Stratford, London

The name is first recorded in 1067 as Strætforda and means 'ford on a Roman road'.[2] It is formed from Old English 'stræt' (in modern English ‘street’) and 'ford'. The former river crossing lay at an uncertain location north of Stratford High Street.

The district of Old Ford in northern Bow – west of the Lea – is named after the former crossing, while Bow itself was also initially named Stratford, after the same ford, and a variety of suffixes were used to distinguish the two distinct settlements, including Stratford-le-Bow.[2]

The settlement to the east of the Lea was also known as Estratford referring to the location east of the other Stratford, Statford Hamme alluding to the location within the parish of West Ham, Abbei Stratford, referring to the presence of Stratford Langthorne Abbey.[2] and Stretford Langthorne after a distinctive thorn tree (probably a pollarded Hawthorn) which was mentioned in a charter of 958 AD.

In 1110 Matilda, wife of Henry I, ordered a distinctively bow-shaped (arched) bridge to be built over the River Lea, together with a causeway across the marshes along the line now occupied by Stratford High Street. Reports state she (or her retinue) encountered problems crossing the river to get to Barking Abbey.

The western Stratford then become suffixed by “-atte-Bow” (at the Bow), eventually becoming known simply as Bow, while over time the eastern Stratford lost its “Langthorne” suffix.

Bow Bridge depicted in 1851

The bridge was repaired and upgraded many times over the centuries until eventually demolished and replaced in the 19th century.

In 1135 the Cistercian Order founded Stratford Langthorne Abbey, also known as West Ham Abbey. This became one of the largest and most wealthy monasteries in England, owning 1,500 acres (610 hectares) in the immediate area and 20 manors throughout Essex.[3]

The Abbey lay between the Channelsea River and Marsh Lane (Manor Road). Nothing visible remains on the site, as after it dissolution by Henry VIII in 1538, local landowners took away much of the stone for their own buildings and the land was subsequently urbanised.

A stone window and a carving featuring skulls – thought to have been over the door to the charnel house – remain in All Saints Church, West Ham (dating from about 1180). The Great Gate of the abbey survived in Baker's Row until 1825.[4]

Arms of the County Borough of West Ham.

The doorway to the Old Court House, in Tramway Avenue (Stratford), displays the Abbey's coat of arms. The chevrons from this device, originally from the arms of the Mountfitchet family, together with an abbot's crozier were incorporated into the arms of the former County Borough of West Ham in 1887. The new London Borough of Newham adopted the same arms in 1965.[5]

The industrialisation of Stratford started slowly and accelerated rapidly in the early Victorian era.

London 2012 Opening Ceremony – Industrial Revolution

The Stratford and national experience of the Industrial Revolution inspired scenes in the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony covering the traumatic transition from a ‘Green and Pleasant Land’ to the ‘Pandemonium’ of the revolution and the huge social and economic changes it brought.

Stratford was originally an agricultural community, whose proximity to London provided a ready market for its produce. By the 18th century, the area around Stratford was noted for potato growing, a business that continued into the mid-1800s.[6] Stratford also became a desirable country retreat for wealthy merchants and financiers, within an easy ride of the City. When Daniel Defoe visited Stratford in 1722, he reported it had "...increased in buildings to a strange degree, within the compass of about 20 or 30 years past at the most". He continues that "...this increase is, generally speaking, of hansom large houses... being chiefly for the habitations of the richest citizens, such as either are able to keep two houses, one in the country, and one in the city; or for such citizens as being rich, and having left off trade, live altogether in these neighbouring villages, for the pleasure and health of the latter part of their days".[7]

An early industrial undertaking at Stratford was the Bow porcelain factory, which despite the name, was on the Essex side of the River Lea. Using a process that was patented in 1744, Edward Heylin and Thomas Frye operated a factory near Bow Bridge called "New Canton" to produce some of the first soft-paste porcelain to be made in the country.[8] The site of the factory was to the north of Stratford High Street near the modern Bow Flyover; it was the subject of archaeological excavations in 1921 and 1969.[9]

The Victorian era saw growth hugely accelerated by three major factors; the Metropolitan Building Act, the arrival of the railway and the creation of the nearby Royal Docks.

