71-499: The London Borough of Havering ( / ˈ h eɪ v ər ɪ ŋ / ) in East London , England, forms part of Outer London . It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford , while other communities include Hornchurch , Upminster , Collier Row and Rainham . The borough is mainly suburban, with large areas of protected open space . Romford is a major retail and night time entertainment centre, and to
142-698: A car or van, 2.1%. The local newspapers in Havering are The Havering Daily and the Romford Recorder . Bedrock Radio is a charity run community health & Hospital radio station located within the Queen's Hospital in Romford . The first Hospital Radio Service In Havering began broadcasting in 1964 as Harold Wood Radio. Today, Bedrock Radio serves the community by broadcasting online and to Queen's , King George & Goodmayes Hospitals and features information about
213-528: A city in its own right, on account of its large size and social disengagement from the rest of London. The majority of the rail network in East London was built within fifty years from 1839. The first through the area was the Eastern Counties Railway from Mile End to Romford, extended to Shoreditch in 1840. The London and Blackwall Railway built a line from Minories to Blackwall the same year and
284-506: A distinct area is a relatively recent innovation. John Strype 's map of 1720 describes London as consisting of four parts: The City of London , Westminster , Southwark and That Part Beyond the Tower . From the late 19th century the term East End of London was used to describe areas immediately adjacent to the City in the Tower division of Middlesex. Charles Booth in 1889 defined East London as
355-408: A new county borough . This was rejected by the chairman of Hornchurch Urban District Council and it was suggested Hornchurch would seek incorporation. In 1949, Hornchurch was one of the largest urban districts with populations over 100,000 that sought incorporation (along with Harrow and Enfield ). The council unsuccessfully petitioned for incorporation as a municipal borough on 20 May 1955. This
426-579: A population peaking at 131,014 in 1961, it was one of the largest districts of its type in England. It now forms the greater part of the London Borough of Havering in Greater London . The large ancient parish of Hornchurch had been coterminous with the liberty and manor of Havering since its formation in antiquity. Havering-atte-Bower and Romford formed chapelries and were split off as parishes in
497-503: Is generally the lowest elevated of London's four cardinal points because of the wide Thames that runs here; the only hills here are in northern areas distant from the river in the boroughs of Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest. In Tower Hamlets, the population peaked in 1891 and growth was restricted to the outer boroughs. By 1971 the population was declining in every borough. By the 2011 United Kingdom census, this had reversed and every borough had undergone some growth in population. At
568-707: Is governed by a London borough council local authority. Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham and Redbridge are members of the East London Waste Authority . Some local government functions are held by the Greater London Authority , made up of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly . East London is located in the lower Thames valley. The major rivers of East London are the Thames that forms
639-488: Is the most affordable of any London borough. Named neighbourhoods are the developments of Ardleigh Green , Chase Cross , Collier Row , Elm Park , Harold Hill , Rainham . The borough's exurbs with green buffers of farmland or parkland are: The local authority is Havering Council, based at Havering Town Hall (formerly Romford Town Hall) in Romford. Havering elects 55 councillors from 20 wards: For elections to
710-585: The A13 (near Rainham ) are the main trunk radial routes from central London and are located to the north and south of the borough respectively. The A127 trunk route to Southend begins at Gallows Corner ; which also forms the eastern end of the A118 local artery from Stratford. The A124 local artery from Canning Town terminates at Upminster. The District line of the London Underground runs roughly east–west through
781-677: The County of London between the City of London and the River Lea . In 1902, Booth considered this area to be the "true East End", and his attention had been drawn eastward over the Lea into the Borough of West Ham , which was then outside London, and geographically in Essex, but under the authority of neither; in 1857 Charles Dickens termed it "London-over-the-Border". Walter Besant described East London as an area north of
