County Borough of West Ham

West Ham was a borough in the far south west of Essex from 1886 to 1965, forming part of the built-up area of London, although outside the County of London. It was immediately north of the River Thames and east of the River Lee.

It was first created a municipal borough in 1886, based on the old parish of West Ham, and gained further status, becoming a county borough in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888. The area did not become officially part of Greater London until 1965, however it formed part of London's built-up metropolitan area and was part of the London postal district and Metropolitan Police District.

The borough included Plaistow, West Ham, Stratford, Canning Town and Silvertown - all of the current-day London Borough of Newham west of Green Street.

The borough acquired the horse-drawn tram services in its area in 1898, electrified them in 1904, and extended the network. There was also through running of the corporation trams and those of the London County Council system. West Ham operated 134 tram cars on 16.27 miles of tracks when they became the responsibility of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933. The borough ran its own fire brigade which was absorbed into the London Fire Brigade in 1965. The corporation's electricity generation and supply undertaking was nationalised in 1948, when it was transferred to the London Electricity Board.

West Ham underwent rapid growth from 1844 following the Metropolitan Building Act; this restricted dangerous and noxious industries from operating in the metropolitan area; as a result many of them moved across its eastern boundary, the River Lee into West Ham, then a parish in Essex. As a result, West Ham became one of Victorian Britain's major manufacturing centres for pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and processed foods. This rapid growth of the area earned it the name "London over the border". Many workers lived in slum conditions close to where they worked, leading to periodic outbreaks of contagious diseases and severe poverty. Charles Dickens' brother Alfred, a medical officer, published a report in 1855 severely critical of conditions in the slum areas.

From 1934 to 1965 it was surrounded by the County Borough of East Ham to the east, the municipal boroughs of Wanstead and Woodford and Leyton to the north, and the metropolitan boroughs of Poplar to the west and Greenwich to the south. The county borough, along with the County Borough of East Ham, was abolished and became part of the London Borough of Newham in 1965 when Greater London was created.

External links

• Population density of county borough in 1939
• Industrial history of West Ham