Leyton, Waltham Forest, England, United Kingdom

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leyton is a town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River Lea, to the west. The area includes New Spitalfields Market, Leyton Orient Football Club, as well as part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The town consists largely of terraced houses built between 1870 and 1910, interspersed with some modern housing estates. It is 6.2 miles north-east of Charing Cross.

Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local government district of Greater London, Leyton was historically part of the ancient parish of Leyton in the Becontree hundred of Essex. The town expanded rapidly in the late 19th century, forming part of the conurbation of London and becoming a suburb in east London, similar to much of south-west Essex. It became part of the Metropolitan Police District in 1839 and has been part of the London postal district since its inception in 1856. The parish became an urban district in 1894 and gained municipal borough status in 1926. In 1965, it merged with the neighbouring municipal boroughs of Walthamstow and Chingford to form the local authority district of Waltham Forest.

The town has become one of the most ethnically diverse areas in England, with 69 per cent of residents belonging to a non-British ethnic background. Once a traditional, working class area, it is undergoing large-scale regeneration and gentrification, with large numbers of young professionals moving into the area.