London Borough of Newham

London Borough of Newham
London borough
Coat of arms Council logo
Motto(s):  Progress with the People
Newham shown within Greater London
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	London
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Created	1 April 1965
Admin HQ	East Ham
Government
• Type	London borough council
• Body	Newham London Borough Council
• Leadership	Mayor and Cabinet (Labour)
• Executive mayor	Rokhsana Fiaz (Labour)
• London Assembly	Unmesh Desai (Labour) AM for City and East
• MPs	Lyn Brown (Labour) Stephen Timms (Labour)
Area
• Total	13.98 sq mi (36.22 km2)
Area rank	289th (of 309)
Population  (mid-2019 est.)
• Total	353,134
• Rank	20th (of 309)
• Density	25,000/sq mi (9,700/km2)
• Ethnicity[1]	16.7% White British 0.7% White Irish 0.2% White Gypsy or Irish Traveller 11.4% Other White 1.3% White & Black Caribbean 1.1% White & Black African 0.9% White & Asian 1.3% Other Mixed 13.8% Indian 9.8% Pakistani 12.1% Bangladeshi 1.3% Chinese 6.5% Other Asian 12.3% Black African 4.9% Black Caribbean 2.4% Other Black 1.1% Arab 2.3% Other
Time zone	UTC (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcodes	E, IG
Area code(s)	020
ONS code	00BB
GSS code	E09000025
Police	Metropolitan Police
Website	http://www.newham.gov.uk

The London Borough of Newham /ˈnjuːəm/ (listen) is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the same act. The name Newham reflects its creation and combines the compass points of the old borough names. Situated on the borders of inner and outer East London, Newham has a population of 353,134, which is the third highest of the London boroughs and also makes it the 20th most populous district in England. The local authority is Newham London Borough Council.

It is 5 miles (8 km) east of the City of London, north of the River Thames (the Woolwich Ferry and Woolwich foot tunnel providing the only crossings to the south), bounded by the River Lea to its west and the North Circular Road to its east. Newham was one of the six host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics and contains most of the Olympic Park including the London Stadium, and also contains the London City Airport. Major districts include East Ham, Stratford, Plaistow, Forest Gate and Canning Town.

History[]

The borough was formed on 1 April 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, as a borough of the newly formed Greater London. It broadly covered the areas of the county borough of East Ham and the county borough of West Ham that were abolished by the same act. These in turn were successors to the ancient civil and ecclesiastical parishes of East Ham and West Ham. Green Street and Boundary Road mark the former boundary between the two. North Woolwich also became part of the borough (previously being part of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, south of the river Thames in the County of London) along with a small area west of the River Roding which had previously been part of the Municipal Borough of Barking. Newham was devised for the borough as an entirely new name.^[2]

Ham(me): Pre-partition origins[]

The area of the modern borough was at one time occupied by a settlement called 'Ham'. The name comes from Old English 'hamm' and means 'a dry area of land between rivers or marshland', referring to the location of the settlement within boundaries formed by the rivers Lea, Thames and Roding and their marshes.^[3]

The first known written use of the term, as 'Hamme', is in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 958, in which King Edgar granted the land to Ealdorman Athelstan. The territory was undivided at that time, A subsequent charter on 1037 describes a transfer of land which has been identified with East Ham, indicating that the division of the territory occurred between 958 and 1037.^[4]

The Domesday Book shows landholdings divided further, and by the end of the 12th century these manors were being served, singly or in groups of manors by the familiar ancient parishes of West Ham, East Ham and Little Ilford (now also known as Manor Park), with some areas by the Roding a part of Barking, and the area now known as North Woolwich attached to Woolwich. The earliest recorded use of the name West Ham, Westhamma comes in 1186, and East Ham, Estham, is recorded in 1204.^[5]

The boundary between West and East Ham was drawn from the now lost Hamfrith Waste and Hamfrith Wood in the north (then the southernmost parts of Epping Forest which extended as far south as the Romford Road at that time), along Green Street down to the small, lso lost, natural harbour known as Ham Creek.

