Fascinating facts about Harlow: historical firsts, general elections, the Titanic and a world champion

Although classified as a new town, Harlow in Essex still has some fascinating facts associated with it. Here are some that you might find interesting…

• A Roman fort or settlement was based here during the 3rd century. During excavations in the 1970s, a Roman temple and mosaic floor were discovered on top of an earlier Iron Age temple.
• Harlow town center is notable for being the location of Britain’s first pedestrian zone.
• The Lawn, built in 1951, was also the first residential tower in Britain and is now a Grade 2 listed building.
• In 1955, the first purpose-built health center in Britain, Nuffield House, opened in Stow, Harlow. Harlow Town Park is one of the largest urban parks in the country.
• As it sank, the Titanic’s orchestra played ‘Nearer My God to Thee’. This was written by poet Sarah Flower Adams of Harlow.
• Shaun Murphy was born on August 10, 1982 in Harlow. He won the World Snooker Championship in 2005. His father bought him a cue from a flea market when he was 8 years old, and two years later he made his first break of the century. In 1995, at the age of 13, he gave an interview to the BBC expressing his ambitions to be a world champion, a dream that came true just ten years later.
• The Harlow constituency, which includes Hastingwood, Nazeing, Roydon & Sheering, was the third most marginal seat in the country during the last general election in 2005. The incumbent Labor MP, Bill Rammell, edged out the Conservative candidate, Robert Halfon, by just 97 votes after three counts. All eyes will be on Harlow’s key marital seat during the upcoming election.

If you know of any other fascinating facts about the city of Harlow, please let us know and we’ll add them to the article and to our website.