WALTHAM Forest was once a rural area, whose landscape was dominated by mansion houses and farmland.

Its origins date back as far as the Stone Age and evidence has also been found of a significant Roman occupation.

CLAIRE HACK looks at how the borough has changed since then from becoming part of the Big Smoke to the present day.

AS recently as the 1960s, Waltham Forest as it is now did not exist.

The boroughs of Walthamstow, Leyton and Chingford were all part of Essex and an online campaign has even been launched in recent years to make Chingford part of Essex again.

As progress marched on, the area gradually lost its rural character and began to move into large-scale industry.

After the Industrial Revolution, it was famed for industries such as copper refining, milling and arms manufacturing.

Waltham Forest has also been home to the renowned Halex xylonite factory in the early 20th century, Matchbox Toys in the 1960s and, until 2008, the iconic Walthamstow Stadium.

It also saw the construction of corrugated iron 'Nissen huts' in Whipps Cross Road, Leytonstone, during World War Two as many families were forced to leave their homes due to heavy bombing.

The borough's famous art deco town hall, now grade II listed, was completed in 1938 and nearby Waltham Forest College opened in 1939.

The mayoralty in its nearest form to the present day was first instituted in 1835 and in 1973, the council registered a charity for the "benefit of the citizens of Waltham Forest", of which the mayor automatically becomes chair of trustees.

In 1909, Manchester-born aviator Sir Alliot Verdon Roe successfully built and flew the first all-British aircraft in Walthamstow Marshes and to celebrate the feat, a replica was unveiled in July by Roe's grandson Eric.

And Waltham Forest has a long history of producing notable residents, including such luminaries as William Morris, Alfred Hitchcock and Derek Jacobi.

It was the birthplace of footballer David Beckham, whose first home in Leytonstone hit the headlines last year when it was claimed an anonymous bidder wanted to buy it for up to £1million.

A number of anniversaries are also being celebrated as Leyton Sixth Form College recently celebrated its 80th birthday and Harrow Green Library is set to turn 50 in January.

Waltham Forest is now one of the most ethnically diverse boroughs in London, with the third largest Muslim population in the capital, as well as being home to African, Asian and European populations.

This year, the former Walthamstow Town Hall in Orford Road became home to far eastern spiritual group I-Kuan Tao, along with 1,722 golden-painted statues of Buddha.

In 2005, it was announced that Waltham Forest would be one of the five Olympic host boroughs and in 2007, the striking Leyton Town Hall came back into use as businesses and entrepreneurs moved in.

And although the borough faces many challenges, such as high levels of crime, poverty and deprivation, it is set to change dramatically in the course of the next decade in the wake of the 2012 Olympic Games.