Green
London Assembly	Havering and Redbridge
	North East
European Parliament	London
List of places • London

Woodford Green is part of the North East London suburb of Woodford, on the edge of Epping Forest, mostly within the London Borough of Redbridge with a small part on the western side of the green within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It was part of Essex until 1965.

Contents 1 History 2 Politics 3 Transport 3.1 Nearest places 3.2 Nearest stations 4 Schools 5 Individuals associated with Woodford Green 6 Trivia 7 See also 8 Notes

The Great Eastern Railway (GER) line to Loughton (and later Ongar) was opened in 1856 and with it Woodford station. This lead to the construction of many houses in the area, some of which were the grand houses of successful London merchants and bankers. The higher quality housing constructed in the area was due to the "fare-policy" of the GER, which kept the fares on the Loughton Branch higher than on the comparable Enfield and Chingford branches, where a "low-fare policy" was pursued. Further estates were built from the late 1920s onwards until the 1950s, covering most of the land still available for building.

The former GER Ongar branch became part of the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923, later becoming part of London Transport's Central Line, with the section through Woodford opening in 1947. As part of the electrification of the Loughton & Ongar branch and subsequent takeover by London Transport, the level-crossing at Woodford station (and with it Snakes Lane) was closed, being replaced in 1947 by a re-aligned Broadmead Road with a viaduct over the railway.

Suffragette campaigner, Sylvia Pankhurst, lived in Charteris Road for over 30 years with her lover, an exiled Italian. A blue plaque commemorates the house where she lived, and a small green near Woodford Station and opposite the library has been named Pankhurst Green.

A blue plaque on a house in Oak Hill Gardens marks the place where James Hilton wrote Goodbye Mr Chips and Lost Horizon, concerning the mythical kingdom of Shangri-La.

Cricket is still played on the Green, and Woodford Golf Course separates Woodford Green from Chingford.

The parliamentary constituency of Chingford and Woodford Green is represented by Iain Duncan Smith, who led the Conservative Party from 2001 to 2003. Iain Duncan Smith is a successor of Winston S. Churchill, who was also MP for this area. Churchill is commemorated by a statue on the Green at Woodford.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Clement Attlee, later Prime Minister (Labour, 1945-1951) had a residence in Woodford Green, the seat of his opponent, Winston Churchill. A blue plaque to that effect resides on his house in Monkhams Avenue.

The A104 runs through Woodford Green and forms its High Street while Chigwell Road, the A113, runs along the east side with Broadmead Road connecting the two. Woodford Green is served by Woodford tube station. Various bus routes also connect Woodford Green with nearby major towns:

• the 20 to Leyton and Loughton
• the 179 to Chingford and Gants Hill
• the 275 to Highams Park and Barkingside
• the 549 to Buckhurst Hill and South Woodford
• the W14 to Snaresbrook and Woodford Bridge.

• Chingford
• South Woodford
• Woodford Bridge
• Buckhurst Hill
• Highams Park

• Woodford tube station
• South Woodford tube station
• Roding Valley tube station

Primary Schools

• Avon House School
• Bancroft's Preparatory School
• Ray Lodge Primary School
• St Antony's Catholic Primary School
• St Aubyn's School
• Woodford Green Preparatory School
• Wells Primary School
• Woodford Green Primary

Secondary Schools

• Bancroft's School
• Trinity Catholic High School
• Woodbridge High School
• Woodford County High School for Girls

Special Needs Schools

• Hatton School

• Clement Atlee, Labour Prime Minister
• James Hilton, author
• Kele Okereke, Bloc Party vocalist and guitarist
• Sylvia Pankhurst, suffragette
• Tony Robinson, actor and TV personality
• Kate Williams, actress, Woodford resident during the making of the TV series Love Thy Neighbour
• Louisa Leaman, Author

The Castle, a former inn and now a Harvester restaurant near the Green, is where David Beckham first dated Victoria Adams^[1].

• South Woodford
• Woodford
• Woodford Bridge

1. ^ The Independent on Sunday, 27 Jul 2003 by Cole Moreton findarticles.com