Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for HAM, or WEST HAM

HAM, or WEST HAM, a village, a parish, a sub-district, and a district in Essex. The village stands E of the river Lea, between Stratford and Plaistow, near the North Woolwich and Eastern Counties railway stations at Stratford, about 1½ mile E of Bow Bridge, and 2¼ N of the Victoria Docks; is a large place, with some good houses; was formerly a market town; and has a postoffice, ‡ of the name of West Ham, under Stratford, London E. A Cistertian abbey was founded, about a mile from the village, in 1135, by William de Montfichet; was defended by a moat; was the place in which Henry VIII. confined the Countess of Salisbury; and is now represented by some ruins. There is a post office of West Ham Abbey, under Stratford, London E. The parish is divided into three wards:-Church street ward, containing West Ham village, Upton, Forest Gate, and Canning Town; Stratford ward, containing Stratford, with the Grove, the Green, and Maryland Point; and Plaistow ward, containing Plaistow village, the Marshes, Hallsville, Silvertown, and the Victoria Docks. Acres, 5, 390; of which 230 are water. Real property £15, 997; of which £, 641 are in gas works. Pop. in 185, 1,817; in 186, 3, 331. Houses, 6, 191. The increase of pop. arose from the establishment of works of the Eastern Counties railway, the erection of the Victoria Docks and iron ship building yards, the establishment of cokeovens and of India rubber and chemical works, the operations of building societies, the opening of a railway station, and some other causes. There are also extensive water works, distilleries, flour mills, a large brewery, smelting works, copper works, a medical glass factory, a large congreve war rocket establishment, water proofing manufactories, a silk printing establishment, a large patent leather cloth manufactory, and some other industrial establishments. The living is a vicarage, in the diocese of London. Value, £700.* Patron, the Crown. The church is ancient but good; comprises a nave with aisles, a chancel with N and S chapels, and a tower 74 feet high; and contains an altar tomb of 1485, and several other interesting monuments. The chapelries of Plaistow, Barking Road, Victoria Dock, Forest Gate, Stratford St. John, Str. ST. Paul, Str. Christchurch and Canning Town are separate benefices. There are also several chapels or licensed school rooms, connected with the Established church; a number of chapels for Independents, Baptists, Methodists, and Quakers; a number of public schools, -one of which has an endowment of £284 a year; two suites of alms houses, -one of which has £60 a year; a suite of industrial schools, for the children of the district; and numerous charitable bequests for the poor.—The sub-district contains the wards of Church street and Plaistow, and the parishes of East Ham and Little Ilford. Pop., 25, 195. Houses, 3, 875.—The district comprehends also the sub-district of Stratford, conterminate with the ward of Stratford; the sub-district of Leyton, containing the parishes of Low Leyton and Wanstead; and the sub-district of Walthamstow, containing the parishes of Walthamstow and Woodford. Acres 1, 477. Poor rates in 1863, £3, 989. Pop. in 1851, 34, 395; in 186, 5, 319. Houses, 9, 810. Marriages in 186, 354; births, 2, 133, of which 72 were illegitimate; deaths, 1, 279, -of which 604 were at ages under 5 years, and 22 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, , 216; births, 1, 232; deaths, 9, 142. The places of worship, in 1851, were 16 of the Church of England, with 9, 143 sittings; 9 of Independents, with 208 s.; 2 of Baptists, with 286 s.; 1 of Quakers, with 200 s.; 4 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 820 s.; 1 of Primitive Methodists, with 200 s.; 1 of the Wesleyan Association, with 128 s.; and 2 of Roman Catholics, with 125 s. The schools were 37 public day schools, with 801 scholars; 54 private day schools, with 1, 149 s.; 24 Sunday schools, with 2, 274 s.; and 1 evening school for adults, with 12 s. The workhouse is in Low Leyton.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a village, a parish, a sub-district, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: West Ham AP/CP       West Ham SubD       West Ham RegD/PLU       Essex AncC
Place names: HAM     |     HAM OR WEST HAM     |     WEST HAM
Place: West Ham

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