Interesting.... I am interested in WW2.... Here in north Wales there was a dummy airfield and a ROC post on Anglesey.... A plane in difficulty thought it could land there.... Unfortunately it hit the ROC post... I think three were killed including the pilot.... I think it was a Beaufighter....
And also to bluff Hitler into thinking Patton's army (a myth) was to strike Calais. It worked and was a huge reason the Normandy Invasion eventually was successful.
Grew up in South Ockendon. Very rural in the 50’s. Loved every minute of my time there. Haven’t visited in a while so maybe it’s time. Excellent video btw with some fascinating facts. I’ve subscribed and look forward to more facts. 👍👍
Great to see these largely unseen "London-but-not-London" areas. Wennington (London) and Orsett (Essex) are also worth looking at, as is Rainham Marshes.
Im planning on cycling from North Ockendon to the most westerly point of London this spring, westerly point being a roundabout on the m25, junction 14 at Heathrow. Approximately 41 miles.
Having been born in the County Borough of East Ham (the county in question being Essex) my parents scrimped and scraped to buy a house at Cranham where I grew till I escaped at 18. Cranham is the next village to North Ockendon to the north. You missed Cranham!! Cranham Boys played their matches on the Rectory Meadow, North Ockendon coutesy of the great Terry Bishop and his wife Gwen who came from North Ockendon (Oaken Hill)
I enjoyed that, especially as I know those areas fairly well. Shall look at some more of your output. I find TH-cam much more interesting, relevant, and entertaining than TV these days.
If you go to the South Western end of Greater London you have the small village of Malden Rushett, inside the M25, with fields, farms and woods with Chessington to the north and Leatherhead to the south. Its a peculiar little spur of Greater London and would love to know the history of it.
Interesting video. Being an “Essex Girl” (born and raised in Cranham), “Greater London Girl” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it! And, yes, I did used to dance round my handbag at the Ilford Palais in the sixties!! 🙂
Great video for Essex-nerds like me. Just one detail to highlight; Thurrock is a unitary authority in the historic county of Essex, but administratively independent from Essex County Council (notwithstanding current "assistance" due to some financial issues).
Interesting video, thanks. Having grown up in Romford in the London borough of Havering in the 70s (but always with 'Essex' at the end of addresses 🤪) the places you covered are all very familiar. It was always nice having London proper 15 mins away by a fast train but beautiful villages and country pubs out in rural Essex to visit 😊. Certainly an interesting place to grow up.
@@Garfie489 That's right, but it's funny as I live in Harold Wood, and my address is still written or shown as Romford Essex RM3.... the London thing did not catch on at all I've never had a letter addressed to me as Romford London, not once.... I would not care if it did of course, but it was designated as a London Borough in the late 60's as Essex seeded territory again (for the upteenth time) to allow for this expansion of London, but in my heart I still feel Romford is Essex.... maybe because I'm old... in essence you are correct, but it still feels odd when folk say Romford London.... it seems more natural to say Romford Essex, maybe in 30 years time when I'm long gone the Romford London address will gain usage? it might just be me, but I don't even hear the kids say Romford London.... I guess Romfordians (yes that is the correct colloquial term) never wanted to be Londoners.... :D
@@jjharson7344 so to answer why you wont get letters addressed correctly - its because a lot of companies use the data provided to the at first sign up and never update their records unless you update it yourself. I was born in the 90s, and live in Hornchurch - thus i never have anything addressed to Essex, as i never signed up to anything in my lifetime where that was the correct address. If you ever move and correctly give out your new address, you should notice the same.
@@jjharson7344 I was born in Romford in the early 1960s and brought up in Hornchurch. I think of myself as an East Saxon (especially during the cricket season), not a Londoner, although my parents and all my grandparents were born in London
Watfordite here. The busses are always the biggest giveaway, if you're in a London borough bus stops will have the little TFL logo on them. We do have some red busses here but you can usually tell fairly easily when it's a london bus. There are some other signs but I think they might just be specific to Hillingdon, which I only live a walk away from so am probably most familiar with. I've always loved that odd hornet statue (statue? ornament?) outside our McDonalds so nice to see it captured in this video. A reference to our football teams nickname The Hornets. There are some surprisingly rural areas in and just outside Greater London. Less so these days and I imagine the closer you get to central London the less there are, but during covid I did a lot of exploring and found some surprisingly rural areas and farms around where I live that I never knew existed.
@@starbarrothschild6597 A thousand apologies. In my defence I did check on the OS 1:50000 map grid ref TQ 592 848 before posting where it’s clearly spelled with an “e”. However, I notice that South Ockendon is spelled with an “o” and and that it’s “North Ockendon” on the 1:25000. A rare slip from the boys in Southampton!
Living in Hackney in the 60's London stopped at the Bakers Arms where the 38 bus turned round at Leyton garage. Go on to Whipps Cross and you were deep in the countryside.
