Where is it? The southern tip of Redbridge. More specifically: Part of the residential buffer between Ilford and Barking. More specifically: If you know Barking Park, Loxford is the other side of the long ornamental lake along the northern edge. Not to be confused with:Boxford (West Berks), Coxford (Norfolk), Doxford (Northumberland), Foxford (Coventry), Oxford (Oxon), Roxford (Herts) or Yoxford (Suffolk).
What was here at the end of the 19th century? A manor house called Loxford Hall, a cottage on Ilford Lane called Loxford Cottage, a small stream called Loxford Water, a bridge called Loxford Bridge, a lot of fields and a country lane leading to a sewage works. [map] What came next? The Loxford estate spread rapidly south from Ilford as far as Loxford Park, with further interwar development closer to the river. And today? Quite modern on one side of the allotments; a dense grid of terraced streets on the other.
What's significant about Loxford Water? It marks the modern boundary between Redbridge and Barking & Dagenham. Can you walk along it? Not easily. One bank is hemmed in behind the aforementioned ornamental lake, and can only be followed along an increasingly thin footpath which eventually peters out in a burst of nettles (a good place to hide away in a small tent and live rough.) On the Loxford side it abuts the Buttsbury Estate, where a few postwar terraces have the dubious honour of looking out across a deep litter-strewn channel. It probably looked better in the architects' plans, but I did disturb a little egret wading in the weeds so living here's not entirely without promise. I walked the full length of the river in 2019.
Take us for walk along Loxford Lane instead: Sure. I'll start at the eastern end by the river and work my way back towards Ilford Lane. What happened to the sewage works? A school was built on the site fifty years ago, since replaced by a massive all-through primary-secondary built in the 2000s when the Labour government had money to throw at major educational infrastructure. It looks more like a minor corporate HQ, shielded by high fences and numerous CCTV cameras on poles, although the Hungry Hippo litter bins provide a minor nod towards childhood. Outside is what's believed to be the London bus stop with the longest name - Loxford School of Science & Technology - but only because TfL have never changed it back to the academy's current title which is plain old Loxford School. Which bus is it? It's the 366, the only bus to weave its way properly through the backstreets of Loxford.
Keep going... Opposite the school are the Loxford Lane allotments, really quite a lot of them, forming a productive green barrier between new Loxford and the older grid of streets. The allotments have been here since 1926 and look incredibly well tended, as if anyone who slacks off doesn't last long. The sunflowers are particularly impressive at present, but the most popular crop here is a tall bean grown in dense clusters and topped with bright purple flowers. These are hyacinth beans, much lauded in South Asia for their use in a variety of curries, but only if repeatedly boiled otherwise the cyanide tends to be toxic.
There must be a park hereabouts: Indeed there is, thanks to Ilford Urban District Council's foresight in buying up a field in 1899, and that's Loxford Park. These days the pool is a playground, what must have been a gorgeous sunken garden has been deflowered to become a cheap skatepark with occasional benches, and the bowling green has been converted into a beach volleyball court using Olympic sand retrieved from Horseguards Parade. Sadly I was a day too late to enjoy the Loxford Community Day event at which the UK's national beach soccer team played a demonstration match and the Mayor of Redbridge unveiled a new mural by the pavilion (since locked away). Where can I buy a loaf of bread and a Health Lottery ticket? For that you'll be wanting Loxford General Stores, a dark cubbyhole slotted under a very 80s block of flats. A sign outside invites shoppers to buy a copy of the Ilford and Redbridge Post, although that's long been subsumed into the Archant-lite Ilford Recorder.
What happened to Loxford Hall? The 1830s manor house is still there, somewhat unexpectedly, opposite the main entrance to the park. It survived the 20th century by being repurposed as a clinic, but building works have just started to convert the building into four flats with a pair of maisonettes bolted onto the side. The area's health needs are now catered for by Loxford Polyclinic, the first in England, which rears up over the far end of the lane. What with a BSF school at the other end, the last Labour government was exceptionally generous to Loxford Lane.
How much further does Loxford extend? Good question. The council ward crosses Ilford Lane and runs up a ladder of streets by the Roding, although technically that's the Uphall estate. Ilford Lane, which you might well have driven or bussed along, has a much stronger 'Ilford Lane' identity. The grid of streets to the north is more potentially south Ilford, and it's all essentially IG1 anyway, and all this is probably why Loxford isn't a wider-known place-name.
Thanks for going so that I don't have to: Never say this. Even the unsung suburbs are worth a visit.
