EARLY HISTORY
THE early inhabitants of this marshy fen-land were probably Bronze or Iron Age fisher folk. From the remains of a substantial timber track uncovered in the early 1990s, archaeologists believe the area sustained a number of settlements. In 1997 the remains of a Bronze Age settlement was discovered on the site of what is now the Royal Docks Community School at Custom House. Among the remains were pieces of pottery, arrowheads, flints a substantial wooden support post and parts of a yew tree.
Later the Romans had a burial ground nearby. And evidence suggests there could have been a Roman road and ferry point and perhaps a look-out post at Gallions Reach.
During medieval times the area was known as Hamme, a name meaning ‘flat, low-lying pasture’. For a while it belonged to Guthrum the Dane who won it in a battle in 878 against Alfred the Great. By the time of the Domesday Book (1086) Hamme consisted of three separate manors; the eastern one, later to become East Ham, held by Robert Gernon, and the western one, the nucleus of West Ham, held jointly by Gernon and Ranulf Peverel. Little Ilford was a separate manor, held by Joscelin Lorimer. There was also a small estate at North Woolwich owned by Westminster Abbey, though North Woolwich belonged to Kent from the Norman Conquest - a curious arrangement which survived until 1965.
Very little is known about the area pre-1700, although cattle were grazed on what had come to be known as the Plaistow Marshes. By 1800 there was just one house (Devil's House owned by the Ismay French family) between Bow and Barking Creeks and only one road stretching from East Ham village to the river.
During the excavation of the Royal Victoria Dock hazel, oak and yew trees were found in a bog as well as British and Roman coins, a 27 foot canoe, a millstone, a Roman urn, a circular tin shield and many animal bones including those of a whale.
URBANISATION
It was in the mid-1800s that the came to life. In 1847 the well known Victorian engineer George P.Bidder completed his railway from Stratford to North Woolwich. This new line, which south of Canning Town followed the line of what is now Silver town Way and North Woolwich Road, was called "Bidders Folly" because it passed through completely undeveloped marshland. But George Bidder sensed the potential of the area and soon he'd bought up the whole of the marshes between Bow Creek and Galleons Reach. He called the area "Lands End" and soon his investment was showing a handsome return as the land was sold for the docks and for a belt of factories along the River.
Early Industrial Ventures
The demand for land for factories here was encouraged, perhaps, by the Metropolitan Building Act 1844 which prohibited "harmful trades" within London. One of the first to arrive, in 1852, was Samuel Silver's waterproof clothing works which gave its name to the Silver town district. In 1867 this factory, which had become a major local employer, was renamed the India Rubber, Gutta Percha & Telegraph Cable Works - but Silver town kept its name. Another early arrival was C.J.Mare who built an iron works and ship-building facility at Orchard Yard. Before long his Thames Ironworks became very well known throughout the world.
Important among the industrialists were Henry Tate and Abram Lyle who brought their refineries to the area. They merged in 1921 to form Tate & Lyle which still operates the Silver town Refinery to the east. Their contribution to the history of the area, and its local life, has been significant.
By the 1880s the area had become a major centre of industry attracting people from all over Britain to work in the factories, docks and the Beckton Gasworks.
New Settlements
All this, and the Royal Victoria Dock which opened in 1855, created employment and very soon there was a huge demand for housing to accommodate the workers and their families. Thus originated new settlements such as those at Hallsville, Canning Town and North Woolwich and before long there was housing in much of what is now Custom House, Silver town and West Silver town.
The new housing settlements lacked a proper water supply and sewerage system and the housing lacked basic amenities. Soon they became centers of disease such as cholera and smallpox. The hardships faced by people gave rise to action through trade union and political activities and the area became the focus of a number of new movements and several of those involved, including Will Thorne and James Keir Hardie, became leading figures in the Labour Party.
Much of the industry was also unhealthy or dangerous. This was highlighted on 19th January 1917 when 50 tons of TNT blew up in the Brunner Mond & Co works in Silver town which, contrary to the judgment of the reluctant owners, had been given over to making munitions. This caused the greatest explosion in London's history. The noise of the blast could be heard as far as Southampton and Norwich. Upwards of 70,000 buildings were damaged and 73 people were killed.
Between the wars the Council sought to alleviate some of the worst aspects of housing and poverty through a programmed of slum clearance and health promotion. New houses with modern facilities were built and new services including clinics, nurseries and the lido were opened. The long delays faced by traffic were reduced by the construction of new approach roads to the Docks - including Silver town Way which was Britain's first flyover and the Silver town By-Pass.
The area suffered very badly from bombing during the Second World War. Even before the War ended plans for re-development were being drawn up by West Ham Council. The aim was to reduce the population, transfer industry and provide new housing such as that on the Keir Hardie Estate which included also schools and welfare services.
Housing schemes in the early post war years followed a ‘garden city’ pattern with low density housing. But supply could not keep up with demand and in 1961 the first high-rise units appeared in Canning Town followed by Scrapbook Point and Dunlop Point in Silver town (1967) and others which took their names from firms that had been in the areas where they now stood, such as Albion and Brocklebank tower blocks in North Woolwich. The collapse of one of the blocks - Ronan Point - in 1968 led to a rethink on high density housing and most of the tall blocks have since been demolished or cut down in size.
