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Lea Bridge is a district in the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Waltham Forest in London, England. It lies 7 miles (11.3 km) northeast of Charing Cross.
The area it takes its name from a bridge built over the River Lea in either 1745 - or sometime after 1757 - and the Lea Bridge Road which leads through the area and across the bridge. The bridge also gives its name to a ward in Waltham Forest (Lea Bridge) on the eastern, Leyton, bank of the river, and to a ward in Hackney on the Western side of the river, also called Lea Bridge ward. The boundary between the two boroughs runs down the middle of the river at this point.
Within Hackney, Lea Bridge Road forms the customary boundary between Upper and Lower Clapton.
In 1582 Mill Fields Lane ran from Clapton to Jeremy's Ferry in the Leyton Marshes. At the same spot a timber bridge was built in either 1745, or sometime after 1757. After this, the road became known as Lea Bridge Road, with a tollgate at the Clapton end. A toll house was built on the west bank of the river in 1757, and the bridge rebuilt in iron in 1820–1. Tolls continued to be levied until 1872.
Clapton Orient played at the Lea Bridge Stadium between 1930 and 1937 before moving to Brisbane Road. The stadium was also used for speedway and was the home track of the Lea Bridge speedway team. It was demolished in the 1970s and a housing estate built on the site.
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