Paleolithic implements and fossil bones show that early man hunted in Leyton. A Roman cemetery and the foundations of a
Roman villa have been found here. From
Anglo-Saxon times, Leyton has been part of the county of
Essex. The name means "settlement (
tun) on the River Lea" and was also known until 1921 as "Low Leyton". The ancient parish of Leyton, also known as Leyton St Mary or Low Leyton, was in two parts. The main part included the settlements of Leytonstone and Leyton itself (historically known as Low Leyton). The detached part of the parish to the north included the area around
Lea Bridge Road. The two parts were separated by a long, thin
exclave of
Walthamstow parish, known as the "Walthamstow Slip". To the south, the parish of Leyton had anciently included the manor of
Cann Hall, which was transferred to the parish of
Wanstead sometime prior to the 13th century. Leyton's parish church of
St Mary the Virgin was largely rebuilt in the 17th century. A
local government district was created in 1873, covering the parish of Leyton or Low Leyton and the Walthamstow Slip. The order creating the district called it "Low Leyton", but by 1875 the district was being called just "Leyton" in official documents. The district was extended in 1875 to also include the Cann Hall area of Wanstead parish to the south, also known as the Wanstead Slip. The Walthamstow Slip was transferred to the parish of Low Leyton in 1878. In 1926 the urban district was incorporated as a borough, becoming the
Municipal Borough of Leyton. Although Leyton did not become officially part of London until 1965, the borough formed part of London's built-up area and had been part of the
London postal district since its inception in 1856 and the
Metropolitan Police District since 1839. The main route through the town is the High Road, which forms part of the ancient route to
Waltham Abbey. At the top end of the High Road is a crossroads with Lea Bridge Road and Hoe Street. This junction and the surrounding district is known as
Bakers Arms, named after the
public house which has now closed down. The pub was named in honour of the almshouses on Lea Bridge Road built in 1857 by the London Master Bakers' Benevolent Institution. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Leyton was a "pretty retiring place from London" for wealthy merchants and bankers; in 1766 there were said to be 50 or 60 gentlemen with houses in the parish. Leyton's development from an agricultural community to an industrial and residential
suburb was given impetus by the arrival of the railway. Finally
Leyton Midland Road opened in 1894, after an elevated line had been built on brick arches across the already developed streets. However, not all the green spaces were lost, of
Epping Forest within Leyton's borders were preserved by the
Epping Forest Act 1878. In 1897 Leyton Urban District Council purchased the land for a formal park close to the
town hall; it opened in 1903 as Coronation Gardens, named after the
coronation of
King Edward VII. In 1905, the "Lammas land",
common pasture land on
Leyton Marshes, was purchased by the council for use as a recreation ground. But, like much of east London, Leyton, which also borders the
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, has benefited from significant regeneration projects over the past decade. Parks have been spruced up, some new small parks and gardens created and several tower blocks have been demolished. The millennium was marked with a clock tower in the Lea Bridge Rd area and a major piece of street art at Baker's Arms. And, most recently, in the build-up to the Olympics, Waltham Forest Borough Council spent £475,000 restoring 41 shopfronts on the part of Leyton High Road closest to the
2012 London Olympic Games site. The Olympics authority also funded the smartening up of pavements and street furniture. ==Geography==