Residents Reject Push to Rename Havering

A survey of over 1200 residents, from across Havering, has delivered a unanimous rejection of proposals to rename Havering as The London Borough of Romford and Hornchurch.

Run through the popular Havering Community Facebook group, the survey received 1209 responses in just 24hours. 1088 residents outright rejected the proposal, with just 31 (2%) agreeing.

Proposing the name change in Parliament.

The proposal to rename Havering was put forward by Romford MP Andrew Rosindell during a debate on local government reform.

In the official parliamentary record (Hansard), Rosindell argued that the name Havering was "the nice name of a small country village in my constituency, but a name that does not represent the communities of that London borough". Rosindell went on to argue that Havering "...could be renamed the London Borough of Romford and Hornchurch, which is more representative of the borough’s two major towns.".

Continuing on the theme of identity, Rosindell spoke about how artificial boundaries have been created, citing Chadwell Heath as being a part of Romford. "Another example is Chadwell Heath, another part of Romford that is not in my borough...", Rosindell said.

Rosindell also highlighted that the London 2012 Olympics took place in Stratford, which he described as "a traditional part of Essex".

Resident reactions.

It is unclear whether residents even know that the Romford MP put forward this proposal, as most seemed confused by the proposal.

"What about Rainham, Upminster, Elm Park. Collier Row and Harold Hill etc. Leave it as havering [SIC]" - Carol

"Even if it’s not an ancient name, it should stay Havering. There are more towns in Havering than just Romford and Hornchurch." - Ann

"Well, that’s not very inclusive, is it? Leave it alone, call it whatever you want to personally! There’s no need to waste money changing names, it’s the same area, spend the money improving the area" - Julie

Of course, there were some supporters. A total of 31 residents backed Rosindell's proposal.

"Yes. give a real name like useless scamming council that they get no for answer" - Aleksandros

Conclusion.

It's not clear why Rosindell would choose to exclude places like Upminster, Cranham or Collier Row in the naming.

The name Havering is widely accepted as being linked to an ancient settlement in the area. Hæfer is widely accepted as being the name of a local person, and ingas is an Old English term meaning 'the people of'. Hæferingas, which has evolved into the name Havering, appears to reflect a tribe that lived in the area.

Havering is a shared community origin with deep historic roots. As opposed to Romford or Hornchurch, which reflect only two settlements in the borough. In discussions around identity and heritage, the name Havering arguably stretches back to Norman times and represents the people as a whole.

The residents of Havering are, quite clearly, against the idea of renaming our borough after just two towns and removing 1000 years of heritage in the process. One hopes that Rosindell drops the idea, even though he persists in campaigning for our borough to 'leave London'.

It is good to debate identity and our heritage, and Rosindell made some relevant points in the debate. This one, however, leaves most people confused and a few a little concerned!

View the poll

Read Parliament Transcript (1hr to read)