Demolition of the old Bow Bridge - gateway to London.
The Romans were thought to have crossed the Lea at Old Ford. This fording place was dangerous but remained in use until the 12th Century when Maud, queen of Henry I, built Bow and Channelsea Bridges, linked by a causeway (about a mile down river from the ford). This bridge was one of the earliest medieval stone bridges in England - its name being taken from its arched construction.
From 1700 until the 1850s, the area around Upton Cross contained a number of big houses standing in extensive grounds, many of which were occupied by well-to-do Quaker families. "Upton Lane House," was from 1829 until 1844, the home of Mrs Elizabeth Fry, Quaker minister and prison reformer. This woodcut, by her daughter Katherine Fry shows the back of the house. It was used as an illustration in The Gurneys of Earlham, 1895 by Augustus Hare. The house which stood on the Portway was in the grounds of Ham House (earlier known as Upton House), the home of her brother Samuel Gurney.