Romford is a place in east London. It is the principal town of the London Borough of Havering.

Romford has been a market town since 1247, and it holds the exclusive right to hold markets over an area of radius "six and two thirds miles" centred on Romford, a right granted in medieval times but successfully used to prevent nearby Ilford from opening a market as recently as the 1990s. Romford shopping centre grew up around the original marketplace.

The Liberty Shopping Centre has recently been expanded and modernised by the Romford Revival program in order to compete with out of town shopping centres such as the Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex and Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent. A large swimming pool and leisure center called The Dolphin which closed in 1995 was recently demolished to make way for further expansion of the shopping centre and the addition of 230 modern flats and apartments.

The town has been associated with a ford over a small stream which flows through it, now known as the "River Rom", but there is some contention as to whether the name of the town was derived from that of the stream or vice versa. Some historians believe that the stream was originally named the "Murkeyditche", and that the name was altered later for the sake of appearances. The name "Romford" is said to have originated from a contraction of "Roomy Ford".

Arms of the former Romford Borough Council (1937 - 1965)

See also:

• Romford Market

Nearest places:

• Chadwell Heath, London, England
• Collier Row, London, England
• Dagenham, London, England
• Elm Park, London, England
• Gidea Park, London, England
• Hornchurch, London, England

Nearest railway stations:

• Gidea Park station
• Romford station

External links

There is a 'a visual guide to Romford and its history' at Romford Now and Then (http://www.romford.org/) and an associated mailing list at RomfordHistory (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RomfordHistory/).