Old Ford

It is possible that a pre-Roman track crossed the Lea at Old Ford and until the early part of the 12th century the road to Colchester from Aldgate, London crossed the Lea there.

It was said that the Emperor Claudius in AD 43 with legions and elephants crossed at Old Ford on his way to conquer Colchester. (History of East London by Sir Hubert Llewellyn Smith and quoted by Hector Bolitho & Derek Peel in Without the City Walls. John Murray 1952)

The London to Colchester road was excavated in recent times. It was originally laid as a three-lane highway with a raised centre lane and two lower outer lanes. It was about 67ft wide with the central lane comprising about 13ft of the total. Later the design was simplified, allowing one of the outer lanes to decay and raising the other one to make a level two-lane road.

A bar was placed across the road for the collection of tolls in William I's reign.

The river Lea crossing at this time was very dangerous and it was decided to build an entirely new road across the marsh with a bridge at Bow, which was south of Old Ford, and two bridges across branches of the river between Bromley and Stratford Langhorne.

There is a story that it had been ordered to be built after Queen Matilda (1079-1118) (the daughter of Malcolm III (Malcolm Canmore) King of the Scots, and Margaret (St Margaret of Scotland), and wife of Henry I (Beauclerk) fell into the water at Old Ford and almost drowned whilst out hunting. She had ordered the bridge at Bow to be built and, as she had been hunting with bow and arrow, that the new bridge should be arched like a bow. It was said that she had inspected the land at Bow to see that a causeway and bridges were feasible. The decision to build a new road and the actual building of it took place between 1100, the time of her marriage, and 1118 the year of her death. Stepney village itself was completely bypassed by this new road.

Bow Church in the City of London, of Bow Bells fame, was remarked on by Stow in the 16th century, saying it was built on Norman stone arches and was known as 'new Marie Church, of Saint Marie de Arcubus, or le Bow in West Cheaping ' As Stratford Bridge being the first builded with Arches of Stone, was called Stratford le Bow.'

Link to Old Ford Website