Memories of the M25 when I used to live in the UK [I now live back in Australia].. was getting dizzy by going around the M25, and relieving the symptoms by going back the other way! I remember my experience arriving in Langdon, Basildon to work with GEC Avionics... I'd love the job, and I'd loved Basildon so much... that I moved to Billericay...
@@markhealey9409 That’s true though. I suppose we could always switch our phones off when out and about, which defeats the objective of having them. But it is frightening how much we are being monitored. 🙄
3:02. I have drunk in that pub! And indeed had a curry afterwards in the restaurant that used to be attached at the back. A friend of mine was living in South Ockenedon at the time, and we went out that way for a change of scenery. I also had a manger who lived out that way. 3.34. I have also collected railway sleepers from that garden centre, when I worked with the aforementioned manager... 4:28. Guess what? I've also drunk in THAT pub!
Thank you for such an interesting film. After seeing this, it just confirms that London is such a city of contrasts. From the hustle and bustle of the square mile, Oxford St, Piccadilly and the like or the tourist traps of the Tower or Big Ben, you then go to the tranquil delights of North Ockendon yet its still London.... just delightful !!
Interesting video. The countryside between North Ockendon and London proper is known as Thames Chase Forest, and in places is actually amazingly rural and scenic, bearing in mind it's sandwiched between the London sprawl, the Thames-side industries and Lakeside/Thurrock retail parks. This is why the Green Belt protection is so important and must under no circumstances be revoked. I agree about the anomalies of the London border: I definitely think Epsom should officially become part of London, as should Caterham and Warlingham, but then there's other places like Biggin Hill and Harefield that really shouldn't be.
St Mary Magdalene, North Ockendon - location of the marriage on 23 April 1827 of James Benson (of South Weald) and Elizabeth Higgs (of North Ockendon). They lived at Brook Street in South Weald, and in 1839 Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter who they christened Julianna. In 1858, at South Weald, Julianna Benson married Robert Glenn Wesley, one of the many children of composer and organist Samuel Wesley and his housekeeper-cum-partner Sarah Suter. Samuel was the son of Rev. Charles Wesley - author of many famous hymns including "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today", "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling", "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", and "Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending".
Interesting video. Small hint, when walking on roads it is best to walk on the right, so you are facing any oncoming traffic and can make eye contact with the driver, and can step aside as needed to avoid becoming a casualty.
Oh I know walking against traffic is generally best, assuming you've no blind spots. It's just that for the shots I ended up using, I was feeling a bit casual about it since the birds were making more noise than the traffic!
I realise, as explained in the video that the M25 does not mark the boundary of Greater London, but I believe there have been a few minor boundary changes to bring small sections of the M25 into Greater London, where it just crossed the bounty by upto 400 meters or so.
I'm a Kentish Man being born in 1964. In 1965 my home town became part of a London Borough. My old dad used to point out the old border in a wood a couple of miles from home.
Previous to 1965, the biggest extension of London was the creation of the County of London in 1889. This is what brought the inner parts of London out of their former counties and into a single, elected London local authority. The new county took up much more space south of the river than north; some of the places now thought of as inner London, such as Tottenham and Harlesden, remained in Middlesex until it was abolished as an administrative county in 1965.
Interesting video. I should point out that Thurrock is no more administratively part of Essex than London Borough of Havering, having been a unitary authority since 1998.
Hi Alex - you could do a video on 'Frontier London Towns' - places at the edge of the Greater London Authority/Home Counties border that really don't look like London. Wennington and Rainham spring to mind. Downe Village, Pratts Bottom and Cudham are worth looking at for a real sense of villages and being in the country
Thanks, that's actually a great idea. I may well revisit the theme of un-London-like parts of London at some point, in which case the places you mentioned might feature!
Fen is a generic term for flat, marshy land - which it certainly is around Bulphan - rather than being connected directly with The Fens in Cambridgeshire, etc.
Good video. Thank you sir! On a different note, can someone point me in the direction of a good video/documentary on why all the pubs in London are closing please?
I've taken the tram to Meadowhall if that counts? If you have any particular un-Sheffield-like parts of Sheffield in mind, I'm all ears. Could be an idea for a future video.
@@AlexinGreatBritain Hi, wow, you replied. I don't want to sound like I know Sheffield really well, because I actually live in Surrey (!), but I have some friends who lived in Sheffield and they took me to some very rural places that were actually part of Sheffield. If you go into Google maps and type Sheffield, you may be able to see what I mean if you look at where the red outline extends to. There's a whole area to the south-west particularly that's basically in the Pennines.
In my A to Z in London (all TfL stops) I was in Thurrock twice today. Not the most known place name from a Norwegian point of view. The two places were Arena Essex and Arnhem Avenue. Couldn't say anything about Ockendon (either) as it will be months until I virtually get there in my Google Sheet
Talking of red buses outside of London, the 465 goes from within Greater London to Dorking which is literally miles outside of London. I believe it’s the furthest you can be from London on what is ostensibly a London bus.
