Aldborough Hatch

Aldborough Hatch, Redbridge

A semi-rural residential locality situated on the north side of the A12, just beyond Newbury Park

Aldbor­ough Hall Farm

The Aldbor­ough name probably derives from the family who built a hall here, while the hatch (a wicket gate) would have led into Hainault Forest. Writing in his Environs of London at the turn of the 19th century, Daniel Lysons described the hall as “a capital mansion situated in the forest.” The woods provided a living for the local charcoal burners and foresters, and game for the frequent royal hunts.

Before the extensive defor­esta­tion of the 1850s, according to local historian George Tasker, “the hamlet consisted almost entirely of four or five mansions within a stone’s throw of each other, and a farm or two.” By way of compen­sa­tion for the destruc­tion of the woodland the govern­ment contributed towards the cost of building St Peter’s church, using stones from the old West­min­ster Bridge.

The Eastern Avenue brought the builders with it in the late 1920s and early 1930s, including Suburban Devel­op­ments (London) Limited, which laid out the Aldbor­ough Grange estate on land east of Aldbor­ough Road North. The green belt has restricted further expansion into the farmland on the north side of the road. Aldbor­ough Hall has a long estab­lished eques­trian centre.

Aldbor­ough ward has a cultur­ally diverse popu­la­tion. Thirty-five per cent of residents are Chris­tians (a huge drop from 50 per cent in 2001). Hinduism and Islam are the other principal religions here.

Postcode area: Ilford, IG2
Population: 14,544 (Aldborough ward, 2011 census)