Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates
Template:Infobox UK place Cranham is a residential area of east London, and part of the London Borough of Havering.<ref name=east_plan>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=hidden>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is located Template:Convert east-northeast of Charing Cross and comprises an extensive built-up area to the north and a low density conservation area to the south surrounded by open land.<ref name="conservation drury"/> It was historically a rural village in the county of Essex and formed an ancient parish.<ref name="parishes cranham">Template:Cite book</ref> It is peripheral to London, forming the eastern edge of the urban sprawl. The economic history of Cranham is characterised by a shift from agriculture to housing development.<ref name="parishes cranham"/> As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century, Cranham significantly increased in population,<ref name="vision pop"/> becoming part of Hornchurch Urban District in 1934 and has formed part of Greater London since 1965.<ref name="vision parish"/> The 2011 Census population of Cranham was included in Upminster.
HistoryEdit
ToponymyEdit
| 1881 | 416 |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 465 |
| 1901 | 397 |
| 1911 | 489 |
| 1921 | 519 |
| 1931 | 1,240 |
| 1941 | war # |
| 1951 | 2,836 |
| # no census was held due to war | |
| source: UK census<ref name="vision pop">Template:Cite vob</ref> | |
Cranham is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as comprising two manors. The smaller was in the north of the parish, and called Craohv and in 1201 as Craweno.<ref name="mills">Template:Cite book</ref> It means 'spur of land frequented by crows' and is formed from the Old English 'crāwe' and 'hōh'.<ref name="mills"/> The larger was the Anglo-Saxon manor of Ockendon (Wochenduna)<ref name="parishes cranham"/> During the Middle Ages, and until around the 15th century, it was also known as Bishop's Ockendon because a large part of its area was owned by the Bishop of London.<ref name="parishes cranham"/>
Economic developmentEdit
The parish is recorded in 1086 as being heavily wooded, supporting an agrarian way of life.<ref name="parishes cranham"/> Forest clearance was well advanced by the 15th century, with an increase in population and arable land; and there was a mill in Cranham.<ref name="parishes cranham"/> Cranham lay on brick earth and this gave rise to the Cranham Brick and Tile Company which was in operation from 1900 to 1920.<ref name="parishes cranham"/> Drury has suggested that early trade was with the nearby settlements of Romford and Hornchurch and with London via the River Thames at Rainham.<ref name="conservation drury"/>
Local governmentEdit
Cranham formed an ancient parish of Template:Convert in the Chafford hundred of Essex.<ref name="vision pop"/> The vestry met in the church until 1829 and then at the parish workhouse.<ref name="parishes cranham"/> In 1836 the parish was grouped for poor relief into the Romford Poor Law Union and for sanitary provision in 1875 into Romford rural sanitary district.<ref name="vision parish">Template:Cite vob</ref> The sanitary district became Romford Rural District from 1894 and a parish council was formed to replace the vestry.
The parish formed part of the London Traffic Area from 1924 and the London Passenger Transport Area from 1933.<ref name=robson>Template:Cite book</ref> To reflect the significantly increased population in the area, Romford Rural District was abolished in 1934 and Cranham was amalgamated with neighbouring parishes into Hornchurch Urban District.<ref name="hornchurch economic">Template:Cite book</ref> The parish council was abolished and Hornchurch Urban District Council became the local authority. There was a revision of boundaries with North Ockendon, which had been part of Orsett Rural District, absorbed into Cranham and a small area to the north, near Great Warley, transferred to Brentwood Urban District.<ref name="vision parish"/>
In 1965 Hornchurch Urban District was abolished and its former area was transferred from Essex to Greater London, to be combined with that of the Municipal Borough of Romford in order to form the present-day London Borough of Havering.<ref name=vob_havering_lb>Template:Cite vob </ref> In 1993 the Greater London boundary, to the east of Cranham and north of the railway line, was locally realigned to the M25 motorway, returning some mostly unpopulated areas of open land to Essex and leaving North Ockendon as the only part of Greater London outside the bounds of the motorway.<ref name="opsi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Urban developmentEdit
In the 17th and 18th centuries manorial homes, including Cranham Hall, became attractive properties for merchants from the City of London.<ref name="conservation drury">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Initial attempts to expand the suburban estates from Upminster in the early 20th century ran into problems because of the lack of water supply.<ref name="parishes cranham"/> In 1922 sewage works for Upminster and Cranham were opened in Great Warley.<ref name="local upminster">Template:Cite book</ref> In the 1930s land was used to develop some council housing and following the sale of the Benyon estate the pace of new building quickened. Cranham's location on the very edge of London's urban sprawl is explained by the halting effect on suburban house building of the introduction of the Metropolitan Green Belt and World War II.<ref name="conservation drury"/><ref name="parishes cranham"/> Thereafter building took place within the area bounded by the Southend Arterial Road in the north and St Mary's Lane in the south; and there were 615 council houses built by 1971.<ref name="parishes cranham"/>
GovernanceEdit
Cranham forms part of the Hornchurch and Upminster UK Parliament constituency, and is partly within the Havering wards of Upminster and Cranham. Together these form the Upminster Area Committee.<ref name=area_notes>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The current MP is Julia Lopez (politician). Each ward elects three councillors to Havering London Borough Council. All six councillors elected in 2010 for the two wards were the Upminster and Cranham Residents' Association candidates<ref name="havering cranham">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="havering upminster">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the area is unusual in that the residents' association is strongly active.<ref name="Havering and Redbridge">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> From 1945 to 1974 Cranham formed part of the Hornchurch constituency and from 1974 to 2010 it formed part of the Upminster constituency. Cranham is within the Havering and Redbridge London Assembly constituency.