The formation of the modern borough in 1965 saw the merger of West and East Ham, together with North Woolwich and Barking west of the River Roding. Little Ilford had become part of East Ham as part of earlier local government reorganisations.

Medieval period[]

The prosperity of the area increased due to the construction of Bow Bridge, the only bridge over the Lea and the creation of Stratford Langthorne Abbey.

Governance[]

Unlike most English districts, its council is led by a directly elected mayor of Newham. From 2002 to 2009 one of the councillors had been appointed as the "civic ambassador" and performed the civic and ceremonial role previously carried out by the mayor. The post has been discontinued.^[6]

At the borough elections held in 2014, the Labour Party won all 60 of the seats on the council. Sir Robin Wales was re-elected as the borough's Executive Mayor with 61% of the first preference votes cast.

In 2018, Robin Wales was deselected as the Labour Party mayoral candidate. Rokhsana Fiaz was elected in the position of Executive Mayor, also for the Labour party.^[7]

Coat of arms[]

The borough adopted West Ham's coat of arms, but with a motto adapted from that of East Ham.^[8]

The arms include the following elements:

• The crosier signified the Cistercian Stratford Langthorne Abbey.
• The sword and the red and yellow chevronells are taken from the arms of William de Montfitchet, a major local landowner and founder of the abbey.
• The crossed hammers represent the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, once a major local employer.
• The ship in full sail represents the maritime trades and the area's links to the sea.
• The arms also include a sun rising in the east.

The borough's motto, "Progress with the People" is an English translation of East Ham's Latin "Progressio cum Populo".

Demography[]

Population figures[]

Population

Year	Pop.	±%
1801	8,875	—
1811	11,166	+25.8%
1821	13,005	+16.5%
1831	15,553	+19.6%
1841	17,758	+14.2%
1851	24,875	+40.1%
1861	69,355	+178.8%
1871	113,835	+64.1%
1881	158,314	+39.1%
1891	259,155	+63.7%
1901	338,506	+30.6%
1911	442,158	+30.6%
1921	448,081	+1.3%
1931	454,096	+1.3%
1941	377,508	−16.9%
1951	313,837	−16.9%
1961	271,858	−13.4%
1971	235,496	−13.4%
1981	209,131	−11.2%
1991	221,146	+5.7%
2001	243,737	+10.2%
2011	307,984	+26.4%
Source: A Vision of Britain through time, citing Census population

Newham has, after Barnet and Croydon, the third highest population of the London boroughs, with a population numbering 307,984 as of 2011. Despite growing since the 1980s, it is still drastically lower than its pre-war peak. In the period between 1951 and 1981, Newham's population shrunk by 28.87% owing to factors such as the war bombings and the increasingly high unemployment. The redevelopment of the Docklands as well as development related to the 2012 Olympics have contributed to reversing its declining trend.^[9]

Ethnicities[]

Newham has the youngest overall population and one of the lowest indigenous White British populations in the country according to the 2011 UK Census. The borough has the second-highest percentage of Muslims in the UK, after the neighbouring London Borough of Tower Hamlets, at 32%. A 2017 report from Trust for London and the New Policy Institute found that 36% of local employees in Newham are in low paid work; the highest percentage of any London borough. Newham also has a 37% poverty rate, which is the second-highest rate in London.^[10]

Newham is ethnically extremely diverse. When using Simpson's Diversity Index on 10 aggregated ethnic groups, the 2001 UK Census identified Newham as the most ethnically diverse district in England and Wales, with 9 wards in the top 15.^[11] However, when using the 16 ethnic categories in the Census so that White Irish and White Other ethnic minorities are also included in the analysis, Newham becomes the second-most ethnically diverse borough^[12] with six out of the top 15 wards, behind Brent with 7 out of the top 15 wards.

