| Harold Hill | |
|---|---|
 View from St George's Church, Chippenham Road, Harold Hill | |
  Harold Hill Location withinGreater London | |
| OS grid reference | TQ545925 |
| • Charing Cross | 16.6 mi (26.7 km) WSW |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ROMFORD |
| Postcode district | RM3 |
| Dialling code | 01708 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
| 51°36′36″N0°13′56″E / 51.6100°N 0.2322°E /51.6100; 0.2322 | |
Harold Hill is asuburban area in the London Borough of Havering, East London. 16.6 miles (26.7 km) northeast ofCharing Cross. It is a district centre in theLondon Plan. The name refers toKing Harold II, who held themanor of Havering-atte-Bower, and who was killed at theBattle of Hastings in 1066. The suburb is peripheral to London, forming an eastern edge of theurban sprawl.
The extensiveLondon County Council housing development of Harold Hill was conceived in theGreater London Plan of 1944 in order to alleviate housing shortages in Inner London. Before construction of the estate, which was completed in 1958, it was the location ofDagnam Park house and grounds, and in theMunicipal Borough of Romford and the county ofEssex, but was transferred toGreater London in 1965. The firstGreater London Council tenant to buy their council house did so here in 1967.[1] The area is part of a long-term regeneration project led byHavering London Borough Council.
The area that became Harold Hill formed part of theHarold Wood andNoak Hill wards of the parish ofHornchurch; the large ancient parish occupied the same area as theroyal manor andliberty ofHavering. The boundary between Harold Wood and Noak Hill was formed by a tributary of theRiver Ingrebourne. In the Harold Hill area the manor was subdivided 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 theLocal Government Act 1894 the area was split between the parishes of Romford Rural (in the west) and Noak Hill (in the east), each with aparish council and within theRomford Rural District. In 1900 the Romford Rural parish was abolished and the area was then split between theRomford 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 amunicipal borough in 1937 governed by Romford Borough Council, which 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 theLondon Borough of Havering in Greater London.
Harold Hill was a planned community, conceived as part of theGreater London Plan in 1944 as a satellite town on the edge of the built up area.[notes 1]
Land for the estate, which consisted of the remaining 850acres (340hectares) ofDagnams, was purchased in 1947 by the London County Council.[2] 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 designatedMetropolitan Green Belt, but an exception was made for the development because of the exceptional housing need in London following theSecond World War.[citation needed]
Reflecting the urgency of the problem, housing was initially prefabricated. Construction of 7,631 permanent homes, housing 25,000 people, began in 1948 and was complete by 1958. The development is fairly low density with large sections of parkland retained in the centre and edges of the estate. The estate was constructed primarily inbrick, 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 theA12 road and this was retained.[citation needed]
Harold Hill is located within theHeaton andGooshays electoral wards, with Heaton covering the west and Gooshays the east. Each ward elects three councillors toHavering London Borough Council. All of Harold Hill is within theHornchurch and Upminster UK Parliament constituency and theHavering and Redbridge London Assembly constituency.
Harold Hill is situated on the north-eastern edge of London's urban sprawl, almost 17 miles (27 km) from Charing Cross. The district has clear geographic boundaries formed in the south by theA12 road, in the east by theM25 motorway and in the north where the built up area ends at Noak Hill Road. Large sections of parklands and woodlands are in the middle and on the edges of the estate, includingCentral Park andDagnam Park. The land is gently undulating, the most significant feature being a tributary of theRiver Ingrebourne called Carter's Brook and Paine's Brook, which runs north to south through the middle of Harold Hill. To the south isGidea Park, to the north is Noak Hill, to the west isCollier Row and to the east isGreat Warley. Harold Hill is part of the Romfordpost town in theRM3 postcode district, which also includes Harold Wood and Noak Hill. Climate data for Harold Hill is taken from the nearest weather station atGreenwich.[citation needed]
