US coffee franchise Starbucks has opened a store in Wanstead High Street.

Since starting out in 1971 with just a single store in Seattle, Starbucks has experienced massive growth and now has over 6000 stores worldwide. Recently though, that rapid expansion has been partly blamed for a downturn in the company’s fortunes - they are no longer seen as “exclusive” (despite the high prices) as it seems like many US cities have a Starbucks on virtually every corner.

Opinion seems to be divided on whether this move will be a “good thing” for Wanstead. Some welcome the fact that we now have a brand-name coffee outlet gracing the High Street, while others are concerned about the effect on existing independent coffee shops and delis. One of the great things about Wanstead High Street is the quality and diversity of its local shops which have managed to survive when, thanks to big supermarkets and retail parks, shops in many town centres have been dying a slow death (Leytonstone High Road anyone?).

Hopefully, the local shops will be able to live in harmony alongside their new neighbour – E11 certainly lacks major brand names at the moment compared with many other areas in London. The question is, now Starbucks have staked a claim in Wanstead, will others follow?

A friendly group of people mostly from East London and Essex, The Woodhouse Players produce the kind of shows that they like, including quite a bit of new work. They meet most Wednesdays, quite a few Fridays and some Saturdays at The Welsh Church Hall, Leytonstone to rehearse 6 major productions a year, as well as one-offs like readings and cabaret.

There is also a lively social atmosphere, giving rise to many friendships and even romances (two marriages so far!).

Current active membership is around 45, the majority being actors, but with specialists too in directing, writing, lighting, sound, music, graphic design and costume.

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View across Eagle Pond to Snaresbrook Crown Court

For the middle classes, life in Victorian England was a much different proposition to that of today. There was no welfare state (the very poor were looked after by the workhouses), so those who fell on hard times generally had to rely on charity, be it from friends and relatives or from organisations such as the Infant Orphan Asylum at Wanstead, founded by the Revd. Andrew Reed in 1843.

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 The “Master of Suspense”, Sir Alfred Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone on 13th August 1899 at 517 High Road. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth, a series of mosaics were commissioned for the entrance to Leytonstone Underground Station. These are collectively known as “The Hitchcock Gallery”…

 
Rebecca (1940) starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier.
(Note St. John’s Church , Leytonstone shown in the window).

The mosaics are the work of the Greenwich Mural Workshop and are made up of over 80,000 tiles. They took more than six months to complete with installation finishing in April 2001.

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Ten Things You May Not Know About London E11…

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Strolling through Wanstead Park today, the casual observer may be completely oblivious to the fact that the ground they are walking on was once one of the grandest estates in England, and at it’s centre stood a house so impressive it was even compared to Versailles.

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