Great Ilford pt. 1

This is part 1 of a series of the Great Ilford written by Gordon Hobbs, which will be shared in 4 parts throughout 2025. 

One of the most overused words of the last few years has to be MASSIVE. This is usually when hijacked by youth culture or for football chanting purposes. Even when spoken about in a more traditional way, it is mostly used to describe something that is marginally bigger than average.

Having said that, what you are about to read, especially if you have strong connections to the town itself, is truly MASSIVE. You might want to sit down at this point. Here we go…..

2026 will be Ilford’s Centenary Year as a Municipal Borough

Yes, exactly 100 years since being elevated to the status of a Municipal Borough. 100 years of individuality, even uniqueness, which arguably is what we are (more of that to follow). 100 years of organic development into the colourful, thriving, multi-cultural community that we genuinely are.  Wow! That really is something we should all get behind. Let the preparations and celebrations begin.

Hold on though. Before we start organising street events, firework displays, etc. shouldn’t we at least do a bit of digging to find out exactly what this is all about? Firstly, a brief history of the area.

A cast of the Ilford mammoth is on display on the 1st floor of Redbridge Central Library, as part of Redbridge Museum

The earliest known residents of Ilford were woolly mammoths. A superb example of a locally found skull is considered so historically important, it is permanently on display in the Natural History Museum. Moving on at pace, the hamlet of Ilefort (later Hile Ford), is documented in the Doomsday Book of 1086. This is the Celtic name meaning a shallow crossing over the River Roding. The name Roding itself means trickling stream.

By 1650, this hamlet accounted for about 50 or 60 dwellings. The next significant impact was when the Great Eastern Railway arrived in 1839 and by 1880 the numbers had swelled to about 10,000. The community continued to grow at a rapid rate, passing 50,000 by the end of the century. This necessitated the building of the Town Hall in 1901 at a cost of £30,000 which was urgently required to accommodate the increasing demand for more space and better organisation. Previously, the ‘council offices’ had been housed above a shop on Cranbrook Road. Another 25,000 or so inhabitants had been added by 1910 and the growth continued dramatically year by year.

Credits – Flickr – An unused postcard that was published by W. Hornby & J. W. King of Ilford. The card was posted in Chadwell Heath, London E. on Saturday the 26th. January 1927.

Historically both Great Ilford, as it was known (east of the Roding) and Little Ilford (west of the Roding) were parishes, under the authority of Barking and its Abbey. From 1888 an important series of changes began, but always falling short of complete autonomy. This was increasingly considered to be restricting, outdated and unnecessary. In 1922 a local committee presented their proposal in the form of a petition to the Privy Council for consideration.

The proposal was accepted and by Royal Charter, the chosen year to complete the process of becoming the Municipal Borough of Ilford was 2026.

This was a significant, symbolic change for local government and in recognition, a royal visit was deemed appropriate. This took place on the 21st October 1926 involving the Duke and Duchess of York, who would become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother). They were the chosen representatives of the reigning monarch King George V.

Apart from the Royal visit, there was a parade and procession involving local dignitaries, school children and community groups. The public celebrations included speeches, music and other forms of entertainment. Naturally, there were also ceremonial duties to be performed and further down the line, a totally new council to be organised.

Notable dates for 1926:
1st January: The unofficial start and countdown towards the new status.
24th August: The issue of the official Charter
21st October: Ilford Charter Day and the Royal Visit

9 th November: The inaugural meeting of the new borough council

As a sign that the newly formed borough continued to expand, increasing the workload on the administrative infrastructure, the Town Hall was further enlarged in 1927 and 1933.

At this point it might be worth mentioning that the London Borough of Redbridge came into being on 1 st April 1965, making it 60 years old this month. Happy Birthday Redbridge. Only 40 years to go to the next big Centenary celebration.

Now we are all up to speed on the background of this historic and joyous occasion, let the fun begin with our very first event, namely 100 stalls in 3 Days!

Over a 3 day period starting on Thursday 10th April, from 9am to 6pm each day, inIlford will present a unique Marketplace experience with everyone welcome. Traders with a vast array of different products designed to tempt you, have been invited to help kickstart proceedings right in the heart of our amazing town. We would love to see you there.

On the 16th and 17th of August, Ilford gets a splash of creativity with Ilford inColour, our first-ever mural art festival. Expect large-scale murals transforming town centre walls, live art, music, family fun and community spirit bursting from every brushstroke.

As the nights draw in, Christmas inIlford returns on November 22nd, with a town-wide celebration like no other – fireworks, live performances, games, food markets, Santa’s Grotto and a magical light-up moment that kicks off the festive season in style.

And let’s not forget the Ilford and Redbridge Business Awards 2025, where 100 local businesses will be recognised for their impact and innovation on the 4th of December. It will be a true celebration of the independent spirit that drives our community forward.

While we are on the subject of incredible stories about Great Ilfordians, if you have one yourself, please share it with us. We will publish any that we feel will inspire, amaze or otherwise entertain our discerning audience. Please email your entries to cyril@ilfordbid.com 

By sheer coincidence, one family with their roots very much in the Ilford area will hopefully be celebrating their own Triple Centenary in the coming months. We could be witnessing our own piece of history as no similar event has ever been recorded on mainland UK before. Watch this space!

Be Part of Ilford’s Centenary Photo – We’re Looking for 100 Faces, Aged 0 to 100!

As we countdown to Ilford’s 100th year, we’re creating something truly special — a centenary photo that captures the spirit of our community, from generation to generation.

We’re inviting 100 people aged 0 to 100 to take part in a group photo at Redbridge Town Hall on 22nd November 2025. This iconic image will be shared across social media, our website, local press, and displayed at Redbridge Museum as a snapshot of Ilford today.

If you’d like to take part, email cyril@ilfordbid.com with your name, age, and a few words on why you’d love to be part of this historic moment.

For more information about Ilford’s history, visit the Redbridge Museum on Clements Road.