Gary Stone looks at the growth of Chingford with the railway

It wasn’t until 1878, with a new station added near the forest in Maddox Lane (now Station Road), that large-scale development of the area began.

Built as a through station, it had been planned to extend the Chingford line to High Beach, and a bill was put before Parliament in 1882.

However, Queen Victoria visited Chingford on May 6, 1882, to declare Epping Forest open to the public and opponents of the extension used the possible desecration of the forest as an effective way to stop the rail extension in its tracks.

Chingford Station is now a commuter terminal (Image: Gary Stone) The development of  Chingford can be marked by its inclusion in the Metropolitan Police District in 1840, becoming an urban district in 1894, and a municipal borough in 1938.

The area was significantly shaped by its proximity to Epping Forest, which attracted visitors and later became an area for further housing development after the Second World War.

The town eventually merged with other boroughs to form Waltham Forest within Greater London in 1965.

• Gary Stone is a local historian (chingfordhistory.org.uk).