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London is often described as a collection of distinct urban villages rather than a single sprawling metropolis, due to the way it developed over time. Discover each neighbourhood's unique character and charm.
Walthamstow
A Norman church, a mile of market, and the house William Morris grew up in.
The Village at the top of the hill is the original settlement and still reads like one: St Mary's was built as a manorial church around 1108 by Ralph de Toni, whose father carried the Conqueror's standard, and around it stand the timber-framed Ancient House and the Vestry House, the parish workhouse of 1730 and now the local museum.
William Morris was baptised in that church's font in 1834 and grew up here. The house the family later took on Forest Road is now a gallery of his work - wallpapers, textiles, the furniture and the politics - and its grounds are Lloyd Park, given to the public along with the house.
Down the hill is the other Walthamstow. The market opened on the High Street in 1885 and runs for something over a kilometre, which makes it one of the longest daily street markets in Europe: fruit and veg, fabric, phone cases and household goods on the same stretch six days a week. The two ends of the place have very little to do with each other.