 |
| Not a cricket pitch but a basketball court |
Walthamstow
Village hall
Orford Road houses the old town hall, now the Happy Child Day Nursery. There’s also a half-timbered ‘hall house’ opposite the church which dates back to the fifteenth century. 4/10
Cricket pitch
Of course not. But there are iron cricket stumps and a short pitch in the tarmac’d playground on East Avenue, which also boasts basketball hoops. 1/10
Village green
Church Common, by St Mary’s, was sold to developers in the 1890s. You can see trees but barely a patch of grass in the village. Your nearest bet is the lower end of Epping Forest, a ten-minute walk. 0/10
Local pub
The vaguely bohemian Nag’s Head (9 Orford Road, E17, 0871 426 2544), with its house cat and Sunday jazz sessions, is the focal point of the village. There’s also the cosy Village (31 Orford Road, E17, 020 8521 4398). 8/10
Feature continues
Post office
 |
| Walthamstow High Street |
Yes, an appropriately quaint, narrow, old-school post office-cum-stationery shop. 7/10
Church
St Mary’s Church is a huge Norman church, started in the twelfth century and expanded over the years. Local legend tells us that the graveyard is haunted, although that’s probably the muggers who hang out on Vinegar Alley. 10/10
Annual fête
The Walthamstow Village Residents’ Association has an annual fête at the Vestry House Museum in July. The bigger Walthamstow Festival also takes up most of Orford Road every August. 7/10
Village idiot
Local stuntman Terry Cole can be found in the Walthamstow Guardian most weeks, riding 20km on a Space Hopper or some such. He now holds more than 200 world records. 10/10
Village people
A mix of families and low-key professionals (City clerks, university-educated key workers). ‘You can’t move for teachers,’ says one resident. ‘Which is a bit annoying – they win all the pub quizzes…’ 8/10
Local's verdict
‘It is surprisingly quiet and rather more gentrified than some other bits of Walthamstow. And people do tend to know their neighbours, which is a rarity in London. It’s not really a village, though, is it?’ Colin Fleming, 36, local resident
Total 58/100
|
|
The best of London in your inbox
Up to the minute picks of the best things to do in London, delivered to your desktop.
|
|
18 comments
How horrible of you to call Lenny the village idiot. He is well known and liked in Enfield. He'll talk to you about anything and has a wicked sense of humour. Good luck with the record Lenny!!!
Lenny is by all means NOT an idiot - he is our friend! He has been around since my sister was my age (12) and she is now 21. I hope he is around for many more years!
And Enfield is the best so don't try and beat us the rest of you - or ELSE!!! dum dum DUM!
Also don't forget the great free New River Festival on the 7th July on the banks of the Enfield Town New River loop (opposite Central Library).
Great arts event for all to enjoy.
It's great to hear you all like the Enfield Autumn Show so much.
Just to let you all know it will be on again on 8-9 September 2007. We've got even more great live music and spectacular events planned.
If you are interested in participating in the event (with a stand etc) email me on evan.kypreos@enfield.gov.uk putting Timeout - EAS in the subject bar.
Thanks
Lenny is not an idiot! His knowledge for music and T.V from the 60's & 70's is second to none! He even knows of the new music and how poor it is compared to the old! He knows everything thats going on in the town and probably knows more about the history of Enfield Town than any other person living there. A charismatic and witty guy he is, you'd love his jokes!
If you're looking for a decent bar in the area- FORM opposite the town station is surely the best??- Fab cocktails, good music and pretty special decor. highly recommendable.
Has Time Out got an agenda in voting George Galloway 'village idiot'? I suppose the more than 15,000 people who voted him in as their MP are also idiots? I think you should have left politics out of this - most people share Mr Galloway's views on the important issues such as Iraq and Tony Blair (just look at the polls).
Lenny is the eyes and ears of Enfield and always knows 'whats going down' before it appears in the local papers. His knowlege of punk music is second to none and is very articulate and witty. The only idiot is the talentless hack calling Lenny one.
Glad to see Enfield is finally getting some recognition, after years of dismissal and merciless heckling at the hands of Guardian journalists and Radio 4 commentators ('Enfield is the only place in Britain where stone cladding adds value to your house')
How could you not have found out about the Enfield Town Show?! It's fabulous! And Lenny is not an idiot.
Where is dear old Muswell Hill? It is surely the quintessential London village with fine locals, a cricket pitch, a handful of little churches, woodland areas, a high street geared towards sole traders (mainly), and one of the village church halls has a local Am Dram Society! Go there and watch a naff old play and have old biddies serve you tea and biscuits in the interval. Muswell Hill has a butcher, a baker, and no candlestick maker. visit the village with the mossy well and all within zone 3! blimey!
Enfield is a great place to live. But no fete, eh? Then what about the Enfield Autumn Show in the Town park, Sept. each year, this year 9-10 Sept. A super day out. (And Lenny is by no means an idiot. That was mean of you!)
How can you have missed out Ealing's Brentham Estate? It's a perfect example of a garden suburb! I grew up there and returned recently (15 years later) to find it as beautiful as I remembered.
Disappointed with result as in the past it was top village in your mag. We still have the arts club running and a writers' group. Can I just post these two links to the events in the area? www.walthamstowfestival.com
www.e17arttrail.co.uk
Please advertise them, in this current climate we need good vibes. Simone, a resident since 2002
What about Hampstead Garden Suburb? That's an area of london which was practically designed to be a village!
1 2