GeographyEdit
Template:Further Most of Cranham is located on the London Clay belt, with loam to the north and a gravel valley to the south.<ref name="parishes cranham"/> It rises to about Template:Convert in the north and to below Template:Convert in the south; with a ridge running east to west upon which All Saints' Church is located.<ref name="parishes cranham"/> Cranham forms a continuously built-up area with Upminster to the west, with open fields separating it from Harold Wood in the north, Great Warley to the east and North Ockendon to the southeast. Franks Wood and Cranham Brickfields are designated a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation with a habitat of ancient woodland, coppices, ditches, scrub, tall herbs and neutral grassland.<ref name="nature_havering">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The community forest centre for the extensive Thames Chase is located in the open land to the south east.<ref name="thames chase">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Cranham forms part of the Upminster post town in the RM14 postcode district.<ref name=rm_guide>Template:Cite book</ref> Climate data for Cranham is taken from the nearest weather station at Greenwich, around Template:Convert southwest of All Saints church: Template:Greenwich weatherbox
DemographyEdit
| Cranham compared (2001 Census) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statistic | Upminster<ref name=stat_upminster/> | Cranham<ref name=stat_cranham/> | Havering<ref name=stat_upminster/> | London<ref name=stat_upminster/> | England<ref name=stat_upminster/> |
| Ethnic group | |||||
| White | 12,354 | 11,930 | 213,421 | 5,103,203 | 44,679,361 |
| Asian | 133 | 120 | 4,088 | 866,693 | 2,248,289 |
| Black | 59 | 64 | 3,139 | 782,849 | 1,132,508 |
| Mixed | 87 | 78 | 2,298 | 226,111 | 643,373 |
| Chinese/Other | 41 | 19 | 827 | 70,928 | 231,424 |
| Population | |||||
| Total | 12,674 | 12,242 | 224,248 | 7,172,091 | 49,138,831 |
| Density(/hectare) | 5.62 | 18.67 | 19.97 | 45.62 | 3.77 |
| Households | 4,946 | 5,111 | 91,722 | 3,015,997 | 20,451,427 |
Demographic data is produced by the Office for National Statistics for the wards of Cranham and Upminster. All of Cranham is contained within these wards, however they also cover the connected settlement of Upminster and the rural outlier of North Ockendon. In 2001 the population of Upminster ward was 12,674<ref name=stat_upminster>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Cranham ward was 12,242,<ref name=stat_cranham>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> giving a total population of 25,098. 80.95% in Upminster and 81.73% in Cranham report their religion as Christian, compared to 76.13% for Havering, 58.23% in London and 71.74% in England. 10.08% in Upminster and 10.46% in Cranham report having no religion, compared to 13.18% in Havering, 15.76% in London and 14.59% in England.<ref name=stat_upminster/><ref name=stat_cranham/> With a black and minority ethnic population of 3% in 2001, Cranham and Upminster wards have the lowest Simpson index for ethnic diversity in London.<ref name="gla diversity">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The level of home ownership is atypically high compared to the rest of London and England, with over 90% of housing tenure under owner-occupation in both wards.<ref name=tenure_upminster>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=tenure_cranham>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EconomyEdit
There are several short parades of shops; the largest on Front Lane, dominated by a Tesco Express store.<ref name="tesco">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The nearest significant activity centre identified in the London Plan is the local district centre at Upminster.<ref name=east_plan/> Within Havering, Upminster is identified as the nearest of seven main town centres.<ref name="town centres">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There are a number of commercial businesses centred around the A127 Southend Arterial Road including a wholesale butcher, mushroom cultivator, caravan sales, and a sports equipment supplier.<ref name="register havering">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref> There are a limited number of hospitality venues, including pubs and a popular tandoori restaurant.<ref name="award">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
TransportEdit
Front Lane is the main road through Cranham and runs north to south, connecting with the A127 road in the north. Approximately Template:Convert to the northeast it has a junction with the M25 motorway, which forms the outer ring road of London. Cranham is the location of the Upminster depot of the London Underground's District line.<ref name="depot">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The nearest London Underground station is at Upminster, approximately Template:Convert to the west. The London-Tilbury-Southend line of the National Rail network passes through the area in two places, with the nearest station also at Upminster. There are Transport for London bus service to Upminster, Hornchurch, Romford, and Ockendon station on routes 248, 346 and 347.<ref name="bus">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
CultureEdit
All Saints' parish church was rebuilt in 1873 and is a grade II listed building. James Oglethorpe, the founder of the state of Georgia, now part of the United States of America, is buried with his wife at the centre of its chancel.<ref name="church havering">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="all saints">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The area around the church forms a conservation area.<ref name="conservation area">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There is a second church called St Luke's further north on Front Lane.<ref name="st lukes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Cranham Hall, the former manor house, is a grade II listed building. There are two community associations that are both registered charities.<ref name="community"/><ref name="soc hall"/> The Cranham Community Association operates a broad range of sporting, self-improvement and hobby activities at Cranham Community Centre on Marlborough Gardens.<ref name="community">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Cranham Social Hall, with a capacity of 100, is separately operated by the Front Lane Community Association, and provides a limited range of activities.<ref name="soc hall">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Cranham Social Hall">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The main cultural and entertainment facilities of the borough are located in Hornchurch and Romford.<ref name=urban_strategy>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>