Woodford is a suburban town in North East London, England, occupying the north-western part of the  London Borough of Redbridge. It is located approximately northeast of Charing Cross and is divided into the neighbourhoods of Woodford Green, Woodford Bridge and South Woodford. In the Middle Ages it was a string of agrarian villages surrounded by Epping Forest in the county of Essex. From about 1700 onwards, however, it became a place of residence for moneyed people who had business in London. As part of the suburban growth of London at the turn of the 20th century, Woodford significantly increased in population, becoming a municipal borough with neighbouring Wanstead in 1937 and has formed part of Greater London since 1965.