Redbridge's past creatures

You won't find them now, but our area was once home to huge creatures such as the

•       Southern elephant
•       Woolly mammoth
•       Three types of rhino
•       Grizzly bears
•       Lions

As you can find out by visiting our museum, we have the proof in the fossilised remnants of these extinct creatures found in our soils.

In Victorian times, these fossil discoveries were so frequent that organised tours and lectures entertained people with pastimes such as 'elephant hunting in Essex.'

In the many years following the ice-age, widespread forests formed and valuable deposits of sand and gravel built up, as well as the soil which many years later would form Ilford's prosperous 'brick fields'.  Parts of ancient woodlands are still there for us to enjoy today.

Our historic buildings

We have many fine buildings to admire - some of them listed by the Department of the Environment. Grade I buildings - deemed to be of exceptional and often national importance include St Mary's Church, Wanstead, which was built in 1790 on the site of an earlier church.

We also have several Grade II buildings, listed because of their special features which make them of outstanding interest. In all, we have 126 listed buildings in the borough.

Notable people

In more recent times our area has been home to some notable people.

Sylvia Pankhurst

The suffragette and pacifist campaigner, lived in Woodford for more than 30 years. Her anti-aerial bombing monument was unveiled on Woodford Green in 1932.

She is commemorated at Pankhurst Green in Woodford and her former home in Charteris Road bears a blue plaque in her Huronhonour.

Sir Winston Churchill

On Woodford Green stands a statue of Sir Winston Churchill - Britain's great wartime leader - who was MP for Wanstead and Woodford for 40 years.

Clement Atlee

Clement Atlee was Britain's first post-war Prime Minister and Churchill's wartime deputy leader, also lived nearby.

Formation of Redbridge

Redbridge itself came into being in 1964, marking the joining of Ilford with Wanstead and Woodford, with parts of Dagenham and Chigwell.

The borough took its name from the brick bridge over the River Roding, to symbolise the joining of these areas. 

Previously Ilford Council had handled the town's services. Starting in rooms above a shop in Cranbrook Road, the council eventually moved into Ilford Hall in 1898, then built the first part of our Town Hall in 1901.

The building was extended in 1927 and again in 1933 after the area had become the Municipal Borough of Ilford.

Wanstead formed its own Board of Health in 1854, a trend followed by Woodford in 1873. By 1881, Ilford had become a civil parish, separated from its former parent authority, Barking.  Wanstead and Woodford Council was also a separate local authority at this time. It became a Municipal Borough in 1937.

Almost all the Wards within the Borough have interesting historic stories to tell - as visits to our main and local libraries and our museum will show.