Fascinating! Genuinely had no idea North Ockendon was London, just assumed it was Essex. I've lived in nearby Aveley - which is South of Upminster and West of South Ockendon - a couple of times, itself inside the M25 but not London (it's part of Thurrock + Essex).
I worked at Upminster during the late 90’s. North Ockendon came under the London Borough of Havering and came under the area where I worked. However, South Ockendon came under Essex County Council’s responsibility, despite being bordering each other.
I live in South Ockendon village, near the green, quite nice. But about to be joined up to North Ockendon by several thousand new houses on green belt farmland!! It is on the 'Local Plan' , Again less food produced in UK and i wonder who will be moving in!!
As much as I hate that idea, it’s been on the cards for some years now. Keep campaigning, especially about the Lower Thames Crossing too, which again, is a bad idea for the local area.
I love seeing this side of England. The parts less seen in media, where the true folks of the country make a living. It's like a whole different world to me and one I'm fascinated by as someone from Louisiana.
I used to cycle through Bulphan on my way to my grandparents' in Corbetts Tey - that was when the M25 was being built, transforming the quiet rural area forever.
When the boundaries were drawn up, what was the point in splitting the Ockendons into two different counties? Why not put North and South into Eseex, or into London?
What an excellent, calming video. I'm a Yank and personally loathe what is happening to London proper. I pray for the residents of these somewhat removed and protected zones that the areas are NOT opened to your invited and uninvited "guests". Forces must be joined in order to save the UK... and many other Western lands. Cheers
In fact, most of the remoter border crossings are similar to the one in your video. There's only a few places where the sprawl carries right across the border. A few bus routes which cross the border are tfl. Most, however, are provincial, administered by the county council into which they're travelling. So that means, no centre doors (even on double deckers) and no oyster cards, but all drivers take cash (or you can have a county pass). The nearest two houses on either side of the line can already show a massive difference, not only in price, but also in poll tax. But from the first house over the line - their tickteting access to the tube and railways within London is greatly restricted if they're a student or a senior. There are other matters as well, but I don't want to bore you.
Intresting video thanks, I think there is a lot of confusion as to the actual extent and boundaries of present day Greater London, due to further out places not using compass point postcodes and still using their pre 1965 county in their current postal addresses, also some of these places being thought of as towns in their own right, not as part of London Boroughs, Eg Croydon Surrey, Bromley Kent etc, also such places are 10 or more miles from the West end or City, that most tourists or non locals would generally think of as 'London'
I remember coming across an article on the website of Bromley's local paper about whether residents considered Bromley to be in London or Kent. Generally, younger people thought if it as London and older people as Kent.
Bromley is something of a one-off, as it hsa by far the most green belt countryside of any London borough. The northern half of Bromley is very much London. getting up towards Grove Park, Downham and Penge. The southern half including Biggin Hill, Downe, Cudham etc very much feels like West Kent. For me the real London boundary is the edge of the built-up area. Chelsfield Lane makes a very prominent border east of Oripingon: tower blocks on side, green fields on the other.
Interesting video and history. Yes peasants are often revolting, LOL! A huge contrast from central London to the edge of the city. Thank you for sharing.
Living on the London/Surrey border(far more illogical than the East London Border)I often jokingly referred Dartford, Stone, Thames Ditton, Stoneleigh & Cheam as "Not-London" as they aren't technically part of Greater London, but are still part of London in a practical sense!
As someone who regularly travels through north ockendon i was a little concerned as to where they would place the ULEZ cameras. Turns out they put them inside the m25 in cranham, with no cameras towards the south ockendon end of the town
You might be thinking of Mick Jagger although WT was possibly born in the Dartford area but not documented fact. I'm wondering how he managed to get across the Thames to Brentwood Essex without the tunnels or bridge? Perhaps there was a ferry? Who knows? 🤔🧐
ChatGPT answered my question 😊 "In the fourteenth century, people primarily crossed the Thames between Essex and Kent by using ferries or by fording the river at shallow points when the tide was low. Ferries were the more reliable and safer option, especially for transporting goods and people in larger quantities. These ferries were typically operated by locals or by small businesses, providing a vital transportation link between the two counties."
@@philiptownsend4026 Because Mick Jagger and Wat Tyler are so easily confused? I was born in Dartford and was told in childhood that Wat Tyler was a Dartfordian.
Being born in the east end of London, Hackney, I don't consider places further east as London. I now live in Dagenham Essex, as proven by houses with front gardens.
I know Ockendon very well. The difference in house prices between north and south Ockendon is due to South Ockendon being a total shit hole The Government plan to build a very nice motorway (Lower Thames Crossing) from Kent all the way through to the M25 joining at North Ockendon and taking much of the green belt with it. Essex like many counties has good and bad areas, the whole Thurrock area is awful and well worth a miss. Born and raised there so please just take my word for it.
Have you been a little closer to East London lately! South Ockendon village is heaven compared to it. Well at least until it is all covered by development under the Local Plan. North Ockendon is just a hamlet blighted by a shut down pub and about to be rendered of no value by the Lower Thames Crossing.
