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EAST: ESSEX TO THE LEA

Arcelor Mittal Orbit tower (Walk 5)

INTRODUCTION

Eastbrookend Country Park (Walk 2)

Until 1965, the Lea was the boundary between London and Essex, and this boundary had a very real effect on how what is now east London developed. In particular, much of the London-specific legislation preventing noxious industries had no effect here, and so refineries, gas and chemical works, and heavy industry from shipbuilding to railway manufacture were located here instead – especially in what are now its two westernmost boroughs, Waltham Forest and Newham.

Yet wild London was not pressed out of all existence. The River Lea itself became home to reservoirs for London’s water, and hence a green corridor for wildlife. Tipping down its gravel ridge between the Lea and the Roding, Epping Forest was saved as London’s eastern lung by the steadfast vigilance of locals and city folk alike. The marshes of the Thames below Barking have to this day precluded large-scale development, while further out, town and country battled an uneasy draw that persists to this day.