A neat and centralised neighbourhood, Higham’s Park is nicely positioned between Epping Forest, Walthamstow, and Woodford. Thus, young professionals have been drawn in by the 25-minute commute to Liverpool Street on the overground, whilst families need to look no further to find a safe and serene neighbourhood. The housing scene is predominantly suburban, with 1930s semis lining the green streets. Cosy Victorian terraces, built for the original working population in the early 20th century, can be found on Selwyn Avenue with nearby Winchester Road Methodist Church and Higham Park offering a range of activities for parents with babies and toddlers. The lake also offers an escape from everyday routines, with ducks and nesting swans to entertain the children. The high-street offers a choice of food and drink – locals love Purbani Tandoori which has been around for a number of decades. The County Arms and Royal Oak are the local pubs; as well as their cosy community atmosphere, they also host weekly live music nights. The town centre has recently undergone a miniature make-over with the arrival of a large Tesco in 2012.

This history of this area is closely related to that of Epping Forest. Indeed, prior to becoming known as Highams Park, the locale was called Hale End, or sometimes Wood End – probably because it lay on the outskirts of the great wooded terrain. The great manor of the land was originally built in 1768 for local member of parliament, Anthony Bacon, and, after hosting numerous notable historical figures like William Gladstone, is currently Woodford County High School. The landscape designer Humphry Repton, who added a pleasure garden to the estate for John Harman, is also responsible for the lake which survives today and can be found to the west of the park. A few early developers in the hamlet of Hale End tried to make the area attractive to commuters and day trippers, but only milkmen made use of the new railway line going into Liverpool Street. It was only when the esteemed British Xylonite Company, world supplier of ping-pong balls, set up a factory nearby that workers began to populate the area. This marked the turning point for Hale End, now a modern urban village with affordable housing, shops, and schools.

Chris Moncrieff, widely regarded as one of the 20th century’s most venerated political journalists, resides at Highams Park. Educated at a girls’ school in Derbyshire, Moncrieff recounts how despite his parents sending him there because of the school’s academic excellence, he was nonetheless embarrassed as a teenager. He was political editor of the Press Association between the years 1980 and 1994 when he officially retired from journalism. In 1990, Margaret Thatcher awarded him the New Years Honours, making him a CBE. He is seen by many journalists in the community as a frank and uncorrupted reporter, unscathed by the tendency to dress up stories.

On one ill-fated morning in 1909 by the corner of Tottenham High Road, two Latvian revolutionaries ambushed the wages clerk of a rubber factory and triggered what would have been an unparalleled police chase which mobilised dozens of local constables and scores of ordinary citizens to pursue the criminals. The ‘socialist anarchists’ had turned to illicit measures to fund their radical activities and, carrying with them two revolvers, set off on a rampage spanning six miles from the Tottenham Marshes all the way to Highams Park where one of the criminals took cover in a cottage. The chase resulted in numerous casualties, including both of the criminals who eventually ended their own lives.

For some, this locale compares unfavourably to the north of the Chingford area in terms of character and local amenities. However recent developments such as the new Tesco and the projected plans for the Regal Cinema make this neighbourhood a comfortable and viable choice for many.

Highgrove Walk, a set of 14 semi-detached properties, may be seen as representative of the kind of suburban development which is occasionally new to the area. While proposals for larger developments do occur, they are generally met with residence from locals. One such scheme near Chingford leisure centre was recently rejected as residents worried about its height. More sympathetically, plans have been accepted to renovate the Regal Cinema as the town’s small but independent cultural centre, with three Arthouse screens, a restaurant as well as 34 flats.