Human settlement in England

West Ham is an area in East London, located 6.1 mi (9.8 km) east of Charing Cross 🌟 in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham.

The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River 🌟 Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor 🌟 of Ham, and it later became a County Borough. The district, part of the historic county of Essex, was an 🌟 administrative unit, with largely consistent boundaries, from the 12th century to 1965, when it merged with neighbouring areas to become 🌟 the western part of the new London Borough of Newham. The area of the parish and borough included not just 🌟 central West Ham area, just south of Stratford; but also the sub-districts of Stratford, Canning Town, Plaistow, Custom House, Silvertown, 🌟 Forest Gate and the western parts of Upton Park, which is shared with East Ham.

The district was historically dependent on 🌟 its docks and other maritime trades, while the inland industrial concentrations led to its byname as the Factory centre of 🌟 the south of England.[2] These sources of employment have largely been lost, though there has been a degree of regeneration, 🌟 in part associated with the 2012 Olympic Games.

History [ edit ]