Rapid growth followed the Metropolitan Building Act in 1844. The Act restricted dangerous and noxious industries from operating in the metropolitan area, the eastern boundary of which was the River Lea. Consequently, many of these activities were relocated to the banks of the river. As a result, West Ham became one of Victorian Britain's major manufacturing centres for pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and processed foods. This rapid growth earned it the name "London over the border".[10] The growth of the town was summarised by The Times in 1886:

"Factory after factory was erected on the marshy wastes of Stratford and Plaistow, and it only required the construction at Canning Town of the Victoria and Albert Docks to make the once desolate parish of West Ham a manufacturing and commercial centre of the first importance and to bring upon it a teeming and an industrious population."[10]

By the early 19th century, Stratford was an important transport hub, with omnibuses and coaches running into London four times every hour and coaches from East Anglia passing through hourly. The route into London was plied by Walter Hancock's steam coaches for a period during the 1830s.[11] A small dock and a number of wharves were operating on the River Lea at Stratford by the 1820s, serving the needs of local industries. However, the opening of the nearby Royal Victoria Dock in 1855 and the subsequent construction of the Royal Group of Docks (at one time the largest area of impounded water in the world), increased Stratford's importance as a transport and manufacturing centre.[12] Rising population levels led to two major new Anglican churches in the area, St John's Church in 1834 and Christ Church in 1851.

Engine repair shop of the Stratford Railway Works, 1921

Stratford station was opened on 20 June 1839 by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR). The Northern and Eastern Railway opened a section of its authorised line from Broxbourne to join the ECR at Stratford on 15 September 1840.[13] A railway works and depot for engines and rolling stock was established by Great Eastern in 1847 to the north of Stratford. At its peak, the works employed over 2,500 many of whom had homes, along with other rail workers, in the town that developed nearby. It was originally called Hudson Town, after George Hudson, the "Railway King;", but after his involvement in bribery and fraud was revealed in 1849, the settlement quickly became better known as Stratford New Town, which by 1862 had a population of 20,000.[14] During the lifetime of the Stratford works, 1,682 locomotives, 5,500 passenger coaches and 33,000 goods wagons were built. The last part of the works closed in March 1991.[15]

Stratford, like many areas of London, particularly in the East End, suffered significant de-industrialisation in the 20th century.[16] This was compounded by the closing of the London Docks in the 1960s.[17] Around this time, the Stratford Shopping Centre was built, beginning efforts to guide the area through the process of transformation from a working-class industrial and transport hub to a retail and leisure destination for the contemporary age.[16] These efforts continued with the Olympic bid for Stratford, and the ongoing urban regeneration work going on there.[18]

Stratford was one of three ancient wards in the large parish of West Ham, in the Becontree hundred of Essex. It came within the Metropolitan Police District in 1840.[19]

Stratford ward of West Ham Civil Parish in 1867.

Despite forming part of the built up area of London the parish remained outside the statutory metropolitan area established in 1855 and the County of London established in 1889. Instead, administrative reform was undertaken in the area in much the same way as a large provincial town. A local board was formed in 1856 under the Public Health Act 1848 and subsequently the parish was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1886. In 1889 the borough was large enough in terms of population to become a county borough and was outside the area of responsibility of Essex County Council. Stratford formed the centre of administration of the county borough and was the location of the town hall.

In 1965 West Ham was reunited with East Ham (Ham is believed to have formed a single unit until the late 12th century) and small areas of neighbouring districts, to form the London Borough of Newham, part of the new Greater London.

Stratford is in the constituency of West Ham, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Lyn Brown of the Labour Party.

Stratford is part of the mayorship under the Mayor of Newham which is a directly elected mayor and is held by Rokhsana Fiaz since 4 May 2018. In 2018, previous incumbent Sir Robin Wales was de-selected by the Newham Labour Party to be their candidate in the mayoral election, losing to Custom House councillor Rokhsana Fiaz by 861 votes to Wales who had 503.

The modern borough has an electoral ward named 'Stratford and New Town'.

The Royal Mail has given the postcode E20 to the Olympic Park and Stratford City developments; this was previously only used by the BBC TV soap EastEnders for its fictional East London setting of Walford.[20] The name "Walford" is a portmanteau of the names of nearby Walthamstow and Stratford itself.

