Chingford (All Saints), is a parish, in the union of Epping, hundred of Waltham, S. division of Essex, some 9 miles north, north east of London; it lies on the borders of Epping Forest, home to Queen Elizabeth's Lodge, also known as The Hunting Lodge where the courts under the Forest laws were once held. It is separated on the west from the parish of Edmonton, formerly in the county of Middlesex, by the river Lea. The surface is diversified, rising in some parts to a considerable elevation, and commanding richly varied views; and from the situation of Chingford on the borders of the Forest, and in the days of the many handsome mansions in its vicinity, it abounds with picturesque scenery. The name appears to have been derived from a ford over the river Lea, called the King's Ford; and the principal manor, which belonged to Edward the Confessor, was given by that sovereign to the Cathedral of St. Paul, London, from which it was separated at the Reformation. In the manor-house is the oak table on which James I. is said to have knighted a loin of beef on his return from hunting, being so pleased at its taste-hence the cut of beef we now know as sirloin. There is also an oak panel, said to have been part of the coach in which Queen Elizabeth rode to return thanks after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The old church, beautifully situated, is a small ancient building of flint and stone, with a low tower, and in the later English style. In a corner are deposited the remains of Mr. and Mrs. Ramsden, who gave the pulpit, a very handsome one, and were buried about 1590: he was an officer in the household of Queen Elizabeth, and left bequests to this and several adjoining parishes. Sir John Sylvester, recorder of the City of London, and the late Col. Cooke, of the Bengal army, with his lady, are interred here; and there are several very old tablets. A new parish church was lately erected.
All the headstones in the churchyard, which have not sunk below ground level, have been photographed; many can only just about be read and some are now completely illegible., (text by darealjolo)