Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for ROMFORD

ROMFORD, a town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district, in Essex. The town stands on a small affluent of the river Thames, and on the Eastern Counties railway, 12 miles E N E of Bishopsgate, London; occupiesthe site of the Roman Durolitum; is the capital of theliberty of Havering-atte-Bower; is also a seat of quartersessions, petty sessions, and county courts, and a polling-place; consists chiefly of two streets, crossing each otherat right angles; contains many excellent houses and good shops; underwent much improvement and extension, with alignments for several new streets, prior to 1868; is managed by a local board of health; and has a head post-office, ‡ a railway station with telegraph, a banking office, several inns, a town hall, a corn exchange, a court-house, three churches, three dissenting chapels, a Roman Catholic chapel, a mechanics' institute, an endowed school with £65 a year, five other public schools, a workhouse, alms-houses with £423 a year, and other charities £72. St. Edward's church was rebuilt in 1850; is in the decorated English style, of Kentish rag, with Bath stone dressings; and consists of nave, aisles, chapels, and chancel, with tower and spire 162 feet high. St. Andrew's church was built in 1862, at a cost of £4, 500; is also in the decorated English style; and consists of nave, S aisle, and chancel, with bell-turret. The Independent chapel was built in 1812, in lieu of a previonsone at Havering-Well; and has an endowment of £95 a year. The workhouse was built in 1838, at a cost of £9, 500; and has accommodation for 500 inmates. A weekly market is held on Wednesday; and a fair on Midsummer-day. There are extensive malting and brewingestablishments, agricultural-implement works, and foundries. Pop. of the town in 1851, 3, 791; in 1861, 4, 361. Houses, 890.

The parish includes the hamlets of Collier-Row, Hare-Street, Noak-Hill, and Prospect-Place; and wasecclesiastically divided, in 1862, into the sections of St. Edward and St.. Andrew. Acres, with Havering-atte-Bower parish, 9, 173. Real property of R. alone, £19,055; of which £308 are in gas-works. Pop. in 1851, 5, 868; in 1861, 6, 604. Houses, 1, 270. The manor belonged to the Mowbrays; and passed, through the Berkeleys and others, to the Newmans. Gidea Hall is an old mansion, where Sir Anthony Cooke entertained Queen Elizabeth. Dagnan Park is the seat of Sir A. Neave, Bart.; Priests, of O. Mashiter, Esq.; and Marshalls, of D. M' Intosh, Esq. Market-gardening is carried on. The living of St. Edward is a vicarage united with the chapelry of Noak Hill, and that of St. Andrew is a rectory, in the diocese of Rochester. Value of the former, £700; of the latter, £150. Patron of both, New College, Oxford. A church and a national school are at Noak-Hill. Quarles, thepoet, was born in the old manor-house of Stewards; and Repton, the landscape gardener, resided in Hare-Street.

The sub-district contains also the parishes of Havering-atte-Bower and Dagenham, and comprises 15, 781 acres. Pop., 9, 741. Houses, 1, 909. The district comprehendsalso the sub-district of Barking-Town, containing thewards of Barking-Town and Ripple; the sub-district of Ilford, containing the wards of Great Ilford and Chadwell; and the sub-district of Hornchurch, containing the parishes of Hornchurch, Upminster, Cranham, Great Warley, Rainham, and Wennington. Acres, 48, 244. Poor-rates in 1863, £17, 896. Pop. in 1851, 24, 607; in 1861, 26, 965. Houses, 5, 410. Marriages in 1863, 125; births, 980, of which 52 were illegitimate; deaths, 612, of which 257 were at ages under 5 years, and 24 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 1, 228; births, 8, 905; deaths, 5, 182. The places of worship, in 1851, were 17 of the Church of England, with 6,096sittings; 6 of Independents, with 1, 695 s.; 6 of Baptists, with 1,080 s.; 5 of Wesleyans, with 812 s.; 2 undefined, with 300 s.; and 1 of Latter Day Saints, with 16 s. The schools were 22 public day-schools, with 2,060 scholars; 46 private day-schools, with 914 s.; 23 Sunday schools, with 2, 277 s.; and 4 evening schools for adults, with 50 s.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Romford Ch/CP       Romford CP       Romford SubD       Romford RegD/PLU       Essex AncC
Place: Romford

Go to the linked place page for a location map, and for access to other historical writing about the place. Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.