Stratford has been a focus of regeneration for some years as the local economy has grown, and is the location of a number of major projects.

Westfield Stratford City opened in September 2011

During construction of the International Quarter

Developments:

• Westfield Stratford City is a multibillion-pound scheme to regenerate the 73-hectare brownfield railway lands to the north of the existing town centre. The vast shopping centre reported to be bigger in size than Bluewater was opened in September 2011. It has anchor stores for John Lewis, Waitrose and Marks and Spencer, in addition to other household names like Apple and Primark. The centre boasts a range of restaurant outlets, a cinema and casino, making it a leisure destination in itself, as well as its shopping facilities. Nearby will be a new purpose-built community of 5,000 homes, offices, schools, public spaces, municipal and other facilities destined to become a major metropolitan centre for East London, all to coincide with the opening of the Olympics in July 2012.
• The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games had their main base at the Olympic Park, which contained a significant number of venues including the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, and London Velopark. What was the athletes' Olympic Village is to be restructured as the new East Village development, providing 3,500 homes, half affordable and half private. The post-Olympics legacy plans include the largest new urban park in Europe for over a century, and the new Chobham Academy.
• Improving Stratford station with new platforms, walkways and entrances.
• Rebuilding of Pudding Mill Lane DLR station as part of the Crossrail project[27]
• 150 High Street, Stratford, a 41-storey 133 m (436 ft) high residential tower.

Olympic Park developments:

• Construction of East Wick & Sweetwater neighbourhoods will see up to 1,500 homes built[28]
• Olympicopolis; A plan in the Olympic Park to see the Victoria & Albert Museum and University College London to have facilities by 2018.[29]
• International Quarter London; will see 13 office and 2 residential buildings as well as a hotel.[30]

Neighbouring developments:

• A 26-acre development called Sugar House Island at Mill Meads is expected to see 2,500 jobs brought to the area, along with 1,200 homes (over 40% three bed or more), a new school, 350-bed hotel and new amenities for local people. This is a relatively low-rise scheme, with Dane's Yard, its first phase, regenerating a Conservation Area to form a new hub for creative businesses, by European developer Vastint.[31]
• Redevelopment of Morgan House and the southern end of the Stratford Centre into a new office, hotel, and 42- and 21-storey residential towers.[32]

Stratford Regional is a major National Rail interchange on the Great Eastern Main Line, North London Line and Lea Valley Lines. According to 2017-18 figures, 40.08 million passengers entered or exited the station, making it the UK's 7th busiest station.[57] The station is managed by TfL Rail.[58] The station is served by several rail operators. Greater Anglia and TfL Rail both run services out of London Liverpool Street in the City of London to Stratford. TfL Rail trains travel east as far as Shenfield in Essex, via Romford. Greater Anglia trains terminate at destinations in East Anglia, including Southend Victoria, Colchester Town, Harwich, Ipswich and Norwich. Trains run directly to London Southend Airport from Stratford. Greater Anglia trains also use Lea Valley Lines towards Tottenham Hale and Bishop's Stortford. London Overground services from Stratford follow the North London Line towards Highbury & Islington, travelling through Gospel Oak and Willesden Junction towards Richmond or Clapham Junction.[59]

Stratford International, to the northwest, is on the High Speed 1 (HS1) line from St Pancras International to Kent, and is served by Southeastern domestic high speed services; so far, no decision has been made for international Eurostar services to call. The International and Regional stations are linked by a branch of the Docklands Light Railway – opened in August 2011.

The eastern part of Stratford town centre is served by Maryland railway station. The Liverpool Street-Shenfield via Ilford and Romford service known as the Shenfield Metro service and runs every 10 minutes and is operated by TfL Rail and in eastern residential area of Stratford known as Forest Gate is also served by Forest Gate railway station. This service also calls at Stratford and was incorporated into the Crossrail service in 2017.

