- For the place in Derbyshire see Lea Bridge, Derbyshire
Lea Bridge is a district of the London Borough of Hackney. It is situated to the northeast of the borough and bounded by Upper Clapton to the north, Lower Clapton to the south, and the River Lee Navigation to the east. On the other side of the bridge after which the area is named is Leyton in the London Borough of Waltham Forest.
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History
As early as 1582, a road known as Mill Fields Lane ran from Clapton to Jeremy's Ferry, at the same spot a timber bridge was built in 1745, and the road became known as Lea Bridge Road, with a tollgate at the Clapton end.[1] A new tollhouse was installed on the west bank of the river in 1757; and the bridge rebuilt in iron in 1820-1. Tolls continued to be levied until 1872. There are few crossing points for the Lea Marshes, and the road remains a major bottleneck at some times of day, as the nearest major river crossing to the south is at Hackney Wick and to the north at Tottenham Hale. Lea Bridge Road is an important thoroughfare in the area. In spite of the traffic, the area is well supplied with open space, dominated by Millfields recreation grounds, south of which is the site of the old coal-fired Millfields power station, now disused except as a sub-station. This was built in 1901, well before the creation of the National Grid in 1938, a period when power had to be generated close to home. This provided electric street lighting throughout the then Metropolitan Borough of Hackney. Lea Bridge gives ready access to the lower reaches of the extensive Lee Valley Park, which stretches for about 42 kilometres on both banks of the river. Next to the south side of the bridge are two likeable pubs, the Princess of Wales and The Ship Aground—much appreciated oases for those returning from long hikes up the Lee. Also, to the south are the extensive Hackney Marshes; and a short distance to the north, are the Walthamstow Marshes Nature Reserve. The old Middlesex Filter Beds, between the Navigation, and a flood channel, running over the weir called the Waterworks River, to the south of the bridge have also been converted into a nature reserve. At this point, the Waterworks River marks the boundary with Leyton. Lea Bridge Road was home for Leyton Orient F.C., before settling at Brisbane Road.
Hillstowe Street is close to the Lea Bridge Road River Crossing, and the residents of this small street are a very active community, taking particular interest in matters that affect the conservation and heritage of the area, as well as featuring in a TV programme called "Streets Ahead" and hosting an Annual Street Party,
References
- ^ 'Hackney: Communications', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10: Hackney (1995), pp. 4-10 Date accessed: 01 November 2006<
Education
- For details of education in Lea Bridge see the Hackney article
Nearest Railway Station
Clapton railway station (Lea Bridge railway station closed in 1985)
Wards
- Lea Bridge (ward) (LB Waltham Forest)
- Leabridge (ward) (LB Hackney)
External links
- Lee Valley Park
- Lea Bridge Road Nature Reserves Leaflet (PDF)
- Lea Bridge Road Nature Reserves Map (PDF)
- The River Lee (for young people)
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| Districts |
Dalston · De Beauvoir Town · Hackney Downs · Hackney Central · Hackney Marshes · Hackney Wick · Haggerston · Homerton · Hoxton · Kingsland · Lea Bridge · London Fields · Lower Clapton · Shacklewell · Shoreditch · South Hackney · Stamford Hill · Stoke Newington · Upper Clapton |
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| Attractions | ||
| Street markets | ||
| Constituencies | ||
| Parks and open spaces in Hackney | ||
