Area History – West Ham

• 1901 Census described County Borough of West Ham to be the most populous town or district in England.

• 1965 the County Borough of West Ham and East Ham, alongside parts of Barking and Woolwich, were abolished to form Newham.

• Although being in East London, the place name derives from Old English 'hamm' and means 'a dry area of land between rivers or marshland', referring to the location of the settlement within boundaries formed by the rivers Lea, Thames and Roding and their marshes.

• 1844 Metropolitan Building Act resulted in West Ham being one of Victorian Britain’s major manufacturing centers for pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and processed foods.