Harold Hill

Harold Hill is also the name of a fictional character in the musical The Music Man

Harold Hill
Harold Hill  Harold Hill shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ545925
- Charing Cross	16.6 mi (26.7 km)  WSW
London borough	Havering
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ROMFORD
Postcode district	RM3
Dialling code	01708
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Hornchurch and Upminster
London Assembly	Havering and Redbridge
List of places: UK • England • London

Harold Hill is a place in the London Borough of Havering, east London, England. It is a suburban development situated 16.6 miles (26.7 km) east-northeeast of Charing Cross.

Harold Hill is a large scale post-war London County Council housing development, built at the end of the World War II, an attempt to move large sections of the population from poor conditions in central districts to the more pleasant surroundings of the suburbs. The first Greater London Council tenant to buy their council house did so here in 1967.

Education

Main article: List of schools in the London Borough of Havering

Transport and locale

Unlike the comparable Becontree development, Harold Hill was built without direct connection to the London Underground or National Rail services. Transport for London provides bus routes 174, 256, 294, 496, 499, 646, 608, 674, 647 and N86 (night bus) with connections to tube and rail and are planning that the East London Transit will serve the area.

Parks

Central Park Dagnam Park (The Manor)

Nearest places

• Brentwood
• Collier Row
• Gallows Corner
• Gidea Park
• Harold Wood

Nearest stations

• Brentwood railway station
• Gidea Park railway station
• Harold Wood railway station

In national media

The area has been covered in relation to various murders and attempted murders.

In song

Ian Dury referenced Harold Hill in This Is What We Find:

“	Home improvement expert Harold Hill from Harold Hill Of do it yourself dexterity and double glazing skill Came home to find another gentlemen's kippers in the grill so he sanded off his winkle with his Black & Decker Drill	”
—Ian Dury

The song set all three of its verses in real places; the others were Turnham Green and Lambeth Walk. In his 2CD Retrospective Reasons To be Cheerful produced by Repertoire Records Dury stated that he never wrote another verse as good as Harold Hill's verse.

External links

• http://www.friendsofdagnampark.org.uk/
• Harold Hill: A People's History