London Underground's Central and Jubilee lines both serve Stratford, linking it to Oxford Street, Wembley Stadium, Epping and Canary Wharf. The Jubilee line was extended to Stratford in 1999. The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) was extended to Stratford in 1987, and to Stratford International in 2011, with services to Poplar, Canary Wharf, Lewisham, London City Airport, the Excel Centre, Beckton and Woolwich Arsenal.[60]

Pudding Mill Lane is in the south of the Olympic Park (though it closed during the Olympics for safety reasons due to its size) and west of Stratford town centre and normally provides transport to the local factories. Served by the Docklands Light Railway to Stratford, Poplar and Canary Wharf, it was re-sited south as part of the Crossrail project. Also is Stratford High Street, another DLR-only station to the south of Stratford Regional, situated on the site of the former Stratford Market railway station.

Stratford bus station is adjacent to Stratford Regional and the Stratford Centre, served by London Buses.

London Buses travel to destinations in the West and East End, northeast and south London, served by London Bus routes 69, 86, 104, 158, 238, 241, 257, 262, 276, 308, 425, 473, D8 and by the 25 and N8 to Central London.[61]

A newer bus station, Stratford City bus station, opened in 2011 as part of the Westfield Stratford City regeneration project to the north of Stratford Regional. London Bus routes 97, 241, 308, 339, 388, 108 and N205 call here.[61] National Express run coaches from Stratford City bus station to Stansted Airport and destinations in East Anglia.[62][63] Megabus coaches also call at Stratford City bus station with a direct service to Norwich.[64]

Stratford is connected to the National Road Network by several major routes.

The A12 passes through Stratford between Bow and Leyton, carrying eastbound traffic from London towards the North Circular, the M25, the M11 and East Anglia. The A11 (Bow Road) meets the A12 at the Bow Interchange to Stratford's southwest. The A11 carries traffic between the City and Stratford, whilst the A12 to the south carries traffic to the A13 and Canary Wharf. Transport for London (TfL) are responsible for the A11 and A12 roads.[65][66]

Stratford High Street is numbered the A118, which runs from Bow Interchange to Ilford and Romford. The A112 is a north-south route through Stratford, which ultimately terminates near Chingford in the north (via Leyton and Walthamstow) and London City Airport in the south.[65]

All roads in Stratford are part of London's Low Emission Zone.[67]

Newham Council partake in roadside pollution monitoring. In a 2018 report, Leytonstone Road in Stratford recorded the highest percentage of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) in roadside air of all monitoring sites in Newham, with an annual mean of 60%. Temple Mills Lane in Stratford recorded an annual mean of 40%.[68] It is thought that Nitrogen Dioxide is linked to respiratory conditions, can decrease lung function and increase response to allergens.[69]

Stratford is linked to London's cycle network, with cycling infrastructure provided by both Transport for London (TfL) and Newham Council.

The eastern terminus of Cycle Superhighway 2 (CS2) is on Stratford High Street. CS2 follows Stratford High Street southwest on segregated cycle track towards Bow Interchange. Signal controls at Bow Interchange give priority to cyclists, who can also use cycle lanes to cross the junction. CS2 then follows Bow Road (the A11) to Aldgate on cycle track.[70] CS2 was the first fully segregated Cycle Superhighway to open in London.[71]

Quietway 6 passes through the north of Stratford between Victoria Park and Wanstead, running non-stop to Barkingside in the northeast.[72] Quietway 22 runs from Victoria Park, over Stratford High Street (CS2), towards Plaistow and Beckton.[73] Quietways are signposted routes on quieter roads.

National Cycle Route 1 (NCN1) skirts around Stratford on its northwestern edge, running along the Hertford Union Canal and Lee Navigation towpaths. NCN1 is a long cycle route between Dover, Kent, and the Shetland Islands, running in north London non-stop between the Greenwich Foot Tunnel and Waltham Abbey.[74] Cycling is permitted on the Hertford Union Canal and Lee Navigation towpaths around Stratford, which are shared-use paths maintained by the Canal and River Trust.[75]

The Santander Cycles sharing scheme operates in Stratford.[76]

Between 2010 and 2014, the A118 (Stratford High Street) saw 153 pedal cycle casualties, constituting a 31% share of cycle casualties in Newham. By 2016, however, there were only 79 serious cyclist injuries across the whole borough, with no deaths.[77] The Borough has launched a "Cycling Strategy" to improve cycling provisions between 2018 and 2025.[77]