Surely to goodness it would make sense to cede this municipality to Essex? At least according to Google, its western boundary is even defined as being the M25. Somewhat oddly, the northwest corner of South Ockendon actually lies within the M25 and is not even directly accessible from the rest of the parish, whatwith the M25 being in the way and all, so perhaps a little land exchanging is in order.
There was a vote on that a few decades ago. The border is older than the M25, but it was tidied up by the vote - North Ockendon didn't transfer at that stage however
Should of come to Harold Hill and walked around the nature reserve known as the ‘Manor’ and feed the wild deer,if you dropped someone there and told them they were in London they would never believe you.
I’ve just done a comparison and found that greater Manchester is even wider than greater London when super imposed over one another. Greater Manchester covers a huge area and is even much bigger than the West Midlands.
I lost my dog once, but later found him just outside Barking.
Old but gold 😊😅😂
Was it tied up outside the Barking Dog.
😂
Were you outside Tooting
A barking dog never bites...it's the one's from Wapping that you have to watch out for 😊
Thanks for this, whimsical, little video. Interesting and well narrated
During WW2, Bulphan was the site of a dummy airfield created to draw the luftwaffe away from nearby Hornchurch.
Interesting.... I am interested in WW2.... Here in north Wales there was a dummy airfield and a ROC post on Anglesey.... A plane in difficulty thought it could land there.... Unfortunately it hit the ROC post... I think three were killed including the pilot.... I think it was a Beaufighter....
I'm sure the resident of Bulphan were overjoyed with that development.
And also to bluff Hitler into thinking Patton's army (a myth) was to strike Calais. It worked and was a huge reason the Normandy Invasion eventually was successful.
Grew up in South Ockendon. Very rural in the 50’s. Loved every minute of my time there. Haven’t visited in a while so maybe it’s time. Excellent video btw with some fascinating facts. I’ve subscribed and look forward to more facts. 👍👍
Thanks, I appreciate it!
Great to see these largely unseen "London-but-not-London" areas. Wennington (London) and Orsett (Essex) are also worth looking at, as is Rainham Marshes.
Mill Hill East. It’s not even that fieldy (it is a bit), but it looks like a field.
@@TreeMoviesgreat little village, pity it's a pain to get to via public transport!
Biggin Hill :) however it is much easier to visit there thanks to bus 320
Add Stoneleigh, Nonsuch Park and Thames Ditton to the list!
Im planning on cycling from North Ockendon to the most westerly point of London this spring, westerly point being a roundabout on the m25, junction 14 at Heathrow. Approximately 41 miles.
Who cares. Keep your tedious life to yourself.
Superb! Fascinating seeing hidden London.
Thank you!
I second that emotion.
Very interesting, low key and a little genuine humour.
Thoroughly interesting, well shot, and very calmingly narrated. Keep it up!
Thank you!
Great video, really enjoyed it. Going to watch more of your videos now.
Thanks, I appreciate it!
Having been born in the County Borough of East Ham (the county in question being Essex) my parents scrimped and scraped to buy a house at Cranham where I grew till I escaped at 18. Cranham is the next village to North Ockendon to the north. You missed Cranham!! Cranham Boys played their matches on the Rectory Meadow, North Ockendon coutesy of the great Terry Bishop and his wife Gwen who came from North Ockendon (Oaken Hill)
I love ready life memories like that. Thank you.
Love the bakery in Cranham, Preston’s. They do tasty currant buns and hot cross buns. Always a queue in that place.
Very nice review, thanks never knew this. Being from Belgium I always thought that the M25 was the border.
No worries, thanks for watching!
I enjoyed that, especially as I know those areas fairly well. Shall look at some more of your output. I find TH-cam much more interesting, relevant, and entertaining than TV these days.
Watch out, TH-cam is a trap.. there's always something more to watch..
@@Billy1690-ws8jz Oh yes. I wake up with insomnia and immediately go to TH-cam 🥴
Yes! I completely (100%) stopped watching TV. TH-cam is great! 😊😊
Absolutely riveting mate, cheers for that...👍🏴
Just discovered your channel. So interesting, I love these kind of docs about towns and places. Many thanks😊
Ah cheers, I appreciate it!
If you go to the South Western end of Greater London you have the small village of Malden Rushett, inside the M25, with fields, farms and woods with Chessington to the north and Leatherhead to the south. Its a peculiar little spur of Greater London and would love to know the history of it.
Interesting video. Being an “Essex Girl” (born and raised in Cranham), “Greater London Girl” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it! And, yes, I did used to dance round my handbag at the Ilford Palais in the sixties!! 🙂
Great video for Essex-nerds like me. Just one detail to highlight; Thurrock is a unitary authority in the historic county of Essex, but administratively independent from Essex County Council (notwithstanding current "assistance" due to some financial issues).
Good stuff. Loved the Neal's Yard quip.
