NORTH ST.

A quiet afternoon unfolds along North Street in Hornchurch, around the year 1906, with groups of children dotting the unpaved road — some chatting, others curiously watching the camera, perhaps never having seen such a device before. Their attire is typical of the Edwardian era: pinafores, flat caps, and heavy boots, bearing the simplicity and resilience of rural suburban life just on the edge of London.

Hornchurch, now a lively district within the Borough of Havering, was then a growing village surrounded by fields and woodland. This street, lined with tidy fences and modest homes, whispers of a slower-paced England, one where horse carts still passed and neighbours knew each other by name.

In 1906, Britain was undergoing major social change. That same year saw the launch of Lloyd George’s Old-Age Pensions Act — the seeds of the modern welfare state being sown as these very children played in the road.

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