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#1732847905905852-690: The Elizabeth line . There are road tunnels at Rotherhithe and Blackwall , with the Woolwich Ferry further east. There are foot tunnels to Greenwich and Woolwich . In 1870, the Tower Subway cable railway tunnel was converted to pedestrian use; it was closed in 1898, following the opening of Tower Bridge. A cable car service opened in 2012. 51°33′N 0°6′E / 51.550°N 0.100°E / 51.550; 0.100 ( East London ) Hornchurch Urban District Hornchurch
923-447: The GEML , and Greater Anglia operate non-stop services running straight through these stations. There is also a branch line from Romford to Upminster which is currently operated by London Overground . There are proposals for transport improvements in the south of the borough where the population is expected to rise. In May 2015, stopping services operated by Abellio Greater Anglia at
994-514: The Greater London Council , the borough formed the Havering electoral division, electing three members. In 1973 it was divided into the single-member Hornchurch , Romford and Upminster electoral divisions. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986. Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly , the borough forms part of the Havering and Redbridge constituency. Until 2010
1065-664: The Liberty Shopping Centre , the Mercury Mall , and the Brewery . Romford Market is located to the north of Romford and is the largest market within the borough and in the surrounding area. Hornchurch and Upminster are the other main retail centres with extensive high street shopping areas. Romford has a developed night-time economy with one of the highest concentrations of bars and nightclubs anywhere in Greater London outside
1136-510: The New Policy Institute found that 52% of adults in Havering lack Level 3 Qualifications (A Level equivalent) – the worst level of any London borough. 44% of 19 year olds in Havering also lacked these qualifications – the second worst level in the capital. The Borough of Havering is serviced by The Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust. Provisions of Accident and Emergency from Queens Hospital, Romford. During
1207-585: The Northern and Eastern Railway connected Lea Bridge and Tottenham with the Eastern Counties at Stratford. The Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway started passenger service on their line from Stratford to Canning Town, Custom House and North Woolwich in 1847. This made Stratford a significant railway junction and location of railway works. The East & West India Docks & Birmingham Junction Railway connected Kingsland with Bow and Poplar in 1850 and
1278-615: The River Thames ), Barking and Dagenham and Redbridge , the Essex districts of Epping Forest and Brentwood , and the unitary authority of Thurrock . Modern settlement originated in Anglo-Saxon times when it consisted of Havering Palace and the surrounding lands that belonged to the king. The palace itself is known to have existed since at least the reign of Edward the Confessor when it
1349-608: The Thames Gateway redevelopment area. New open spaces and large scale house building to provide an entirely new residential community is planned. The most built-up areas are the traditional garden suburb districts of Hornchurch , Emerson Park , Gidea Park , Harold Wood , Romford and Upminster . These places have developed over the last hundred years to form a large area of continuous urban sprawl with indistinct boundaries. A 2017 study found that, when comparing low-end rent to low-end earnings, private rented housing in Havering
1420-561: The West End with public transport radiating into all parts of the borough. Havering London Borough Council applied to the Government to allow a 'super-casino' to be built in the south of the borough, however the application was rejected in May 2006. The M25 motorway forms part of the borough boundary to the east with North Ockendon the only settlement to fall outside. The A12 (near Romford ) and
1491-481: The 16th century and the area that would later become known as the East End began to take shape. Until about 1700, London did not extend far beyond the walled boundaries of the City of London. However, the population in the parishes to the east of the City of London was rising and this led to a need to break up the large ancient parish of Stepney into smaller units to provide adequate religious and civil administration. It
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#17328479059051562-601: The 1798s and 1849 respectively, leaving a rump Hornchurch civil parish. The liberty was abolished in 1892; although by this date in Hornchurch it had already been superseded by various ad-hoc bodies, such as the Romford Poor Law Union and the Romford Rural Sanitary District. The Hornchurch parish passed to Romford Rural District in 1894 and Hornchurch Parish Council was created. The first election to
