�Fascinating images of Havering and Brentwood as they used to be appear in a book by a Rush Green author.

Michael Foley has produced Essex Through Time as part of a series of books that look at how different places have changed.

A former teacher, he writes about how the county is now seen as part of London with metropolitan boroughs including Havering, Barking and Dagenham, and Redbridge.

He also looks beyond the end of the District Line at Upminster and how the county becomes more rural.

In Romford he shows the post office which stood in South Street and was still in use until the 1960s.

Since then many of the older buildings in the picture have gone. The post office is now a nightclub and still has some of the original features on the top floor.

He shows the contrast between old and new in Station Lane, Hornchurch. The old image shows it was once rural and populated with trees.

Hamlet

The area that was once RAF Hornchurch is still open countryside along Sutton’s Lane.

In Hare Street, Gidea Park, the older picture shows a row of shops and houses.

Before the First World War the area was the site of a large army camp, but it was built on and spread out and changed from a little hamlet to be part of Romford.

Over in Brentwood, horses and carts outside the station have been replaced by cars.

The railway station opened in 1840 and the line was extended to Colchester in 1843.

Warley was home to large military camps from the 18th century and became a barracks in the 19th century.

The land was occupied by the private army of the East India Company before it became the home of the Essex Regiment. It is now used by Ford Motor Company.

Michael Foley’s previous work includes: Disaster on the Thames; Hard as Nails; Front Line Essex; Front Line Kent; Essex: Ready For Anything; and Front Line Thames.

n Essex Through Time is available from Waterstones, WHSmith, Amazon and www.amberley-books.com, price �14.99.