Interesting video, thanks. Having grown up in Romford in the London borough of Havering in the 70s (but always with 'Essex' at the end of addresses 🤪) the places you covered are all very familiar. It was always nice having London proper 15 mins away by a fast train but beautiful villages and country pubs out in rural Essex to visit 😊. Certainly an interesting place to grow up.
They actually removed Essex from the addresses in the 90s.
Unfortunately for many, old habits don't die
@@Garfie489 That's right, but it's funny as I live in Harold Wood, and my address is still written or shown as Romford Essex RM3.... the London thing did not catch on at all I've never had a letter addressed to me as Romford London, not once.... I would not care if it did of course, but it was designated as a London Borough in the late 60's as Essex seeded territory again (for the upteenth time) to allow for this expansion of London, but in my heart I still feel Romford is Essex.... maybe because I'm old... in essence you are correct, but it still feels odd when folk say Romford London.... it seems more natural to say Romford Essex, maybe in 30 years time when I'm long gone the Romford London address will gain usage? it might just be me, but I don't even hear the kids say Romford London.... I guess Romfordians (yes that is the correct colloquial term) never wanted to be Londoners.... :D
@@jjharson7344 so to answer why you wont get letters addressed correctly - its because a lot of companies use the data provided to the at first sign up and never update their records unless you update it yourself.
I was born in the 90s, and live in Hornchurch - thus i never have anything addressed to Essex, as i never signed up to anything in my lifetime where that was the correct address.
If you ever move and correctly give out your new address, you should notice the same.
@@jjharson7344 I was born in Romford in the early 1960s and brought up in Hornchurch. I think of myself as an East Saxon (especially during the cricket season), not a Londoner, although my parents and all my grandparents were born in London
Watfordite here. The busses are always the biggest giveaway, if you're in a London borough bus stops will have the little TFL logo on them. We do have some red busses here but you can usually tell fairly easily when it's a london bus. There are some other signs but I think they might just be specific to Hillingdon, which I only live a walk away from so am probably most familiar with.
I've always loved that odd hornet statue (statue? ornament?) outside our McDonalds so nice to see it captured in this video. A reference to our football teams nickname The Hornets.
There are some surprisingly rural areas in and just outside Greater London. Less so these days and I imagine the closer you get to central London the less there are, but during covid I did a lot of exploring and found some surprisingly rural areas and farms around where I live that I never knew existed.
Very enjoyable, thanks 👍
Just discovered your channel, very well narrated. Thank you
Thanks, I appreciate it!
Well put together without being overwhelming
Wow, what a great video! Thanks. Oh, also SUBBED 👍🏿
Thanks, I appreciate it!
Great video - you've gained a new subscriber!
Thanks, I appreciate it!
That closed pub was sad - similar story at one in Epping, last time I was there.
Love this!❤❤👍👍
A charming find during my tea break
Thanks Alex, just found your video, very interesting. All the bits that Geoff left out about North Ockenden!
Check your spelling Phil we are a bit touchy about it ! It's Ockendon
@@starbarrothschild6597 A thousand apologies. In my defence I did check on the OS 1:50000 map grid ref TQ 592 848 before posting where it’s clearly spelled with an “e”. However, I notice that South Ockendon is spelled with an “o” and and that it’s “North Ockendon” on the 1:25000. A rare slip from the boys in Southampton!
I live in Walthamstow and it’s common knowledge that anything further east is pretty much Essex! 😁
You Walthamstow residents forget you with Chingford, Leyton and Newham are also as much Essex as B&D Havering and Redbridge 🤭
Living in Hackney in the 60's London stopped at the Bakers Arms where the 38 bus turned round at Leyton garage. Go on to Whipps Cross and you were deep in the countryside.
@@splodge57 to be fair it isn't much different now. Once you go past hollow pond you're in Epping Forest
Not a proven fact but IMO E17 starts at the cattle grid at the Essex end of Forest Road/A406.
@@jamesreynolds2867 Ah,,, the old cattle grid.. as a biker, I remember it well.
I take it you've not been around here for quite a while.
Memories of the M25 when I used to live in the UK [I now live back in Australia].. was getting dizzy by going around the M25, and relieving the symptoms by going back the other way!
I remember my experience arriving in Langdon, Basildon to work with GEC Avionics... I'd love the job, and I'd loved Basildon so much... that I moved to Billericay...
I drove through North Ockendon yesterday, and today this appeared on my feed. How peculiar.
Great video by the way.
Yep! We're always being monitored now! Big Brother knows everywhere you go,& what you speak about! 🙄🙄😩😩😡😡
@@markhealey9409 That’s true though. I suppose we could always switch our phones off when out and about, which defeats the objective of having them. But it is frightening how much we are being monitored. 🙄
Great little video, good effort fella!
3:02. I have drunk in that pub! And indeed had a curry afterwards in the restaurant that used to be attached at the back. A friend of mine was living in South Ockenedon at the time, and we went out that way for a change of scenery. I also had a manger who lived out that way.