1633-399: The 1930s and new stations were opened at Elm Park and Upminster Bridge , in addition to the earlier stations at Hornchurch and Upminster. The council was first elected on 27 March 1926 , replacing Hornchurch Parish Council from 1 April. 13 councillors were elected from the existing four wards of Harold Wood (2), North West Hornchurch (5), South Hornchurch (1) and Hornchurch Village (4). It
1704-413: The 1930s, such as the nearby Ford Motor Company plant at Dagenham (which also extended into the district) and Londoners were moving to the new suburban estates of houses that were built around them. New College, Oxford owned a substantial part of the land in Hornchurch for several centuries, but had sold it all off by 1934. The Barking–Upminster railway line through the district was electrified in
1775-471: The 2019/2020 financial year Queens hospital received 309,551 patients into the A&E department. 51°33′N 00°13′E / 51.550°N 0.217°E / 51.550; 0.217 East London East London is the northeastern part of London , England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London's docklands and
1846-439: The 2021 census Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge surpassed their earlier population peaks. The total population of this area in 2021 was 1.9 million people. The population change between 1801 and 2021 was as follows: The City of London and West London are connected to South London by more than thirty bridges, but East London is only connected by Tower Bridge at its innermost edge. The reasons for this include
1917-602: The 30 electoral wards with fewer than 2% social housing are in the borough: Hylands, Mawneys, Pettits, Hacton and the two wards forming Upminster , Cranham and Upminster Ward. Plans to extend existing developments in much of the borough are blocked as open land is protected as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt . In contrast, the southern part of Havering adjacent to the Thames is within the London Riverside section of
1988-399: The 32 London Boroughs. Romford had been a local board district from 1851. It was converted into an urban district in 1894, was enlarged in 1934 to take in the neighbouring parishes of Havering-atte-Bower and Noak Hill , and was incorporated to become a municipal borough in 1937. The parish of Hornchurch had been made an urban district in 1926, which was enlarged in 1934 to take in
2059-454: The Apostle . This event has been commemorated in stained glass (from about 1407) in a chapel at Romford dedicated to the king. London Underground and fast rail services to central London resulted in considerable residential land use mixed with designated parklands and farmland under the planning policy of the predecessor local authorities and current authority during the 20th century and into
2130-533: The High Court to oppose the transfer of part of North Ockendon from Orsett Rural District to Hornchurch as part of the review. This delayed the transfer of 1,326 acres (5.37 km ) and it was completed as part of another county review order in 1936. In 1948, as part of the Local Government Boundary Commission , Romford Borough Council suggested it could be merged with Hornchurch to form
2201-470: The Hospitals and NHS services, promotes charitable and community organisations and has an extensive local events guide featuring community non-profit events. Time 107.5 FM is the commercial radio station broadcasting to Havering and surrounding areas and features local news. The London Borough of Havering has several sporting clubs: Havering is twinned with: The Borough is the education authority for
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2272-580: The Thames and east of the City of London that stretched as far as Chingford and Epping Forest, which was similar to the definition used by Robert Sinclair in 1950 that stretched east to include Barking and Dagenham. This broadly matched the Metropolitan Police District east of the city and north of the Thames at that time, and now corresponds to the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest in Greater London . The East End of London ,
2343-556: The Walthamstow line in 1873 and extended to Chingford. The London and Blackwall built an extension to Millwall and North Greenwich on the Isle of Dogs in 1872 and the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway was extended to Beckton in 1873, and Gallions in 1880. The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway connected Barking with Dagenham, Hornchurch and Upminster in 1885, and Romford with Upminster in 1893. The final piece of original railway works
2414-425: The borough had a population of 237,232 over 43 square miles (111.4 km). Havering has a lower population density than other London Boroughs as large areas are parkland and 23 square miles (60 km) (more than half the borough) is Metropolitan Green Belt protected land. Those areas of development are extensive but rarely intensive. It has, at 4.5%, a below average unemployment rate for Greater London, and one of
