This neighbourhood includes Walthamstow Central Station - previously Hoe Street station -
the St. James Street residential area, and the Walthamstow Reservoirs which end at the River Lea, marking Walthamstow’s border with Tottenham. The east of the area contains Walthamstow Mall, Walthamstow Town Square Gardens, and an Asda, all of which are set to be renovated and redeveloped in the coming years.The pedestrianised High Street contains Walthamstow Market, the longest outdoor market in Europe which stretches approximately across one kilometre. To the west of this area is a collection of Victorian terraces, stretching to Dagenham Brook - which is bizarrely nowhere near Dagenham - separating the residential parts of this neighbourhood from the nature reserves. Several railway lines cross the area, with the Victoria line terminating at Walthamstow Central Station.

Hoe Street derives from the Old English word for a ridge; when Hoe Street station opened in 1872, the area was still largely dairy pasture, alongside a few large houses owned by the London elite. The introduction of cheap workers’ fares helped to hasten the pace of development in the area, with Marsh Street being renamed High Street in 1882, and several cinemas having been built by the First World War. The Copperfields area still retains many natural characteristics, and the Copperfields Lane Water Works is a continuation of the watermill which had been in existence in the area by the 14th century. In the 17th century a mill was producing paper, leather, and linseed oil. Today it is used as storage on the site of the areas water treatment centres. Adjacent Coppermill Fields is now a nature reserve in between the railway line and the waterworks.

Theodore Ronald Brailey was born in Walthamstow in 1887 and would later become a pianist and professor of music, at one time being a member of the Pier Pavilion Orchestra. He was supposedly interested in aviation, being associated with the Freshfield Aerodrome. He and his bandmate John Wesley Woodward had previously played on the RMS Carpathia, the ship which rescued survivors from the Titanic. Sadly, it was on the Titanic where Theodore Brailey lost his life, alongside John Woodward, having been given a job playing in the orchestra. He was supposedly engaged to be married to a woman from Southport at the time.

Hell on Hoe Street is a 2002 crime-comedy novel written by Jeremy Cameron, who was a former probation officer in Walthamstow for twenty years. The novel follows Noreen whose best friend’s brother goes missing, and somehow gets dragged into a drug war between the gangs of Ilford and Walthamstow.

Walthamstow may seem far away from central London, but a life-long resident in the area praises the Victoria line for its speedy access to zone 1 (which is about a 20- minute commute), with the Night Tube being an important asset for weekend nights out.

As already mentioned Walthamstow Mall is set for redevelopment, in a scheme which will also involve the renovation of the town square and the creation of 350 new permanent retail jobs. On the other side of Higham Hill some residents are concerned about the redevelopment of Uplands Business Park on Blackhorse Lane. The site was recently acquired for £51 million by Blackrock - the world’s largest investment manager - whose proposed scheme will include 1,800 new homes in a number of towers which will stand up to 38 stories tall. Walthamstow is increasingly desirable and the rate of development and increasing house prices in this postcode reflect that.