3.34. I have also collected railway sleepers from that garden centre, when I worked with the aforementioned manager...
4:28. Guess what? I've also drunk in THAT pub!
Thank you for such an interesting film. After seeing this, it just confirms that London is such a city of contrasts. From the hustle and bustle of the square mile, Oxford St, Piccadilly and the like or the tourist traps of the Tower or Big Ben, you then go to the tranquil delights of North Ockendon yet its still London.... just delightful !!
Interesting video. The countryside between North Ockendon and London proper is known as Thames Chase Forest, and in places is actually amazingly rural and scenic, bearing in mind it's sandwiched between the London sprawl, the Thames-side industries and Lakeside/Thurrock retail parks. This is why the Green Belt protection is so important and must under no circumstances be revoked. I agree about the anomalies of the London border: I definitely think Epsom should officially become part of London, as should Caterham and Warlingham, but then there's other places like Biggin Hill and Harefield that really shouldn't be.
nicely droll and interesting. Excellent
Thurrock born and bred. My nan lived in south Ockendon. Nice to see Bas getting a shout out as it’s my local big town.
St Mary Magdalene, North Ockendon - location of the marriage on 23 April 1827 of James Benson (of South Weald) and Elizabeth Higgs (of North Ockendon). They lived at Brook Street in South Weald, and in 1839 Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter who they christened Julianna. In 1858, at South Weald, Julianna Benson married Robert Glenn Wesley, one of the many children of composer and organist Samuel Wesley and his housekeeper-cum-partner Sarah Suter. Samuel was the son of Rev. Charles Wesley - author of many famous hymns including "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today", "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling", "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", and "Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending".
Interesting video. Small hint, when walking on roads it is best to walk on the right, so you are facing any oncoming traffic and can make eye contact with the driver, and can step aside as needed to avoid becoming a casualty.
Oh I know walking against traffic is generally best, assuming you've no blind spots. It's just that for the shots I ended up using, I was feeling a bit casual about it since the birds were making more noise than the traffic!
I realise, as explained in the video that the M25 does not mark the boundary of Greater London, but I believe there have been a few minor boundary changes to bring small sections of the M25 into Greater London, where it just crossed the bounty by upto 400 meters or so.
Khan's ULEZ doesn't reach out to the M25 in places such as Woodford and Loughton due to they're in Essex.
I noticed the user of Depeche Mode in the Basildon bit before you called them out. You could have slipped in a bit of Yazoo as well! 😄
I could have, indeed! I may do a separate video devoted to exploring the musical connections of British towns.
I'm a Kentish Man being born in 1964. In 1965 my home town became part of a London Borough. My old dad used to point out the old border in a wood a couple of miles from home.
Previous to 1965, the biggest extension of London was the creation of the County of London in 1889. This is what brought the inner parts of London out of their former counties and into a single, elected London local authority. The new county took up much more space south of the river than north; some of the places now thought of as inner London, such as Tottenham and Harlesden, remained in Middlesex until it was abolished as an administrative county in 1965.
I still use "Middlesex" on my home address in Hounslow. Is this incorrect?
@@kashd4668 It will be ignored as Royal Mail no longer use counties since 1996. As long as the post code and town are correct, it will get there.
Thanks!👍
That was really interesting. Thanks
Interesting video. I should point out that Thurrock is no more administratively part of Essex than London Borough of Havering, having been a unitary authority since 1998.
Loving to see Thurrock on here, thank you
Excellent & interesting
Hi Alex - you could do a video on 'Frontier London Towns' - places at the edge of the Greater London Authority/Home Counties border that really don't look like London. Wennington and Rainham spring to mind. Downe Village, Pratts Bottom and Cudham are worth looking at for a real sense of villages and being in the country
Thanks, that's actually a great idea. I may well revisit the theme of un-London-like parts of London at some point, in which case the places you mentioned might feature!
Pratts Bottom is very rural and much nicer than its name would suggest
The church in South Ockendon is actually a very rare circular towered church, one of only six in Essex...
...so you can imagine my frustration when on the day of filming I saw it covered in scaffolding!
They are normal for Norfolk
Strange to think that an area that seemingly regards itself as being in The Fens is also in Greater London.
Fen is a generic term for flat, marshy land - which it certainly is around Bulphan - rather than being connected directly with The Fens in Cambridgeshire, etc.
@@ramseyboater I live in Lincolnshire now and here fen is a word that replaces field in most other parts of the country.
@@brythonicman3267they probably used to be under water.
Very interesting and quirky film. Thank you for your time.
No problem, thanks for watching!
Good video. Thank you sir!
On a different note, can someone point me in the direction of a good video/documentary on why all the pubs in London are closing please?
I thought I was watching a Jago Hazzard video. 😄
Have you checked out some of the places within the city of Sheffield? Doesn't look like any other city I've been to.
I've taken the tram to Meadowhall if that counts? If you have any particular un-Sheffield-like parts of Sheffield in mind, I'm all ears. Could be an idea for a future video.
