IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Willow Street, ROMFORD, RM7 7LJ

The Mawney Arms is located on Mawney Road at the junction with Willow Street.

This was an attempt to try to re-create a Francis Frith image of an ordinary street scene from 100 years ago. The Frith image can be seen here http://www.francisfrith.com/search/england/essex/romford/photos/romford_59816.htm I did not quite get the angle right but the houses are recognisably the same. The identical houses on the right side of the street visible in the Frith version still exist by the way. This photograph was taken at the junction of Como Street with Brooklands Road to the left and Olive Street to the right. The houses must have been fairly new in 1908 as the 1897 Edition of the Ordnance Survey 6" to the mile map does not show them, although Como Street itself is shown. Spot the differences! The furthest three in the first block of six have evidently lost their pitched roofs over the bay windows at some stage, and indeed this seems to have happened to most of the houses in the street.

Public access to this part of the Rom is difficult, as much of it was culverted and fenced off during town redevelopment in the 1960s. However, Havering Council have recently announced plans to open up the river.

There is provision for a considerable increase in flow, which can occur very quickly with the rapid run-off from urban areas.

Over the River Rom.

Looking upstream from Como Street

The River Rom just clips across the north-east corner of this grid square as it goes under the Romford Ring Road, prior to entering a long culvert under the Brewery Development site. This is the view looking downstream from the ring road bridge with a rather attractive footbridge that allows pedestrian access between two car parks.