Waltham Abbey

Waltham Abbey ( WAWL-thəm-AB-ee) is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the metropolitan and urban area of London, England, 13.5 miles (21.7 km) north-east of Charing Cross. Situated in the Lea Valley, the town lies on the Greenwich Meridian between the River Lea in the west and Epping Forest in the east, with large sections forming part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. The town borders Chingford to the south; Loughton, Theydon Bois and Buckhurst Hill to the east; Cheshunt, Waltham Cross and Enfield to the west; and the rural areas of Nazeing and Epping Upland to the north. As well as the main built-up area, it covers the areas of Claverhambury, Fishers Green, High Beach, Holyfield, Lippitts Hill, Sewardstone, Sewardstonebury and Upshire. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 22,859. The town is named and renowned for its former abbey, the last in England to be dissolved, now the Abbey Church of Waltham Holy Cross and St Lawrence—a scheduled ancient monument and the town's parish church. A place of worship since the 7th century, it became a place of pilgrimage following the Legend of the Holy Cross in the 11th century, and was rebuilt and re-founded by King Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, in 1060. It is believed to be Harold's final resting place after his death at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Open to the public as Waltham Abbey Gardens, the grounds of the abbey and Cornmill Meadows are maintained by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. Along the town's eastern edge is much of Epping Forest, maintained by the City of London Corporation; entirely within it is the village of High Beach. In the south is Gilwell Park, which since 1919 has formed an...