Climate data forGreenwich Park, elevation: 47 m (154 ft), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1948–2004 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 16.8 (62.2) | 19.7 (67.5) | 23.3 (73.9) | 25.3 (77.5) | 29.0 (84.2) | 34.5 (94.1) | 35.3 (95.5) | 37.5 (99.5) | 30.2 (86.4) | 26.1 (79.0) | 18.9 (66.0) | 16.4 (61.5) | 37.5 (99.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.5 (47.3) | 9.2 (48.6) | 12.1 (53.8) | 15.4 (59.7) | 18.6 (65.5) | 21.4 (70.5) | 23.8 (74.8) | 23.3 (73.9) | 20.3 (68.5) | 15.8 (60.4) | 11.6 (52.9) | 8.9 (48.0) | 15.8 (60.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.9 (42.6) | 6.2 (43.2) | 8.4 (47.1) | 10.7 (51.3) | 13.8 (56.8) | 16.7 (62.1) | 18.8 (65.8) | 18.7 (65.7) | 15.9 (60.6) | 12.4 (54.3) | 8.8 (47.8) | 6.3 (43.3) | 11.9 (53.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.4 (38.1) | 3.2 (37.8) | 4.7 (40.5) | 6.0 (42.8) | 9.1 (48.4) | 12.0 (53.6) | 13.9 (57.0) | 14.1 (57.4) | 11.6 (52.9) | 9.0 (48.2) | 6.1 (43.0) | 3.8 (38.8) | 8.1 (46.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −12.7 (9.1) | −9.4 (15.1) | −6.7 (19.9) | −4.8 (23.4) | −1.0 (30.2) | 1.1 (34.0) | 5.0 (41.0) | 5.3 (41.5) | 1.1 (34.0) | −2.1 (28.2) | −8.0 (17.6) | −10.5 (13.1) | −12.7 (9.1) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 43.9 (1.73) | 39.9 (1.57) | 36.5 (1.44) | 38.6 (1.52) | 44.0 (1.73) | 49.3 (1.94) | 36.3 (1.43) | 53.0 (2.09) | 52.4 (2.06) | 58.3 (2.30) | 59.9 (2.36) | 50.7 (2.00) | 562.9 (22.16) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 10.5 | 9.2 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 7.9 | 10.3 | 10.6 | 10.2 | 105.6 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 44.4 | 66.1 | 109.7 | 152.9 | 198.7 | 198.6 | 209.2 | 198.0 | 140.6 | 99.7 | 58.5 | 50.1 | 1,526.4 |
| Source 1:Met Office[3][4][5] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Starlings Roost Weather[6][7] | |||||||||||||
The nearest railway station is atHarold Wood, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the centre of the estate, and is one of the stations on theElizabeth line. The nearest London Underground station is atUpminster, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) to the south.Transport for London provides bus routes 174, 256, 294, 346, 496, 499 and N86.[8]
By the early 1960s, Harold Hill had six secondary schools:
These schools had been built to cope with the post-Second World War "baby-boom", but because of government education policy, Broxhill and Harold Hill Grammar merged to form Bedfords Park Comprehensive. Then because of demographic changes, Quarles Boys' and Girls' Schools later merged with Harrowfield to form the Neave School (laterKing's Wood).
After further name changes and closures, Harold Hill now has just one secondary school,Drapers' Academy, on the site of the former Harrowfield/Neave/King's Wood schools.Havering College, a mixed college of further education, is situated on the site of the former Quarles Secondary Modern Schools, in Tring Gardens.
Every year in Harold Hill there is a community festival held in Central Park normally in early July called the Harold Hill Festival.[10]
Ian Dury referenced Harold Hill in self-penned song, "This Is What We Find":
"Home improvement expert Harold Hill from Harold Hill"
"Of do it yourself dexterity and double glazing skill"
"Came home to find another gentleman's kippers in the grill""So he sanded off his winkle with hisBlack & Decker drill"[11]
— Ian Dury
The song set all three of its verses in real places; the others wereTurnham Green andLambeth Walk. In his double CD,Retrospective Reasons To be Cheerful produced byRepertoire Records, Dury stated that he never wrote another verse as good as Harold Hill's verse.
The area has been covered in relation to various murders[12] and attempted murders.[13] Despite its past, Harold Hill is now one of the fastest improving boroughs since the council built the Myplace centre, a new community and performance space, allowing young people a safe location 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.[14] 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.[15]
Bedrock[16] is the localhospital radio service available online to the local area and broadcasting a range of health-related information and locally produced entertainment. Radio Harold Hill[17] which started in 2013 is the local community radio station and broadcasts online on their website and on mobile apps.[18]
The area has its own non league football club,Harold Hill F.C. who currently play in theMid-Essex League Division One at the Henderson Sports & social club, Kenilworth Avenue.[19]
