Ten Things You May Not Know About London E11…

1. The “Time Terminus” statue outside Leytonstone Tube station contains a kitchen sink and a roll of wallpaper taken from one of the Victorian houses that were demolished to make way for the M11 link road extension.
2. Mary Jane Kelly, the last victim of Jack the Ripper was laid to rest in St. Patrick’s Cemetry, Leytonstone.
3. The first electric tram was built at the North Metropolitan Union Road works, Leytonstone.
4. Leytonstone and Wanstead both used to have cinemas, in fact Leytonstone used to have four (The Academy, The Rex, The Rialto and The State) !!! Today there are no cinemas within E11.
5. Highwayman Dick Turpin reportedly stayed at The Green Man pub, now O’Neills by the Green Man roundabout.
6. “Forest of Leytonstone” were one of the founding members of the Football Association, formed in 1863. They became “The Wanderers” a year later, moving across London to Battersea Park and went on to become one of the most successful clubs in the 1860′s and 70′s. Probably their most famous victory was in the first ever FA Cup final, held at the Kennington Oval in 1872, where they beat The Royal Engineers 1-0.
7. In 1940, during World War 2, Plessey’s of Ilford decided to put its factory underground (in the Central Line system) where it would be safer. The 5 mile long production line started between Leytonstone/Wanstead and stretched as far as Newbury Park. Nearly 2,000 workers worked day and night to supply the RAF with aircraft parts.
8. The creation of the M11 link road extension destroyed over 350 homes in Wanstead, Leytonstone and Leyton. Hundreds of anti-road protestors were evicted from houses by an army of police, security guards and bailiffs.
9. Sir Winston Churchill was MP for Wanstead and Woodford for over 40 years and sometimes popped into The Eagle in Snaresbrook for a drink with the locals.
10. “Commmoners” still have grazing rights within Epping Forest. Cattle could be seen during the summer months on Wanstead flats up until 1996 and the BSE scare. Local residents may recall cows wandering down roads or into their gardens. Whipps Cross hospital still has cattle grids at it’s entrance to prevent our bovine friends from straying into the grounds.