Newham has the lowest percentage of White British residents of all of London's boroughs. The White British proportion of the population fell from 33.8% in 2001 to 16.7% in 2011; this decrease of 37.5 percentage points is the largest of any local authority in England and Wales between the two censuses.^[13][14] The joint-lowest wards with White British population are Green Street East and Green Street West, both having 4.8% – the third-lowest behind Southall Broadway and Southall Green in Ealing. East Ham North follows closely, at 4.9%.^[15]

People of White British ancestry nevertheless remain the largest single ethnic group in the borough. The largest non-White British ethnic groups are Indian (14%), African (12%), Bangladeshi (12%) and Pakistani (10%). Newham has had a large Asian community for many decades; more than half of Newham's Upton and Kensington wards were of ethnic minority origin in 1981.^[16] The nationality to increase the most in number since 1991 is the Bangladeshi community.^[17] Newham has the largest total population of Asian origin in London; it is notably a borough with high populations of all three largest British Asian nationalities: Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi - Newham has the 5th highest Indian population in London and the 2nd highest each for both Pakistani and Bangladeshi.^[18]

Table with 2001/2011 data

Ethnic Group	2001[19]		2011[20]		2016 (Projection)[21]	2020 (Estimate)[22]
	Number	%	Number	%	Percentage (%)	Number	%
White: British	82,390	33.78%	51,516	16.73%	13.5%	47,858	13.2
White: Irish	3,231	1.32%	2,172	0.71%	0.7%	2,835	0.8
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller			462	0.15%	–	-	-
White: Other	10,509	4.31%	35,066	11.39%	12.6%	49,660	13.7
White: Total	96,130	39.42%	89,216	28.97%	26.8%	100,353	27.5%
Asian or Asian British: Indian	29,597	12.14%	42,484	13.79%	15.0%	53,917	14.8
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani	20,644	8.46%	30,307	9.84%	10.4%	35,777	9.8%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi	21,458	8.80%	37,262	12.10%	12.4%	45,259	12.4%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese	2,349	0.96%	3,930	1.28%	1.4%	5,984	1.6%
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian	7,603	3.12%	19,912	6.47%	6.6%	24,134	6.6%
Asian or Asian British: Total	81,651	33.48%	133,895	43.47%	46.1%	165,071	45.3%
Black or Black British: Caribbean	17,931	7.35%	15,050	4.89%	4.4%	14,837	4.1%
Black or Black British: African	31,982	13.11%	37,811	12.28%	11.2%	40,439	11.1%
Black or Black British: Other Black	2,740	1.12%	7,395	2.40%	2.6%	9,533	2.6%
Black or Black British: Total	52,653	21.59%	60,256	19.56%	18.3%	64,809	17.8%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean	2,986	1.22%	3,957	1.28%	–	4,108	1.1%
Mixed: White and Black African	1,657	0.68%	3,319	1.08%	–	4,013	1.1%
Mixed: White and Asian	1,652	0.68%	2,677	0.87%	–	4,127	1.1%
Mixed: Other Mixed	1,953	0.80%	3,992	1.30%	–	6,035	1.7%
Mixed: Total	8,248	3.38%	13,945	4.53%	4.9%	18,283	5.0%
Other: Arab			3,523	1.14%	–	4,732	1.3%
Other: Any other ethnic group			7,149	2.32%	–	10,317	2.8%
Other: Total	5,209	2.14%	10,672	3.47%	3.9%	15,049	4.1%
BAME: Total	147,761	60.58%	218,768	71.03%		260,680	72.9%
Total	243,891	100.00%	307,984	100.00%	100.00%	364,346	100.00%

Health[]

In 2018, Newham had the lowest life expectancy and the highest rate of heart disease of all London boroughs together with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.^[23]

In 2019, the BBC reported that Newham had the highest rate of tuberculosis in the UK at 107 per 100000 population, which was higher than Rwanda (69) and Iraq (45) according to WHO figures from 2013. More than 80% of TB cases in London occur in people born abroad. The UK average was 13.^[24]

Religion[]

Education[]

A 2017 report by Trust for London and the New Policy Institute finds that the GCSE attainment gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils in Newham is the 4th best out of 32 London boroughs.^[25]

Schools and colleges[]

The Borough is the education authority for the district providing education in a mix of Foundation, community and voluntary aided schools.^[26] The borough also owns and operates Debden House, a residential adult education college in Loughton, Essex, and is home to the Rosetta Art Centre, a dedicated visual art organisation which delivers courses at its base in Stratford and produces participatory art projects, programmes and initiatives. The Essex Primary School in Sheridan Road with over 900 pupils is one of the biggest primary schools in London.

