Introduction
In 1851 the total population of East and West Ham was approximately
25,000. Fifty years later it was over 350,000, and 20 years after
that it was just under 450,00. During these years "Newham" was
transformed from a rural backwater and marshland - "Hamme" was an
old word for "low lying pasture"- to the industrial heartland of
south-east England.
The area's population surged as its industries grew, mainly because
of its geographic location on the banks of the Thames. Other
factors were a major railway industry and the birth and expansion
of both the docks and a chemical and gas industry unrestricted by
central London's anti-pollution regulations
People came from all over Britain and further afield to work in
Newham, where social and economic conditions were often appalling.
The new settlers led the fight to reform society and Newham saw
Britain's first Labour council, its first Labour MP, and the births
of trade unionism for unskilled workers and of the co-operative
movement in south-east England.
Images of the changing face of
Newham
- Stratford evolving, 1793 and 1933:
Stratford Mill 1793
Stratford 1933
- Population growth and birthplace graphs:
Population of Newham: 1851-1991
Where Newham settlers came from:
1861-1901
Newham settlers' birthplaces outside England and
Wales:1911-21
 
A selection of early maps of
Newham
[
Back to top]
Early Industry in
pictures
The following illustrations and early photographs show the
industries on which the growth of Newham was based:
The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company began life as J.C.
Mare and Co in 1846.. It closed in 1912.
 The Victoria Dock,
constructed on the old Plaistow marshes, opened in 1855. The
Royal Albert Dock was opened in 1880 and the King George V
Dock opened in 1921.
For decades the docks provided employment, (although often casual
and uncertain), bringing sailors to Newham from all over the world.
Transportation of raw materials and coal became much easier
encouraging establishment of industries to be established in the
area.
 Harland's works occupied
about nine acres of land on the riverside of the road from
North Woolwich to East Ham. The ship repair works were all
under one roof, with a large open foundry occupying perhaps a
quarter of the site.
When Beckton Gas Works opened in East Ham in 1870 it was the
largest gasworks in Europe. It named after the company
president, Simon Adam Beck. Many of its workers lived in
Canning Town, to which a special railway line was built to
transport the workers.
 The
Stratford Railworks were prompted by the building of the a
railway through Stratford in 1839. In 1847 this was followed
by the establishment of a factory building railway carriages
for the Eastern Counties Railway.
Engine built at the Railworks, 1891
 In 1917 Silvertown's
Brunner Mond explosives factory exploded - the greatest
tragedy in Newham's industrial history. The factory had
changed from producing chemicals to explosives during the
First World War. The explosion, caused by a fire, killed
sixty-nine people and devastated the area.
[
Back to top]
|