The London/Essex border - Cranham

The London, Havering/Essex, Brentwood boundary goes southwards down the M25 motorway as far as the railway where it turns east and continues along the line.


Suburban area to the north of Upminster

Post to the north Cranham
Post to the east Warley Street
Post to the south Thames Chase Forest Centre

Sites on the London, Havering, side of the border

Cranham.
Cranham Playing Fields on the site of brickworks. Two formerly agricultural fields were added in 1949.
Cranham Brick and Tile Company works. They established clay digging and brick kilns in 1900, west of Frank's wood and north of the railway. In 1908, it became the Shenfield and Cranham Brick and Tile Co., Ltd and, seventy men were employed. The brick-earth began to run out in 1915, and the site was closed in 1920 but the buildings were not demolished until 1929. A park was proposed in 1934, and it was bull-dozed in 1946. Some bricks can still be found local gardens. Some of the area is grassland, with small scrubby fields and blackthorn hedge. There are wild flowers like birdsfoot-trefoil, knapweed and buttercup. In wet areas rushes and sedge.
Railway spur built by LTS&R about 1900, from the eastern edge of Frank's Wood to a siding to the brick works. It closed in 1920. It had its own 'Cranham Sidings' signal box.
Pond which is fed by an underground spring. This has now been done up.
Franks Wood coppiced and ancient hornbeam. With a limited shrub and bluebell, bramble, creeping grass, honeysuckle and millet plus a variety of fungi


St.Marys Lane
Westbury Farm
Franks Farm. 15th timber framed farmhouse
Franks Cottages
The Jobbers Rest. The only pub of this name in England and originally in one end of a row of cottages used as the parish workhouse. The present building dates from the 1920s.
Lichfield Terrace

Sources
Drury. History of Upminster and Cranham
Jobbers Rest. Web site
Pevsner and Cherry. Essex
Victoria History of Essex

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