2485-578: The borough has been in decline, with major employers such as the former Star Brewery now closed down. New industrial development is encouraged in the south of the borough has been encouraged by the London Development Agency (now GLA Land and Property ), with the opening of the Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence . The main retail district is also located in Romford with several interconnected or neighbouring shopping arcades including
2556-406: The borough was split between the parliamentary constituencies of Hornchurch , Romford and Upminster with the three constituencies entirely within the borough. At the 2010 United Kingdom general election , the boundaries of these constituencies changed to a new Hornchurch and Upminster constituency and Rainham became part of the new cross-borough Dagenham and Rainham constituency. In 2011,
2627-472: The combination of Hornchurch with Romford as a 'happy wedding' with a 'great community of interest'. He suggested Havering-atte-Bower as the name for the new borough. This was adopted in 1965 as the London Borough of Havering , which replaced Hornchurch Urban District and the Municipal Borough of Romford. Havering London Borough Council was elected in 1964 and acted as a shadow authority until 1965, when
2698-483: The commission provided for larger areas, with populations over 200,000. Hornchurch (population 131,014 in 1961) was planned to merge with Romford (population 114,584) as 'Borough 15'. An amendment was proposed by John Parker , MP for Dagenham, that the Rainham and South Hornchurch wards would become part of 'Borough 14' (Barking/Dagenham), but this was defeated. During the debate Godfrey Lagden , MP for Hornchurch, described
2769-577: The council. Hornchurch Swimming Pool, which opened in 1957, was the first new swimming pool in the country to be built after the Second World War . The urban district contained 464 council houses in 1926. The council built a further 150 houses before the Second World War and 3,000 homes between 1945 and 1965. Hornchurch was within the Romford constituency. In 1945 the Hornchurch constituency
2840-564: The district providing education in a mix of foundation , community and voluntary aided schools. There are also a number of academies . Havering Adult College provides part-time day, evening and weekend adult education (19+) from sites throughout the borough. Havering Sixth Form College provides sixth form education for pupils of borough schools as well as those who are resident in the borough. Havering College of Further and Higher Education provides part-time and full-time education to students aged 14+. A 2017 study by Trust for London and
2911-402: The early 21st century. The development of the borough came in two distinct phases. The first middle class suburban developments were built in the late Victorian and Edwardian period. The garden suburbs of Upminster, Emerson Park and Gidea Park (also known as Romford Garden Suburb) were spurred on by the building of the railway lines through Havering from Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street in
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2982-459: The east, by gaining 11,687 acres (47.30 km ) from Romford Rural District . This area corresponded to all of the Rainham and Wennington parishes and the greater part of Upminster , Cranham and Great Warley . There was a small loss of territory to Romford in the northwest where the urban district came close to Romford town centre. Purfleet Urban District Council made an unsuccessful petition to
3053-492: The large housing estates of Harold Hill and Collier Row were constructed to deal with the chronic housing shortages and early slum clearance programmes in central London. The borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963 , covering the combined area of the former Municipal Borough of Romford and Hornchurch Urban District . The area was transferred from Essex to Greater London to become one of
3124-521: The late 19th century. In the 1930s the District Line was electrified and extended to Upminster with new stations at Elm Park and Upminster Bridge . Also at this time new industries near the area such as the Ford Motor Company plant at Dagenham caused a new wave of mostly working class developments along the route of the new Underground line. In addition to this, to the north of the borough,
3195-424: The lowest crime rates. Havering has a significantly higher proportion of residents in white ethnic groups than other outer London boroughs (87.7% – 2011 census ). The Black African population is the most significant minority ethnic group in Havering (3.2%). The Upminster ward of the borough is the third least ethnically diverse in Greater London, with a Simpson's diversity index of 1.10. The following table shows