University[]

The University of East London has two campuses in Newham:

• the Stratford Campus, at Stratford
• the Docklands Campus, next to the regenerated Royal Albert Dock

Birkbeck Stratford is a collaboration between Birkbeck, University of London and UEL to increase participation in adult learning. This is based on the UEL/Birkbeck shared campus, USS (University Square Stratford), in the centre of Stratford.

The University of East London had formed a partnership with the United States Olympic Committee which resulted in the United States Olympic Team using University of East London campuses as training bases during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.^[27]

Places of interest[]

Community[]

• , a community resource centre built by the local community, in Star Lane, E16, featuring up to the minute "green" features
• , also built by the local community and another innovative green resource centre built by the community. Grassroots is in Memorial Recreation Ground, E15
• Rosetta Art Centre, situated in walking distance to Grassroots, also in E15

Libraries[]

Newham has ten libraries (Beckton, Canning Town, Custom House, East Ham, Green Street, Manor Park, North Woolwich, Plaistow, Stratford and Forest Gate).^[28]

Museums[]

• North Woolwich Old Station Museum. Closed in 2008.^[29]
• Three Mills, a mill complex on the east bank of the River Lea. A trading site for nearly a thousand years, the House Mill was built in 1776 and was (and remains) the country's largest tide mill. It has been restored and contains much of its original machinery including four large waterwheels, millstones and grain chutes.

Markets[]

There are a number of local markets in the Borough, including Queens Market, which the council is controversially seeking to redevelop. These proposals are being fought by Friends of Queens Market.

Parks and open spaces[]

80 hectares within the borough are designated as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt.

Performance[]

• Stratford Circus Arts Centre, a community arts venue which presents theatre, dance, music, circus and comedy from around the world for communities in Newham and East London. The organisation works with schools and local groups in Newham to provide classes, workshops and outreach opportunities. Stratford Circus Arts Centre partners with Newham Council for Every Child a Theatre Goer which invites every year 6 child to a performance at the venue
• Theatre Royal Stratford East
• St Mark's Church, Silvertown The church was designed by Samuel Saunders Teulon. It was built between 1861 and 1862 after a cholera epidemic swept the district and local clergy appealed through the columns of The Times for funds to provide an architectural, as well as spiritual, beacon for the area. It is now the home of the Brick Lane Music Hall.

Shopping and exhibitions[]

• Queen's Market – an historic street market
• ICC London – ExCeL – International Conference Centre
• Gallions Reach Shopping Park
• – Europe's first purpose-built boutique Asian shopping centre
• Green Street – a shopping street mostly catering for the Asian community^[30]
• Stratford Centre
• Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford – The largest Westfield Shopping Centre in Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Sport[]

• Newham was one of the six host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
• West Ham United F.C. play its home matches at the London Stadium (formally the Olympic Stadium) in Stratford.
• Rugby League club that train and play out of East London Rugby Club, competing in the London Premier League
• The Newham and Essex Beagles Athletics Club has its headquarters at the Terence McMillan Stadium, part of Newham Leisure Centre, in Plaistow.
• Clapton F.C., a non-league football club, plays in Forest Gate.
• London APSA F.C. a non-league football club, plays in Plaistow.
• London Lituanica, a basketball team playing in the English Basketball League
• Tomás Mac Curtain's women's GAA team train weekly at the East London Rugby Club
• a non-profit organisation and one of the UK's largest Mixed Martial Arts centres
• London Regatta Centre a charitable organisation promoting water sports such as rowing and dragon boats

Newspapers[]

The local newspaper is the Newham Recorder.^[31]

Districts[]

Parishes[]

The borough is covered by the following ecclesiastical parishes of the Church of England:

