is a place in the
London Borough Of Havering . The name means literally "high church" and has its earliest recorded use in
1086 .
Upminster is a chiefly residential district and consists of mainly
Victorian and
Edwardian housing laid out on wide leafy roads with several parks and open spaces, a
Golf Course , pitch 'n' putt course, tennis clubs and a bowling green. More modern post-war residential development has gone on in nearby
Cranham , however because of the introduction of the
Greenbelt laws development was halted and the combined area of Upminster and Cranham forms the easternmost edge of London's
Urban Sprawl .
Upminster is famous locally for
Upminster Windmill , a smock windmill currently being restored to become the only working
Windmill in Greater London. Locally, the windmill is an
Icon for the town and is used in the names of some local businesses. Upminster is more widely known for being the eastern terminus of the
District Line and the location of a
London Underground depot at Cranham. An intact 16th century
Tithe barn is currently used as a museum of agricultural life.
The area is bordered to the west by the
River Ingrebourne which forms the boundary with
Hornchurch , to the north by the
A127 Southend Arterial Road, to the east by the
M25 Motorway and
North Ockendon and to the south by the borough's boundary with
Thurrock .
Upminster is home to . With the increasing popularity of the out-of-town
Shopping Mall during the
1990s there was a marked decline in local spending in Upminster, however this situation has since reversed somewhat by a regeneration programme and change of use of some outlets.
Upminster is also the home of the Travel Club of Upminster, one of Britain's oldest
Tour Operator s founded in
1936 by Harry Chandler. Sport Clubs in Upminster include Upminster Cricket Club,
Upminster Hockey Club, [http://www.upminsterhc.co.uk Upminster Rugby Club [http://www.upminsterfc.com] and Upminster Football Club.
The high street has a good selection of restaurants but has little in the way of
Nightlife .
It had been a small village until the early
1900 s when, with the coming of the railway, the area developed rapidly into an
Archetypal garden
Suburb for
City workers.
William Derham (resident in Upminster 1689-1716), the first man to measure the
Speed Of Sound , did so from the tower of St. Laurence's Church. Dr. Derham's papers on the speed of sound (in the Proceedings of the
Royal Society ) describe how he used paired pocket watches, a
Telescope up the tower of St. Laurence's, and friends around the area (in places such as
Rainham ) who could be trusted to fire a gun at a precise moment. In 1709, he observed with a telescope a cannon firing on
Blackheath . You can still see the doors in the south side of the spire that he put in for this purpose.
From 1894 Upminster was part of
Romford Rural District . In 1934 the rural district was abolished and it became part of
Hornchurch Urban District . When the urban district was abolished in 1965, Upminster became part of the London Borough of Havering.
In 1972 the
Coopers' Company And Coborn School relocated from
Bow to Upminster.
Upminster Station is a local transport hub and provides
London Underground and fast rail services to
Central London and
London Buses services to Romford, Hornchurch, Cranham and
Upminster Bridge .
Upminster Bridge Tube Station is half way between Upminster and nearby Hornchurch.
- Cranham, London, England , a suburb, and within Upminster Post Town .
- North Ockendon, London, England , also within Upminster post town.
- Hornchurch, London, England , within walking distance over Upminster Bridge .
