Leyton and Leytonstone

This new collection of nearly 200 old photographs of Leyton and Leytonstone illustrates some of the dramatic changes and growth that have occurred in this busy suburban area over the last hundred years. Although Leyton and Leytonstone existed for centuries as an ancient parish on the fringes of the capital, it saw, like many other communities, enormous and rapid growth when the railways arrived. Easy and cheap access to the metropolis enabled people for the first time to commute to work and so thousands sought housing in areas like this and initiated the growth on the London suburbs. When the Midland Railway's route passed through Leyton and Leytonstone in 1894 it was the signal for a population rise that transformed the community from a parish that had numbered around 5,000 in 1861 to an urban district council in 1901 of nearly 99,000 people. These photographs show many aspects of life in the area from the time of this great expansion and through the decades that followed. This book will fascinate all who know Leyton and Leytonstone and would enjoy a nostalgic trip into its recent past.