Leytonstone High Road, London
Leytonstone High Road, sometimes named Leytonstone Road and the High Road, was originally part of the main highway which ran from London to the town of Epping in Essex. Traditionally, it was the stretch of the highway running northwards from Stratford through Holloway Down to the parish of Leyton. Northwards of Leyton, it was known as Leyton High Road.
The road is mentioned in records dating back to the 1500s and was a busy trade route, carrying market carts and wagons as well as long-distance coach traffic.[1]
The Hitchcocks
1 Leytonstone High Road
The first Hitchcock to settle in Stratford was Charles Hitchcock, who had opened a fishmongery on Maryland Point — the local name given to the final section of Leytonstone High Road as it enters Stratford — by the 1830s. By the time of the 1861 Census, the property had been designated as 1 Leytonstone Road. Subsequent property renumbering of the road sometime around the 1880s would have likely made given the former fishmongery the number 73.
The is some evidence that the property made have become a butchers shop after the Hitchcocks vacated it. At some point before the 1950s, and possibly much earlier, the property was demolished.
For further details, see: Maryland Point, Stratford.
103 Leytonstone High Road
On 1 July 1889, an Essex County Court judgement recorded in favour of fruiterer Emma Hitchcock (mother of film director Alfred Hitchcock) and gave her address at 103 Leytonstone Road. As no historical records have been round to indicate William and Emma Jane resided at that address, it is assumed they ran a greengrocery at the address whilst living at either 39 Chandos Road or 29 Louise Road, both of which were within walking distance of number 103 which, due to the renumbering of properties in the 1880s, would likely have been only a little further north than Charles Hitchcock's original fishmongery.
The Kelly's Directory of 1886 lists the following shops, with 103 being run as a tobacconist by William Frank Lepingwell (b. 1856):
- 99 Leytonstone Road, Mrs. Ellen Wright, fruiterer
- 101 Leytonstone Road, S. Bales & Son, boot makers
- 103 Leytonstone Road, William Frank Lepingwell, tobacconist
- 105 Leytonstone Road, Leonard Leftley, tailor
- 107 Leytonstone Road, Miss Annie Browne, toy dealer
By the time of the 1891 Census, fruiterer William C. Hutchinson (b. ~1863) was residing at the address with his family.
The property was likely demolished at some point after the 1950s and the former location is currently on the site of the Tesco Express on the corner of Leytonstone High Road and Maryland Street.
517 Leytonstone High Road
Famously, film director Alfred Hitchcock was born at this address on Sunday 13 August 1899 and it seems likely his parents moved there sometime around 1896. At some point around 1907, the family then moved to 175 Salmon Lane, Limehouse.
For further details, see: 517 Leytonstone High Road.
Charles William Hitchcock (b. 1838)
The census returns for Charles William Hitchcock indicate he may have lived on, or close to, Leytonstone High Road in the area of Holloway Down.
