What's going for it? Had history turned differently for Wanstead, it might have become Knightsbridge, St James's Park or Richmond. For before east London became east London – Dizzee Rascal, scrapyards, cock-er-ney geezers, moustachioed hipsters and all – it was rather posh. Wanstead was a royal hunting ground near Epping Forest, where Robert Dudley, Elizabeth I's favourite, had trysts, and where Henry VII would go to escape court scheming. It boasted one of the grandest houses in Georgian England, Wanstead Park, a mini Versailles, according to contemporary accounts, done in the latest style, Palladianism. Fragments remain, such as the Temple, the Grotto and the park, giving the neighbourhood's green streets of haughty villas an elevated air – one soon deflated, mind you, by sniffing the carbon monoxide from the M11 link road. Still, history may turn again for Wanstead. Spots west of the river Lea now fetch prices not dissimilar to those of Knightsbridge, St James's Park or Richmond, eyes are turning to this, the real East End.
The case against Sliced by the North Circular and the M11 link road, against which many citizens rose up in the 1990s and declared the independent republic of Wanstonia. They had a point.
Well connected? Yes, the Central Line at Wanstead or Snaresbrook takes you to central London in 25 minutes. Driving: the North Circular, A12 and M11 link road make leaving town quick.
Schools Primaries: Our Lady of Lourdes RC and Nightingale are "outstanding", Wanstead Church is "good". Secondaries: Wanstead High "requires improvement" but is "taking effective action".
Hang out at… No end of options: Time for Tea for cakes after a walk in the park, The Larder for a light lunch and the super Provender for posh.
Where to buy The "village" has pleasant Victorian terraces (£500,000-£750,000) and even the odd Georgian off the high street, but it's most attractive around Wanstead Park, with broad avenues of Victorians and later (detacheds £750,000-£1.5m, semis £500,000-£1m). The Aldersbrook estate is marginally cheaper. North of the A12 has fine late-Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis around Spratt Hall Road. More leafy suburbans on and around the Counties estate and Nutter Lane. The Warren estate has fine 1920s/1930s semis. Rentals: three-bed house, £1,500-£2,000pcm; one-bed flat, £900-£1,250pcm.
Bargain of the week Plain, but a bargain, a three-bed 60s/70s terraced house, £325,000, with Foxtons Stratford on rightmove.co.uk.
From the streets
Chris Gibson "The high street is turning into a bit of a foodie haunt with three new restaurants."
Maya Anaokar "While it's easier to get a coffee or a haircut than to buy a pair of knickers on the high street, independent shops still manage to make it. Favourites include fabric emporium Stitch, the Art Shop, gifts at the Orange Tree and clothes at Coco."
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