The Knowhere Guide

Best and Worst in Ilford, Essex*

Ilford, Essex Triumphs and Tragedies

Favourite Building

• valentines mansion and the exchange are nice.
• The WILLIAM TORBITT SCHOOL building at Aldborough Road / Eastern Avenue
• Gantshill Sauna (Next to Gants Hill subway)
• The lido in Valentines Park. A lovely piece of Edwardian architecture bulldozed by the scumbag council in the nineties without telling anyone. Their argument was that not enough people used it. That's because hardly anyone new it was there. And now it's too late.
• I don't know about favourite, but a great place to see is the 13th-century chapel on Ilford Hill. This former leper colony is like an oasis in the middle of Ilford. When you step inside, traffic noise diappears and you are transported back in time.
• the exchange: Shops, yey!!!
• The buttsbury estate but theve done that already
• Definitely the tube stations at Redbridge and Gants Hill. gants Hill has the biggest unsupported concrete arch ceiling of its time.
• The library, disspelling the myth that everyone who lives in the London/Essex area is ignorant!
• SS Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Church, High Road Redbridge Tube station - final Charles Holden building in London, (post-war) modernist yet restrained, simple and round like a tiny flying saucer next to the motorway and North Circular road!
• Fulwell Cross Library, with its huge dome is a landmark
• The house in Valentines park rocks
• Ilford townhall had the best steps to run up. 1948 was the year.
• What used to be the old lepers hospital on Ilford Hill not sure of exact era but hundreds of years old

Demolish It Now Building

• B.T. and Brittania building.
• 5th avenue
• The multi-level square next to Lynton House where, in times long past, Sainsbury's was is now a dirty, scary pit and should be demolished immediately. Seriously. The BT building on Ilford Hill or Lynton house in the High Road would be other contenders.
• Britannia Music in Roding Lane. Horrible place.
• All of Ilford! Rebuild as a 17th century village!
• the Best thing was the open Air Lido over the valentines park but unfourtunatlythe W*****S from redbridge council filled it inwithout the residents of the boroughs consent and made basketball courts for the local Muggers and rude boys to hang out.
• The Harrison Gibson building, a 70's throwback to the days of over=priced department stores.
• none - there's nothing of amazing grace and beauty but really no monstrosities either
• McDonalds, preferably while a mangers meeting is being held, (I used to work there)
• The Exchange
• Ilford Railway Station it looks like its been made out of leggo
• The nice new police station next to the Island "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU"
• mount secondary school for girls. can it still be there? Anyone remember it? Miss Fordham and her "Greensleeves" she played it constantly.
• Lynton House

The Best Things

• Valentines Park especially the mansion and aviery.
• The Valentine. Gants Hill subway to get out.
• Smoking ya first fag in front of yya mum.
• The greatest thing that I remember about good old Ilford is the now defunct Ilford Football Club. It was the first senior club I played for and still have fond memories of building and the ground. I still think that the colours blue and white hoops are the best colours I have ever played in. It also had a woderfully friendly bar for players and supporters. Any other expat players around??
• The Valentine, the cinema in Gants Hill, Meze Meze and Pizza Express.
• Coming home from work early on Summer days and jumping straight into the lido in Valentines Park. It was demolished by the council because they said they couldn't afford a few grand to repair some cracks.
• I used to live in Ilford from 1956-60 having moved there from Goodmayes, just off Valentines Park with its great cricket ground. Lynn Road - the home of Ilford F.C., a homely stadium with the home palyers in blue & white hooped shirts - where are they now?
• Edward Terry Secondhand Books
• The Worst things are the way peoeple call it essex even though its in Greater london IE why is barkingside which is in Ilford in the greater london categrey and the ilford in the essex one if this is the case why is croydon not in the surrey one, and enfeild in the middlesex. Please some one make the ammendment
• Valentines Park
• Valentines is a beautiful park. People locally and from abroad comment in this way. I hope it will remain so. The cafe could do with a revamp, and become a little more modern and continental, or in some way more stylish. Lets all do our part in keeping it clean and safe. If you are a foreigner just make sure that you dont get locked in at night, as the gates are shut fast!
• The new Waterstone's shop, the first decent bookshop (not including the decent second-hand ones) to open in East London outside of the City/Docklands/Uni areas. A mix of the Romford Essex stuff (cheap to live in, lots of pubs/shops), with some East London character (a bit rough on the edges but with a bit more stlye).
• How much more pleasant and civilised Ilford (including Gants Hill, Barkingside, Claybury, etc) is than any of the areas that surround it.
• Accessabilty of nearby retail hotspots such as Ilford, Romford and Walthamstow
• Saturday night dances at Ilford townhall
• C & A

The Worst Things

• The rising crime levels and the gangs of youths.
• Living there
• Smoking ya first fag in front of ya mum.
• Too many bloody take-aways!!
• Corrections: The Exchange in Ilford is now non-smoking indoors, and there are plans to build a cinema on one of the open carparks near to the Kennth Moore Theatre
• No where to park! And millions of traffic wardens. And they still allow smoking in the Exchange so you'll smell of cigarettes when you've finished shopping. Nice.
• People who dont pick up after their dogs! Some of the streets are becoming canine toilets! (I mean pretty shitty!) Mind your step.
• The lack of a town centre Cinema.
• proximity to Romford, Dagenham, East Ham
• Ilford Lane - not the residents, the appalling traffic along there.
• Its boring
• The fact that Its now classed as being in the East End of London
• The Pioneer Market (espically goine down hill since Bishops Wool shop closed

The Knowhere Guide started out as a list of places to skateboard in the UK. It is a compilation of (unedited) information and views supplied by users like yourself. It is not a conventional tourist guide!

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Credits

Last updated: 2008-06-11