@@AlexinGreatBritain Hi, wow, you replied. I don't want to sound like I know Sheffield really well, because I actually live in Surrey (!), but I have some friends who lived in Sheffield and they took me to some very rural places that were actually part of Sheffield. If you go into Google maps and type Sheffield, you may be able to see what I mean if you look at where the red outline extends to. There's a whole area to the south-west particularly that's basically in the Pennines.
In my A to Z in London (all TfL stops) I was in Thurrock twice today. Not the most known place name from a Norwegian point of view. The two places were Arena Essex and Arnhem Avenue. Couldn't say anything about Ockendon (either) as it will be months until I virtually get there in my Google Sheet
Love it. My neck of the woods.
Talking of red buses outside of London, the 465 goes from within Greater London to Dorking which is literally miles outside of London. I believe it’s the furthest you can be from London on what is ostensibly a London bus.
Fascinating! Genuinely had no idea North Ockendon was London, just assumed it was Essex. I've lived in nearby Aveley - which is South of Upminster and West of South Ockendon - a couple of times, itself inside the M25 but not London (it's part of Thurrock + Essex).
As a northerner I reckon anywhere inside the M25 is London, rightly or wrongly.
Filthy Dartford will never be part of London.
Watford is in the M25 but isn't London.
I agree
@@danielward7008London would never accept Watford
@@Marvin-dg8vj More like Watford would never want to be swallowed up by London.
I worked at Upminster during the late 90’s. North Ockendon came under the London Borough of Havering and came under the area where I worked. However, South Ockendon came under Essex County Council’s responsibility, despite being bordering each other.
I live in South Ockendon village, near the green, quite nice.
But about to be joined up to North Ockendon by several thousand new houses on green belt farmland!!
It is on the 'Local Plan' ,
Again less food produced in UK and i wonder who will be moving in!!
As much as I hate that idea, it’s been on the cards for some years now. Keep campaigning, especially about the Lower Thames Crossing too, which again, is a bad idea for the local area.
Whenever politician have 'plans', whether local or national, be afraid. Be very afraid.
Orsett is getting off lightly, strange is it not!
Nice little Video. Very Interesting! And I couldn't agree more regarding the destruction of our pubs and entertainment.
Another interesting video. I fear you may be encroaching on ‘Rob’s London’ territory here, so watch your back ;-)
I love seeing this side of England. The parts less seen in media, where the true folks of the country make a living. It's like a whole different world to me and one I'm fascinated by as someone from Louisiana.
Thanks! That's one of the things I like about TH-cam - it gives you a window to the world, as it were.
I used to cycle through Bulphan on my way to my grandparents' in Corbetts Tey - that was when the M25 was being built, transforming the quiet rural area forever.
I am reminded of Monty Python's 'Wrong Way Norris' sketch.
When the boundaries were drawn up, what was the point in splitting the Ockendons into two different counties?
Why not put North and South into Eseex, or into London?
Centre of London is the statue of Charles 1st in Trafalgar Square!
have you done, North, South and West? I'll have a look!
Good video btw, thanks!
Cheers! I haven't done north/south/west, but now you mention it, I might just do at some point.
@@AlexinGreatBritainThat would be very interesting, should time permit
What an excellent, calming video. I'm a Yank and personally loathe what is happening to London proper. I pray for the residents of these somewhat removed and protected zones that the areas are NOT opened to your invited and uninvited "guests". Forces must be joined in order to save the UK... and many other Western lands. Cheers
@@ListenUp-py1qm No, I run the show.
Anything else?
In fact, most of the remoter border crossings are similar to the one in your video.
There's only a few places where the sprawl carries right across the border.
A few bus routes which cross the border are tfl.
Most, however, are provincial, administered by the county council into which they're travelling.
So that means, no centre doors (even on double deckers) and no oyster cards, but all drivers take cash (or you can have a county pass).
The nearest two houses on either side of the line can already show a massive difference, not only in price, but also in poll tax.
But from the first house over the line - their tickteting access to the tube and railways within London is greatly restricted if they're a student or a senior.
There are other matters as well, but I don't want to bore you.
I thought all distances were measured from just outside the renamed Charing Cross Station.
Thanks!
Thanks Dianne, much appreciated! :)
I love your videos and how you describe it ❤️❤️
That's very kind, thanks!
Intresting video thanks, I think there is a lot of confusion as to the actual extent and boundaries of present day Greater London, due to further out places not using compass point postcodes and still using their pre 1965 county in their current postal addresses, also some of these places being thought of as towns in their own right, not as part of London Boroughs, Eg Croydon Surrey, Bromley Kent etc, also such places are 10 or more miles from the West end or City, that most tourists or non locals would generally think of as 'London'
I remember coming across an article on the website of Bromley's local paper about whether residents considered Bromley to be in London or Kent. Generally, younger people thought if it as London and older people as Kent.
@@trickygoose2It's politically London but geographically Kent.
