Raphael Park

Romford Garden Suburb (otherwise known as the Gidea Park Exhibition Estate), is a late-Edwardian housing development in Gidea Park, in the London Borough of Havering. The object of the new suburb, which was built on land belonging to Gidea Hall, then occupied by the Liberal politician Herbert Raphael, was, according to his parliamentary colleague John Burns, to "provide families with a well-built, modern home regardless of class or status" and "to bring the towns into the country and the country into the towns". The garden suburb was conceived to be an example of early 20th-century domestic architecture and town planning. They were popular in Edwardian England; Hampstead Garden Suburb, established by Henrietta Barnett in 1906, was one example. The garden suburb at Romford comprised 159 fully-furnished houses and cottages each funded by the architects who designed them, in either the Arts and Crafts or Art Nouveau styles. Upon completion an exhibition was organised to showcase the dwellings for prospective buyers and a competition was held to find the best building, with a first prize of £250 and a gold medal being awarded to the winning architect. The best detached houses were awarded Class I status, which would allow the property to be sold for £500, while Class II buildings were marketed for £375. The buildings were judged on their utility and economy of management and maintenance. One hundred architects and urban planners took part in the Gidea Park development, including William Curtis Green, Philip Tilden, Raymond Unwin, Richard Barry Parker, George Val Myer, Geoffry Lucas and Baillie Scott. The exhibition opened in the spring of 1911 and with it came the establishment of several roads, including Balgores Lane, Squirrels Heath Avenue and Crossways to the south of Hare Street (now Main Road) and Heath Drive, Meadway, Reed Pond Walk, Heaton Grange Road, Risebridge Road and Parkway to the north. In 1934, using land left over from the first competition, a second exhibition was held, this time hosted by Raphael's nephew, Major Ralph Raphael MC. These houses were designed in the Art Deco style, a taste that was dominant at the time. Six of the 1911 exhibition houses were later designated as Grade II listed buildings by Historic England. The suburb was designated as a conservation area in 1970. The winner of the 1934 competition, 64 Heath Drive, by Francis Skinner, a founding member of Berthold Lubetkin's Tecton Group, was also listed at Grade II in 1997.

Romford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2001 by Andrew Rosindell, a Conservative. It was created in 1885.

Gidea Hall was a manor house in Gidea Park, the historic parish and Royal liberty of Havering-atte-Bower, whose former area today is part of the north-eastern extremity of Greater London. The first record of Gidea Hall is in 1250, and by 1410 it was in the hands on one Robert Chichele. In 1452 Sir Thomas Cooke (c.1410-1478), a Lord Mayor of London, bought the estate and in 1466 was granted a licence to crenellate, which is a licence for the manor house to be fortified. Gidea Hall was forfeit when Cooke was accused of treason, but he was acquitted and the property recovered after payment of a fine. While work on the manor had started in 1466 with the construction of a moat, they were continued by his son Sir Anthony Cooke, one of whose daughters married Sir Nicholas Bacon and came into possession of the Manor of Marks, another large house in the Liberty of Havering. After his return from exile Cooke entertained Queen Elizabeth I at Gidea Hall during her Progress in 1568 when she also visited Copt Hall The final alterations to Gidea Hall were not finished until 1568 at which time the main house and two adjacent wings formed three sides of a courtyard with an open colonnade on the fourth side and various outbuildings. Maria de Medici, the mother-in-law of King Charles I stayed at Gidea Hall in 1638 on her way from Harwich to London, although by then the hall was falling into decay. By the time of the Commonwealth the buildings were ruinous, but were not finally demolished until 1720 when Sir John Eyles had a new mansion built on the site. In 1783 a book entitled An enquiry by experiment into the properties and effects of the medicinal waters in the County of Essex includes an entry for "Gidea Hall water", describing the source as rising on the "bank of the canal in the park of Richard Benyon, Esq". The canal referred to is now the lake in Raphael Park, which was recorded on the 1888 Ordnance Survey map as Black's Canal after the Black family; a map prepared for Alexander Black in 1807 clearly shows the spring. An investigation into the spring in 1910 recorded that it had "been drained, filled up and turfed about 4 years ago". The later Gidea Hall was of brick. The Gidea Hall estate was purchased in 1897 by Herbert Raphael, and in 1902 he gave 20 acres (81,000 m2), including a lake, for use as a public park; a further 55 acres (220,000 m2) was subsequently purchased and Raphael Park opened in 1904. In 1910 Raphael and two fellow Liberal MPs formed Gidea Park Ltd with the aim of building a garden suburb, including what became Romford Garden Suburb, on the Gidea Hall and Balgores estates, and during the First World War they offered both properties to the Artists Rifles for use as an Officers' School. The house was demolished in 1930.The wall, railings and gate from the early 18th century remain and are listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England.

