Visit Old Ford Places

Welcome to Visit Old Ford Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Old Ford

  

Old Ford Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Old Ford

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Old Ford history

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Administration and boundaries

Historically, Old Ford was a cluster of houses and a mill, around the ford. It formed a part of the Ancient Parish of Stepney in 1719. It was designated an independent Anglican parish in the mid-Victorian period.

Location of the ford

Victorian OS maps show an illustrative location of the, by then, former ford, which was just to the south of the Northern Outfall Sewer. The confluence is likely to have caused the Lea to eddy and slow, causing much alluvial material from both watercourses to be dropped at this point, which may have been the reason fording the river was possible here.

Routes using the ford

Old Ford was the ancient most downstream crossing point of the then unchannelised River Lea. At this time the Lea was a wide fast-flowing river and the tidal estuary stretched as far as Hackney Wick. Two routes may have used the ford, both continuing through Essex and including Colchester.

The bridge

Matilda, wife of Henry I, reputedly took a tumble at the ford on her way to Barking Abbey in 1110. Matilda ordered a distinctively bow-shaped three-arched bridge to be built over the River Lea. Old Ford was the site of one of the many watermills in the area that supplied flour to the bakers of Stratforde-atte-Bow.

Settlement to district

Farming and market gardening prevailed in the settlement until the 19th century. The North London Railway had a line through the area with a station at Old Ford railway station. The line was badly damaged during World War II and never reopened.

Reconstruction

Lakeview Estate was built and designed by Berthold Lubetkin on a site damaged by bombing in World War II. Victoria Park became known for its open air music festivals, often linked with a political cause in the 1970/80s.

Contemporary

Fish Island has a long history as a home to artists and art spaces, having one of the highest densities of fine artists, designers and artisans in Europe. Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast was broadcast live from a former lockkeeper’s cottages on Fish Island.

Old Ford geography / climate

The Bow Wharf is the point where the Regent’s Canal meets the Hertford Union Canal. It is located between Mile End Lock and Old Ford Lock.

You can visit Old Ford places with Walkfo Old Ford to hear history at Old Ford’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Old Ford has 580 places to visit in our interactive Old Ford map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Old Ford, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Old Ford places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Old Ford & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 580 audio facts unique to Old Ford places in an interactive Old Ford map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Old Ford Places Map
580 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Old Ford historic spots	Old Ford tourist destinations	Old Ford plaques	Old Ford geographic features
Walkfo Old Ford tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Old Ford

  

Best Old Ford places to visit

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Old Ford has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Old Ford’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Old Ford’s information audio spots:

Holy Trinity Church, Rotherhithe Holy Trinity Church is a Church of England parish church in Rotherhithe, south east London, within the diocese of Southwark .

Tower division The Tower Division was a liberty in the ancient county of Middlesex, England. It took its name from the military obligations owed to the Constable of the Tower of London. In contemporary terms, the Liberty covered inner East London, the area now administered by the eponymous modern London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Hackney Wick Hackney Wick lies 4.2 miles (6.8 km) northeast of Charing Cross. Adjacent areas of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are sometimes also described as being part of Hackney.

East Village, London East Village is a housing development in Stratford, East London that was designed and constructed as the Olympic Village of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The area was formerly contaminated waste land and industrial buildings to the north of Stratford town centre.

St Francis of Assisi Church, Stratford St Francis of Assisi Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Stratford, London. It was founded from a mission that started in 1770. The Franciscan Order of Friars Minor arrived in 1873 and built a friary next door to the church in 1876.

Visit Old Ford plaques