@@danielward7008that’s not true it ceased to be a part of Kent in 1965 👍🏻 all of London has been part of another county a some point!
@@richardwager283 It was absorbed into London politically. It's still Kent to many of us and indeed still has a Kent rather than London postcode 👍
Bromley is something of a one-off, as it hsa by far the most green belt countryside of any London borough. The northern half of Bromley is very much London. getting up towards Grove Park, Downham and Penge. The southern half including Biggin Hill, Downe, Cudham etc very much feels like West Kent. For me the real London boundary is the edge of the built-up area. Chelsfield Lane makes a very prominent border east of Oripingon: tower blocks on side, green fields on the other.
Red buses make it to Brentwood too.
Yes, I've seen them overtake the stage coaches.😏
Interesting video and history. Yes peasants are often revolting, LOL! A huge contrast from central London to the edge of the city. Thank you for sharing.
No problem, thanks for watching!
Living on the London/Surrey border(far more illogical than the East London Border)I often jokingly referred Dartford, Stone, Thames Ditton, Stoneleigh & Cheam as "Not-London" as they aren't technically part of Greater London, but are still part of London in a practical sense!
Whilst Brentwood was involved in the Peasants' Revolt, Wat Tyler marched up from Canterbury!
As someone who regularly travels through north ockendon i was a little concerned as to where they would place the ULEZ cameras. Turns out they put them inside the m25 in cranham, with no cameras towards the south ockendon end of the town
Grew up in cranham which borders the M25 on the other side
My life must be so
Boring now that I started find this enjoyable
How interesting, Why is it part of London?
I am from south ockendon and have always found it weird that it isn't London as well considering how much more developed it is and its connections.
Interesting!
Anothher fascinating video, thank you. I'd always heard Wat Tyler was born in Kent, possibly Dartford.
You might be thinking of Mick Jagger although WT was possibly born in the Dartford area but not documented fact. I'm wondering how he managed to get across the Thames to Brentwood Essex without the tunnels or bridge? Perhaps there was a ferry? Who knows? 🤔🧐
ChatGPT answered my question 😊
"In the fourteenth century, people primarily crossed the Thames between Essex and Kent by using ferries or by fording the river at shallow points when the tide was low. Ferries were the more reliable and safer option, especially for transporting goods and people in larger quantities. These ferries were typically operated by locals or by small businesses, providing a vital transportation link between the two counties."
Sometimes some random person says some random thing to trigger my thirst for useless curious knowledge.
@@philiptownsend4026 Because Mick Jagger and Wat Tyler are so easily confused? I was born in Dartford and was told in childhood that Wat Tyler was a Dartfordian.
What Stones songs did Wat Tyler sing on?
Being born in the east end of London, Hackney, I don't consider places further east as London. I now live in Dagenham Essex, as proven by houses with front gardens.
It always amuses me when driving around the M25 in that area that the directions for South Ockenden are painted on the road as S.Ock 🧦
There is also significant areas of farmland in southern London.
I know Ockendon very well.
The difference in house prices between north and south Ockendon is due to South Ockendon being a total shit hole
The Government plan to build a very nice motorway (Lower Thames Crossing) from Kent all the way through to the M25 joining at North Ockendon and taking much of the green belt with it.
Essex like many counties has good and bad areas, the whole Thurrock area is awful and well worth a miss. Born and raised there so please just take my word for it.
Have you been a little closer to East London lately! South Ockendon village is heaven compared to it.
Well at least until it is all covered by development under the Local Plan.
North Ockendon is just a hamlet blighted by a shut down pub and about to be rendered of no value by the Lower Thames Crossing.
just east of south ockendon there was something like a "lunette" Ish structure.. can anyone confirm?
Surely to goodness it would make sense to cede this municipality to Essex? At least according to Google, its western boundary is even defined as being the M25. Somewhat oddly, the northwest corner of South Ockendon actually lies within the M25 and is not even directly accessible from the rest of the parish, whatwith the M25 being in the way and all, so perhaps a little land exchanging is in order.
There was a vote on that a few decades ago. The border is older than the M25, but it was tidied up by the vote - North Ockendon didn't transfer at that stage however
I doubt that the residents of North Ock will vote to become part of Essex as that would mean over 60s losing their free Oyster cards.
Isn’t there an Essex police station in North Okendon?
thanx Alex - 💖 it!
Glad to hear, thanks!
Interesting video.
I knew Harefield to be the most Western point of London. Know I know the most Eastern point. Hopefully the North and South soon.
Thanks! I may cover those as well at some point.
Thank you
Should of come to Harold Hill and walked around the nature reserve known as the ‘Manor’ and feed the wild deer,if you dropped someone there and told them they were in London they would never believe you.
Lovely video. Subscribed... because you didn't say _like and subscribe_ 😆
Aha, so reverse psychology works! And thanks!
I’ve just done a comparison and found that greater Manchester is even wider than greater London when super imposed over one another. Greater Manchester covers a huge area and is even much bigger than the West Midlands.