• Parish of the Divine Compassion, Plaistow and North Canning Town
  • St Martin's Church, Plaistow
  • St Mary's Church, Plaistow
  • St Philip and St James Church, Plaistow
  • St Matthias' Church, Canning Town
• St Luke's Church, Canning Town
• Church of the Ascension, Victoria Docks
• St John's Church, North Woolwich
• St Mark's Church, Beckton
• Parish of East Ham, Holy Trinity
  • St Bartholomew's Church, East Ham
  • St Mary Magdalene's Church, East Ham
  • St Alban's Church, Upton Park
  • St Edmund's Church, Forest Gate
• St George's and St Ethelbert's Church, East Ham
• St Paul's Church, East Ham
• Little Ilford
  • St Mary's Church, Little Ilford
  • St Michael's Church, Romford Road
• St Barnabas, Little Ilford
• Emmanuel Forest Gate, with St Peter's, Upton Cross
• St Mark's Church, Forest Gate
• St Saviour and St James, Forest Gate
• St Margaret with St Columba, Leytonstone
• St Paul and St James, Stratford
• St John with Christchurch, Stratford
• All Saints Church, West Ham

Transport[]

Since the 1980s, public transport in Newham has undergone many upgrades and improvements are still continuing to this day. The Jubilee Line Extension was completed in 1999, including new or improved stations at Canning Town, West Ham and Stratford. The Docklands Light Railway opened in 1987 and has undergone many extensions since, predominantly serving Newham and neighbouring Tower Hamlets. The DLR network compensates for Newham's lack of tube stations, of which there are only 6, in comparison with other London boroughs. It was extended to serve London City Airport, as well as Stratford International station in 2011 after its High Speed 1 link opened in late 2009. The Crossrail scheme will also improve rail connections to several stations as it heads through the borough on an east west axis. As a result of all the recent developments, the borough contains one of only two airports located within the Greater London boundary and currently the only railway station outside of central London that is served by high speed rail.

List of stations[]

Travel to work[]

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: underground, metro, light rail, tram, 23.0% of all residents aged 16–74; driving a car or van, 7.6%; bus, minibus or coach, 7.6%; train, 7.2%; on foot, 4.1%; work mainly at or from home, 1.4%; bicycle, 1.0%.^[32]

River services[]

• Woolwich Ferry

Cable car[]

• Emirates Air Line

International services[]

• Dutchflyer rail-sea service via Stratford station to the Netherlands
• London City Airport
• Stratford International station (No Eurostar trains stop)^[33]

Bus routes[]

London Buses routes 5, 25, 58, 69, 86, 97, 101, 104, 108, 115, 147, 158, 173, 238, 241, 257, 262, 276, 300, 308, 309, 323, 325, 330, 339, 366, 376, 388, 425, 473, 474, 541, D8, W19, School buses routes 673, 678 and Night route N8, N15, N86, N205, N550 and N551.^[34]

Town twinning[]

Newham is twinned with:

• Kaiserslautern, Germany

Freedom of the Borough[]

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Newham.

This list is incomplete; you can help by . (January 2020)

Individuals[]

• Sir Jack Petchey CBE: 27 May 2010.^[35]
• Mark Noble: 15 December 2016.^[36]

Military Units[]

• G Company 7th Battalion The Rifles: 23 June 2012.^[37]

See also[]

• List of districts in Newham
• List of schools in Newham
• Newham parks and open spaces
• Newham Sixth Form College
• Newham College of Further Education
• Stratford Circus
• Stratford, London
• Stratford City
• Thames Gateway
• Rising East

References and notes[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to London Borough of Newham.

• Newham London Borough Council
• Mayor of Newham
• NIMS – Statistics on Newham
• Newham Issues Forum Archived 7 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine – online local discussions
• Aston-Mansfield- charity started in 1884
• Community Links – innovative charity running community-based projects
• Newham Labour Party – website of the Labour Party in Newham
• Rising East: the journal of East London studies
• Newham Story – memories of Newham
• Local guide to Stratford, Newham
• Newham New Deal Partnership
• Newham Yaplondon Group- Local chat and discussions
• It's a Newham Thing – It's a Newham Thing

Coordinates: 51°31′N 0°02′E / 51.517°N 0.033°E / 51.517; 0.033