FOR hundreds of years 'Walthamstow' - as we know it today – was a collection of settlements deep in the Essex countryside, miles from the hustle and bustle of London.
But with, creeping urbanisation, industrialisation and the introduction of railways in the 19th century, the town began to be transformed and its population exploded.
In the 1870s around 11,000 people called Walthamstow home. By 1901 it was 95,000.
And as London's reach spread further and the town's identity was forged, helped by the establishment of the new Walthamstow Urban District Council in 1894, many grew dissatisfied with the town being part of Essex.
As Sue Nisbet notes in her Walthamstow Historical Society book 'Walthamstow Schools Pageants', the primary reason for this in the early 1900s was the tax of £8,000 paid to Essex Council every year, which residents felt brought them few benefits.
A campaign was soon formed, with supporters arguing that unification with the capital and shared services would result in a reduction in costs and an improvements in electricity, water, transport connections and housing.
The debate continued over the next few decades but distractions such as World War One meant the issue did not become a hot topic again in 1919, when the Walthamstow Guardian began to lobby for the area to be elevated to the status of a municipal borough.
In 1920 a petition calling for just that was signed by a staggering 84 per cent of Walthamstow's population, and the momentum became unstoppable.
An application for the charter was sent to the Government and King, but further delays due to the General Strike of 1926 meant it did not take effect until November 1929.
A huge party was held to mark the historic occasion on October 10, which became known as 'Charter Day' and would be celebrated for years to come.
Buildings were decorated with flags and bunting, while school children, dignitaries, cars and local groups paraded through the streets of Forest Road, Hoe Street and Orford Road.
But the full incorporation into London would not be completed until 1965, when Walthamstow Council merged with Leyton and Chingford to form the borough of Waltham Forest.
Walthamstow would never be the same again.
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