Harold Hill is a large-scale post war development and part of the New Towns movement at the end of the World War II, an attempt to move large sections of the population from poor conditions in central districts to the more pleasant surroundings of the suburbs. The success of the plan is a matter for debate.
Ian Dury, known for references to places in Essex and London, name-checked Harold Hill in his popular song This Is What We Find on his 1978 album Do It Yourself:
“
Home improvement expert Harold Hill from Harold Hill
Of do it yourself dexterity and double glazing skill
Came home to find another gentlemen's kippers in the grill
so he sanded off his winkle with his Black & Decker Drill
The song set all three of its verses in real places the others were Turnham Green and Lambeth Walk. In his 2CD Retrospective Reasons To be Cheerful produced by Repertoire Records Dury stated that he never wrote another verse as good as Harold Hill's verse.