3266-484: The middle of the borough and there is an extensive network of London Bus routes, linking all districts to Romford and other places beyond the borough. The London, Tilbury and Southend line (operated by c2c ) passes through the borough in two places and the Great Eastern Main Line passes through the north of the borough serving Romford , Gidea Park and Harold Wood. Elizabeth line runs stopping services via
3337-520: The old core of modern East London, began with the medieval growth of London beyond the city walls , along the Roman roads leading from Bishopsgate and Aldgate , and also along the river. Growth was much slower in the east, and the modest extensions there were separated from the much larger suburbs in the west by the marshy open area of Moorfields adjacent to the wall on the north side, which discouraged development in that direction. Urbanisation accelerated in
3408-641: The parish council took place in December 1894 with thirteen councillors elected. Hornchurch formed part of the London Traffic Area from 1924. Hornchurch Parish Council considered the case for gaining the powers of an urban district council in September 1911. At a meeting in October concerns were raised by Hornchurch Ratepayers' Association about potential increase in the rates. By 1925 the rate of housebuilding in
3479-562: The parish council took place on 9 March 1926. Hornchurch parish was removed from the rural district on 1 April 1926 when Hornchurch Urban District and Hornchurch Urban District Council were formed. Following the Local Government Act 1929 , county councils were required to review districts, with a view to amalgamating smaller councils or adjusting boundaries to be more convenient. In December 1929 Hornchurch Urban District Council favoured amalgamation with Upminster and Cranham. In 1930 it
3550-627: The parish had increased, with eight separate estates under construction and greater control of development was an argument in favour of gaining urban powers. In March 1925 it was reported that the issue was put to a vote. The parish council voted on the matter with eight in favour of urban powers and seven against. In 1925 the parish council applied for conversion of the parish to an urban district. Inquiries were held in May 1925 for Dagenham and Hornchurch gaining urban powers. The Romford Rural District Council and Hornchurch Ratepayers' Association opposed Hornchurch gaining urban powers. The last meeting of
3621-434: The parishes of Cranham , Great Warley , Rainham , Upminster and Wennington . The new borough was named after the former Royal Liberty of Havering , which had covered a similar area. This pattern of the 'garden suburb' with inter- and post-war private housing developments occurred widely across the borough, with small estates of social housing representing a low percentage of housing in any single council ward; six of
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#17328479059053692-484: The primary industrial centre. The expansion of railways in the 19th century encouraged the eastward expansion of the East End of London and a proliferation of new suburbs. The industrial lands of East London are today an area of regeneration, which are well advanced in places such as Canary Wharf and ongoing elsewhere. The etymology of London is uncertain, but is known to be an ancient name. The concept of East London as
3763-419: The religious identity of residents residing in Havering. There are over 7,000 businesses based in Havering. Romford is the main commercial hub of the borough with a small district of mainly office development close to the railway station. There is also some industry to the south between Rainham and the River Thames such as Rainham Steel headquarters on the boundary of Elm Park. Light industry elsewhere in
3834-512: The south the borough extends into the London Riverside redevelopment area of the Thames Gateway . The name Havering is a reference to the Royal Liberty of Havering which occupied the area for several centuries. The local authority is Havering London Borough Council . It is the easternmost London borough. The neighbouring districts (clockwise from south) are the London boroughs of Bexley (across
3905-542: The southern boundary; the Lea which forms the boundary of Tower Hamlets/Hackney with Newham/Waltham Forest; the Roding which approximately forms the boundary of Newham with Barking and Dagenham/Redbridge; and the Beam which forms the boundary of Barking and Dagenham with Havering. The marshes along the Thames which once stretched from Wapping to Rainham are almost completely gone. East London
3976-570: The time, were replaced by Transport for London 's new railway service, TfL Rail . These services ran new Class 345 trains, and occasionally some older Class 315 services. In May 2022, TfL Rail was rebranded as Elizabeth line , and all Class 315 trains were scrapped. In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: driving a car or van, 31.8% of all residents aged 16–74; train, 11.9%; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 6.3%; bus, minibus or coach, 5.1%; on foot, 4.1%; work mainly at or from home, 2.4%; passenger in
