The history of Wanstead and the surrounding area makes for a fascinating study.

There was Wanstead House that used to stand in the grounds of the park and golf course and its rich history.

The final episode was well chronicled in Geraldine Robert’s book, The Angel and the Cad, which tells the story of William Wellesley-Pole and Catherine Tylney Long and the frittering away of the estate, which bore comparison to Blenheim Palace, to the point where it was physically sold off piece by piece.

Prior to that, the previous Wanstead House had been the playground of Tudor and Stuart monarchs and courtiers. The house was variously owned by the infamous Richard Rich and later Queen Elizabeth’s favourite Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. The latter is believed to have married his second wife Lettice Knollys at the house, resulting in him being exiled from court by a scorned and angry Elizabeth.

A new study titled Wanstead House: East London’s Lost Palace by Hannah Armstrong comes out next year .

Beyond the house, though, there is so much else that has gone on in the area.

A lot of Wanstead as it appears today came about in the early part of the 20th Century. Up until that time it seems to have been mainly made up of farms and forest – a very rural setting.

The building of roads like Eastern Avenue and arrival of the railway seems to have led to many of the developments.

Previously, the landscape was punctuated by large houses, such as the Lake House, which stood where the Belgrave Heights block of flats now stands.

On the site of Wanstead Station, there used to be another large house occupied by William Penn, after whom Pennsylvania was later named.

Another striking house, was the former agent’s residence for the Wanstead House Estate. It was demolished in 1932.

Then there is the United Reformed Church at the top of Nightingale and Grosvenor Roads, moved brick by brick from St Pancras and rebuilt.

Another more recent nugget of history concerned the battle post war to stop West Ham Council compulsorily purchasing 163 acres of Wanstead Flats to build a housing estate linking West Ham and Wanstead.

A mobilisation, involving the War Damage Organisation in Aldersbrook, together with people from East Ham and West Ham stopped this happening.

There is so much history that surely there has to be a film about Wanstead House itself and the surrounding area waiting to be made?