Chingford Mount offers a rural village feeling unique in London, with the rare bonus of a relatively cheap price range for local properties. Chingford Mount Road is the tree-lined highstreet which features some lovely shops and eateries like La Rocca, which serves “authentic Italian food, well prepared”. The housing is mostly 1930s semi-detached and terraced, with the Mount-side of the neighbourhood boasting some impressive mock-Tudor facades, like those on Cherrydown Avenue. The locale is certainly a find for those wishing to profit from the cleaner air emanating from Epping Forest and the numerous other green spaces such as Mansfield Park and Chingford Mount Cemetery. Meanwhile leisure activities are also not lacking with the Lee Valley Athletics Centre across the pond providing ‘cutting-edge training facilities’ and the King George’s Reservoir hosting a sailing club. Chase Lane Primary is the local school rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.

A parish church stands on Old Church Road, at the top of the mount (after which this locale is named). Known locally as the ‘old church’ is of Norman origin and dates back to the 12th century, with some original stones still propping up the walls. Up until the 19th century it served the community; but between 1844 and the 1930s the church became known as the ‘green church’ due to the crawling ivy which gave the building a derelict image, making it popular among artists of the then Romantic period. Other historic buildings in the locale included an original Odeon Cinema by Oscar Deutsch (Odeon’s Founder), though this was demolished in 1972 to make room for a supermarket. Nearby St Edmund’s Parish church was designed by N. F. Cachemaille-Day, the architect of some of the 20th century’s most ‘revolutionary’ places of worship. Both churches are now grade II-listed. Chingford Mount became a name for this area in 1923 when, after centuries of constituting mostly farmland, the terrain attracted the interest of developers Reader Bros, in response to Chingford’s sudden interwar expansion.

Although not explicitly related to the area, the Kray Twins – the notorious gangsters of the fifties and sixties – are buried at Chingford Mount Cemetery, together with other members of their family. The Krays were perhaps the most feared individuals in London at the time. Their influence was as prominent on the stages of the West End as in the pubs and gambling dens of Whitechapel and Mile End.

At the bottom of Friday Hill, just east of the locale, Pimp Hall Nature Reserve is one of the neighbourhoods numerous leafy pearls. It was the location of one of the area’s three manors back in the 19th century and going further back, it was once host to Charles II on a chance occasion. The story goes that the King was out hunting in Epping Forest and had to take refuge from a snowstorm in the manor. The keeper of the hall offered the royal a joint of beef which was received very well by His Majesty. Subsequently, the King drew his sword, knighting the meat, and naming it Sir Loin.

The incline of the hill ascending east, up from the valley, might not suit some, such as the elderly. Having said that, bus routes run regularly and connections to the centre of the capital are plentiful – the N26 is a night bus service from Trafalgar Square which goes up Chingford Mount Road. Noise levels from the north circular might be a problem for those looking into property towards the south of the neighbourhood area. One local explained that Chingford is perfect for families: “Highams Park School is very popular as it’s one of the best in Waltham Forest.”

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. Meanwhile, £750,000 had already been injected into Albert Crescent to improve shop fronts and facades, restoring the art deco stonework above shops.