Chingford was a place of mud, marsh and forest, all natural barriers to the rapid development of the 19th century which transformed nearby places like Walthamstow and Tottenham. They were also hindrances to communication and transport in earlier days, so that Chingford remained an inward-looking, self-contained entity until well into the 20th century.
Developers reached it at last and remodelled Chingford as an up-market residential area, but it was its northern and eastern boundary, Epping Forest, given to the people forever in 1882, into which the town melted, and made Chingford quietly different from its neighbours. The Forest continues to prevent the sprawl which has spoilt much of London, and leaves Chingford as a place apart.
Barbara Ray's book tells the story of this gradual transformation, accompanied by numerous illustrations, many of which have not been published before.
