Fairlop
| Fairlop | |
|---|---|
 Fairlop
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| Fairlop shown within Greater London | |
| Population | 12,630 (2011 Census. Ward) |
| OS grid reference | TQ449906 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ILFORD |
| Postcode district | IG |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| EU Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | |
| London Assembly | |
Fairlop is a district in the London Borough of Redbridge, west of Barkingside and Fullwell Cross, north of Aldborough Hatch, south of Hainault and (distantly) west from Marks Gate and Collier Row. It mainly consists of fields, forestry and open land providing space for sport/ activity centres (Redbridge Sport Centre), a few houses, farmland and watersport/fishing lakes (Fairlop Waters). It also has a tube station. A children's play center, Al's Adventure House, was part of the Fairlop Waters complex until its closure in the late 2000s.
The district took its name from an old oak tree, the Fairlop Oak, that stood in Hainault Forest when much of the area was covered in trees. The oak is said to have had a trunk sixty-six feet in circumference, from which seventeen branches issued, most of them measuring not less than twelve feet in girth. In the eighteenth century, a pump and block maker from Wapping, Daniel Day, would take his employees on an annual fair in the forest, using the oak as their rendezvous. The fair took place on the first Friday of July.
By the middle of the eighteenth century, the annual excursion to Fairlop had become one of London's most popular entertainments, and as many as a hundred thousand people being drawn through Ilford to the fair in the forest. As a result, the area became known as "Fair" (after the fair) followed by "lop" referring to the tree flourishing after part of it was used to make Daniel Day's coffin after he died in 1767. A Society of Archers - The Hainault Foresters - under the patronage of the Earl Tylney of Wanstead House met under the Fairlop Oak.
A legend has it that Queen Anne visited Fairlop during the fair. One of the songs sung at the fair was called "Come, come, my boys", in which one verse states:
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Wikipedia