London Borough of Newham

The area of the modern borough was at one time occupied by a territory called 'Ham'.

The first known written use of the term, as 'Hamme', is in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 958, and again in the 1086 Domesday Book as Hame. It is formed 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.[4]

These natural boundaries suggest that Little Ilford, North Woolwich and areas of the parish of Barking west of the Roding are likely to have been part of Ham(me).

The territory was subdivided into the more familiar West and East Ham sometime in the 12th century, with the earliest recorded distinction being as 'Westhamma' in 1186. It could be speculated that the partition arose as a result of population increase resulting from economic prosperity delivered by the construction of Bow Bridge over the Lea and the creation of Stratford Langthorne Abbey.

North Woolwich was removed from Ham at an earlier date, in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest but it is unclear when Little Ilford and western Barking were transferred, and it is not known for sure that they were part of Ham.

The boundary between West and East Ham was drawn from the now lost Hamfrith Waste and Hamfrith Wood in the north (then the southernmost parts of Epping Forest which extended as far south as the Romford Road at that time), along Green Street down to the small, similarly lost, natural harbour known as Ham Creek.

The formation of the modern borough in 1965 saw the merger of West and East Ham, together with North Woolwich and Barking west of the River Roding (Little Ilford had become part of East Ham as part of earlier local government reorganisations). This reorganisation effectively re-established the earlier territory of Ham.

In 2018, Newham had the lowest life expectancy and the highest rate of heart disease of all London boroughs together with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.[10]

In 2019, the BBC reported that Newham had the highest rate of tuberculosis in the UK at 107 per 100000 population, which was higher than Rwanda (69) and Iraq (45) according to WHO figures from 2013. More than 80% of TB cases in London occur in people born abroad. The UK average was 13.[11]

Newham has the lowest percentage of White British residents of all of London's boroughs. The White British proportion of the population fell from 33.8% in 2001 to 16.7% in 2011; this decrease of 37.5 percentage points is the largest of any local authority in England and Wales between the two censuses.[15][16] The joint-lowest wards with White British population are Green Street East and Green Street West, both having 4.8% – the third-lowest behind Southall Broadway and Southall Green in Ealing. East Ham North follows closely, at 4.9%.[17]

People of White British ancestry nevertheless remain the largest single ethnic group in the borough. The largest non-White British ethnic groups are Indian (14%), African (12%), Bangladeshi (12%) and Pakistani (10%). Newham has had a large Indian community for many decades. The ethnic group to increase the most in number since 1991 is the Bangladeshi community.[18]

The Borough is the education authority for the district providing education in a mix of Foundation, community and voluntary aided schools.[20] The borough also owns and operates Debden House, a residential adult education college in Loughton, Essex, and is home to the Rosetta Art Centre, a dedicated visual art organisation which delivers courses at its base in Stratford and produces participatory art projects, programmes and initiatives. The Essex Primary School in Sheridan Road with over 900 pupils is one of the biggest primary schools in London.

The University of East London has two campuses in Newham:

• the Stratford Campus, at Stratford
• the Docklands Campus, next to the regenerated Royal Albert Dock

Birkbeck Stratford is a collaboration between Birkbeck, University of London and UEL to increase participation in adult learning. This is based on the UEL/Birkbeck shared campus, USS (University Square Stratford), in the centre of Stratford.

The University of East London had formed a partnership with the United States Olympic Committee which resulted in the United States Olympic Team using University of East London campuses as training bases during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.[21]

• The Hub, a community resource centre built by the local community, in Star Lane, E16, featuring up to the minute "green" features
• Grassroots, also built by the local community and another innovative green resource centre built by the community. Grassroots is in Memorial Recreation Ground, E15
• Rosetta Art Centre, situated in walking distance to Grassroots, also in E15

Newham has ten libraries (Beckton, Canning Town, Custom House, East Ham, Green Street, Manor Park, North Woolwich, Plaistow, Stratford and Forest Gate).

Canning Town Library was first opened in 1893 and still operates in the original building on Barking Road (albeit with repairs and a reconstructed interior following damage from air raids in 1940 and 1941). Its opening hours are Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday: 9:30am–5:30pm, Wednesday and Sunday: Closed, Thursday: 9:30am–8:00pm.[22]

• North Woolwich Old Station Museum. Closed in 2008.[23]
• Three Mills, a mill complex on the east bank of the River Lea. A trading site for nearly a thousand years, the House Mill was built in 1776 and was (and remains) the country's largest tide mill. It has been restored and contains much of its original machinery including four large waterwheels, millstones and grain chutes.

There are a number of local markets in the Borough, including Queens Market, which the Council is controversially seeking to redevelop. These proposals are being fought by Friends of Queens Market.

80 hectares within the borough are designated as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt.

Green Street where the population is predominantly South Asian

• Stratford Circus Arts Centre, a community arts venue which presents theatre, dance, music, circus and comedy from around the world for communities in Newham and East London. The organisation works with schools and local groups in Newham to provide classes, workshops and outreach opportunities. Stratford Circus Arts Centre partners with Newham Council for Every Child a Theatre Goer which invites every year 6 child to a performance at the venue
• Theatre Royal Stratford East
• St Mark's Church, Silvertown The church was designed by Samuel Saunders Teulon. It was built between 1861 and 1862 after a cholera epidemic swept the district and local clergy appealed through the columns of The Times for funds to provide an architectural, as well as spiritual, beacon for the area. It is now the home of the Brick Lane Music Hall.

• Queen's Market – an historic street market
• ICC London – ExCeL – International Conference Centre
• Gallions Reach Shopping Park
• East Shopping Centre – Europe's first purpose-built boutique Asian shopping centre
• Green Street – a shopping street mostly catering for the Asian community[24]
• Stratford Centre
• Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford – The largest Westfield Shopping Centre in Europe.

• Newham was one of the six host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
• West Ham United F.C. play its home matches at the London Stadium (formally the Olympic Stadium) in Stratford.
• The Newham and Essex Beagles Athletics Club has its headquarters at the Terence McMillan Stadium, part of Newham Leisure Centre, in Plaistow.
• Clapton F.C., a non-league football club, plays in Forest Gate.
• London APSA F.C. a non-league football club, plays in Plaistow.
• London Lituanica, a basketball team playing in the English Basketball League
• Tomás Mac Curtain's women's GAA team train weekly at the East London Rugby Club
• Diesel Gym London a non-profit organisation and one of the UK's largest Mixed Martial Arts centres
• London Regatta Centre a charitable organisation promoting water sports such as rowing and dragon boats

The local newspaper is the Newham Recorder.[25]

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: underground, metro, light rail, tram, 23.0% of all residents aged 16–74; driving a car or van, 7.6%; bus, minibus or coach, 7.6%; train, 7.2%; on foot, 4.1%; work mainly at or from home, 1.4%; bicycle, 1.0%.[26]

• Woolwich Ferry

• Emirates Air Line

• Dutchflyer rail-sea service via Stratford station to the Netherlands
• London City Airport
• Stratford International station (No Eurostar trains stop)[27]

London Buses routes 5, 25, 58, 69, 86, 97, 101, 104, 108, 115, 147, 158, 173, 238, 241, 257, 262, 276, 300, 308, 309, 323, 325, 330, 339, 366, 376, 388, 425, 473, 474, 541, D8, W19, School buses routes 673, 678 and Night route N8, N15, N86, N205, N550 and N551.[28]

• Sir Jack Petchey CBE: 27 May 2010. [29]
• Mark Noble: 15 December 2016. [30]

• G Company 7th Battalion The Rifles: 23 June 2012. [31]