Chingford is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins the edge of Epping Forest, with the River Lea to the west, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east and Walthamstow to the south. The town is situated 8.6 miles north-east of Charing Cross, and has a population of 66,211 as of 2011. It contains the areas of Chingford Hatch, Chingford Mount, Friday Hill, Hale End, Highams Park, North Chingford and South Chingford.
Chingford was originally an ancient parish in the Waltham hundred and the historic county of Essex. The town expanded significantly in the late 19th century, forming part of the conurbation of London. It was included in the Metropolitan Police District in 1840 and became part of London's postal district in 1856, with the NE postcode area replaced with E in 1866. The parish was granted urban district status in 1894 following its expansion into the conurbation of London, and municipal borough status in 1938. Its council was based at Chingford Town Hall until 1965, when it was replaced by the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local government district of the newly-formed Greater London area.