Blurred county lines and a pretty confusing century of expansion and renaming have left some residents in Romford unsure where their town is.
Some put it firmly in east London while others say it’s still part of Essex, just as it once indisputably was a very long time ago.
Our sister site, Essex Live , did some digging and got to the bottom of a fairly long-winded and definitely confusing history to pin Romford on one side or the other once and for all.
Bear with us, this will make sense by the time you reach the end.
Essex or London? Let’s settle this
Originally, Romford was part of an ancient parish called the Becontree Hundred of Essex, an area including Harold Wood and Collier Row.
Then, in 1965, it became part of the newly-created London Borough of Havering, which combined the former Municipal Borough of Romford and the Hornchurch Urban District.
The name comes from the Royal Liberty of Havering, which covered the area broadly but had been abolished back in 1892.
But Romford became a separate parish within the Liberty in 1849. In 1894, the new local government act created the Romford Urban District.
It all changed again in the 1930s when people began moving to the edge of London and the Essex border.
This is when the Romford Urban District expanded to include Havering-atte-Bower and Noak Hill and was made into the Municipal Borough of Romford in 1937.
But the municipal borough was scrapped in 1965 and Romford became part of the Hornchurch Urban District.
Confused? Here’s a timeline to help you wrap you head around it.
Romford's history between Essex and London
Ancient parish
It started off as a parish called Becontree Hundred of Essex
1849
Romford becomes separate parish within the Royal Liberty of Havering
1892
Royal Liberty of Havering abolished
1894
Romford Urban District created
1930s
More people begin moving to Romford
1937
Municipal Borough of Romford created
1965
Becomes part of Hornchurch Urban District and finally removed from Essex
Today
It's in London, just about
So, finally, Romford was later removed from Essex and is the north section of the London Borough of Havering in Greater London.
So Romford is very much in a London Borough, although many residents refer to the strong connections to Essex.