Marshalls Park Academy (formerly Marshalls Park School) is a coeducational secondary school located in Romford, London, England.

Lodge Farm Park is a public park in Gidea Park in the London Borough of Havering, United Kingdom. It is one of a series of parks which stretch northwards from the railway line between Romford and Gidea Park. The southern entrance to Lodge Farm Park is in Carlton Road (which runs parallel to the railway line) and the northern entrance is on Main Road (formerly called Hare Street) opposite to Raphael Park. The park is home to Romford Bowls Club. There was a temporary miniature railway (7 1/4" gauge) provided by Havering Miniature Railway Club in 2015 and a proposal has been submitted to Havering council for a permanent railway As of early 2017 the construction of the railway has seen a new station called Black's Brook created in the picnic area. The railings surrounding the platform were donated by Costains and are reclaimed from Shenfield Station.

Havering Town Hall is a municipal building in Main Road, Romford, London. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Havering London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building.

Romford was a local government district in southwest Essex from 1851 to 1965. It was significantly expanded in 1934 and gained the status of municipal borough in 1937. The population density of the district consistently increased during its existence and its former area now corresponds to the northern part of the London Borough of Havering in Greater London.

There were over 140 entries in the Romford Garden Suburb exhibition, that took place in 1911 in Gidea Park, Romford, now in the London Borough of Havering. Each house had its own designer, who were either of national or local acclaim, with, on occasion, several dwellings being designed by a single architect. The object of the new suburb, which was built on land belonging to Gidea Hall, then occupied by the Liberal Member of parliament, Herbert Raphael, was, according to his liberal parliamentary colleague John Burns, to "provide families with a well-built, modern home regardless of class or status" and "to bring the towns into the country and the country into the towns". One hundred architects and urban planners took part in the Romford development, including William Curtis Green, Philip Tilden, Raymond Unwin, Richard Barry Parker, and Baillie Scott. The exhibition opened in the Spring of 1911, and with it came the establishment of several roads, including Balgores Lane, Crossways, Heath Drive, Heaton Grange Road, Meadway, Parkway, Reed Pond Walk, Risebridge Road, and Squirrels Heath Avenue. Of the 140 houses built in 1911, six were designated as Grade II listed buildings by Historic England.

The Mercury Mall is an enclosed shopping centre in Romford town centre, in the London Borough of Havering, Greater London. It opened in June 1990 as Liberty 2. From 2006 to August 2010 it was owned by The Mall Fund and was known as The Mall Romford. It is—along with The Liberty and The Brewery—one of the three main shopping centres in Romford.

St Edward the Confessor Church is a Catholic Parish church in Romford, Borough of Havering, London. It was built in 1856 in the Gothic Revival style. It was paid for by the William Petre, 12th Baron Petre and designed by Daniel Cubitt Nichols. It is located in the town centre on St Edward's Way, next to Romford Town Hall and Romford Central Library. It is a Grade II listed building and according to Historic England its design and architecture is reminiscent of Augustus Pugin.

Rise Park is an area of Romford, a district in the London Borough of Havering. It is one of a series of parks which stretch northwards from the railway line at Romford. The southern entrance to Rise Park is just north of the A12 Eastern Avenue, and the northern entrance is on Lower Bedfords Road. It does have a further four other entrances located in Beauly Way, Dee Way, Garry Close, and Isbell Gardens. Rise Park has a significant number of bungalows located in the area. There has been a number of new housing developments in the area.

The Dolphin Centre was a swimming and leisure facility in Romford, in the London Borough of Havering, England.