Did you know that...
The name of this RM6 area derives from Chaudewell which means “cold spring”. The first mention comes from 1254. Another name for the area was Chadwell Street. In the past, street also meant hamlet. In the 17th century, Blackheath Common changed names to Chadwell Heath. Eventually, it merged with Chadwell Street. The railway station opened in 1864. It is built on the site of the oldest building in Dagenham. Wangey House dates to the 13th century. It was partly demolished in 1830 and entirely in 1901. This East London area saw an increase in population after World War I.
During World War II, Chadwell Heath suffered severe damage from bombing. A parachute mine destroyed several buildings on Bennett Road including the school. Fortunately, the second parachute mine that landed near the railway station did not go off. A resident found it the next day. People from nearby Cedar Park Gardens were evacuated to the bomb shelter on Wangey Road and High Road. Several people lost their lives when a V2 rocket landed on Blackbush Avenue. Two buildings on Woodlands Avenue were damaged by another V2 rocket.
The building that now houses the Eva Hart pub, named after the Titanic survivor, used to be a police station. Eva Hart lived her final years in Chadwell Heath. The former Embassy Cinema is a 1934 art deco building. In the 1960s, it became Mecca Bingo Hall. As of August 2017, it is listed as an Asset of Community Value. St Chad’s Church was founded in 1886. It honors 7th-century abbot and bishop Chad. His brother Cedd was a monk and a bishop. They were both made into saint. St Bede’s and United Reformed Church are other Chadwell Heath places of worship. Mary Wollstonecraft lived for a short while in Chadwell Heath. She was a writer and mother of Frankenstein’s author Mary Shelley.