4047-466: The transfer from Essex to Greater London was completed. The civil parish of Hornchurch became an urban district in 1926. It included Harold Wood in the northeast and stretched south through the town of Hornchurch to South Hornchurch and the River Thames . There was a rapid expansion of the population because of suburban house building and new industries were developing in Outer London during
4118-513: The transfer of the Roneo factory to Romford. Alternative schemes were proposed by Romford Urban District Council and Dagenham Urban District Council to annex more of Hornchurch. It was decided in 1933 that the Harold Wood section would not transfer to Romford and the southern part of Hornchurch would not transfer to Dagenham. As part of the county review order in 1934 the urban district was extended to
4189-415: The urban footprint was constrained in 1878 by the protection of Epping Forest and later the implementation of the Metropolitan Green Belt . The density of development increased during the interwar period , and new industries developed, such as Ford at Dagenham . The industries declined in the later part of the 20th century (and earlier), but East London is now an area of regeneration. London Docklands
4260-638: The widening of the River Thames as it gets further east, and also the need, until relatively recently, to avoid impediments to the river traffic of the strategic London Docklands . Until the end of the 20th century the East was connected to the South by just one railway line, the East London Line . The Jubilee Line Extension opened in 1999, was supplemented by extensions to the Docklands Light Railway and
4331-426: Was a local government district in southwest Essex from 1926 to 1965, formed as an urban district for the civil parish of Hornchurch . It was greatly expanded in 1934 with the addition of Cranham, Great Warley, Rainham, Upminster and Wennington; and in 1936 by gaining North Ockendon. Hornchurch Urban District Council was based at Langtons House in Hornchurch from 1929. The district formed a suburb of London and with
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#17328479059054402-731: Was defined in the 1980s as the area of redevelopment under the control of the London Docklands Development Corporation . The Thames Gateway extends into East London with two areas of activity: the Lower Lea Valley around the Olympic site and London Riverside adjacent to the Thames. There are seven London boroughs that cover areas of Greater London to the north of the Thames and east of the City of London. They are Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. Each London borough
4473-460: Was formed to match the urban district. The population of Hornchurch was as follows: The 1934 expanded area (Cranham, Great Warley, Rainham, Upminster and Wennington) had a population of 11,121 in 1931. The annual reports of the medical officer of health for Hornchurch give the following statistics from part of the period of rapid suburban expansion: During this period 12,344 new homes and 134,474 feet (25.5 miles) of new streets were added to
4544-470: Was hoped the election to the new authority might increase voter turnout from the parish council elections, but this was not the case. After the 1934 enlargement, the district was divided into eight wards, electing 21 councillors as follows: The wards were revised again in 1936 when the Cranham ward was extended to include the part of North Ockendon absorbed by the district. In 1948 the number of councillors
4615-515: Was increased to 27. The number of wards increased to nine in 1952, by the addition of an Elm Park ward, electing a total of 30 councillors. The number of wards increased to 10 in 1958 and the 30 councillors were redistributed. Political control of the council was as follows: The council operated Queen's Theatre and constructed Hornchurch Stadium in Upminster. Harrow Lodge Park , Haynes Park , Hylands Park and St Andrew's Park were created by
4686-463: Was one of his primary residences. The area formed a liberty from 1465 which included the parishes of Havering-atte-Bower, Hornchurch and Romford. The name Havering appears in documents from around the 12th century. The origins of this name have been debated by historians since the Middle Ages when it was linked to the legend of Edward the Confessor and a mystical ring returned to him by Saint John
4757-510: Was proposed that the northwestern section (west of Park Lane) and northeastern section (Harold Wood) would transfer to Romford Urban District. Romford Urban District Council rejected the scheme with the clerk of the council referring to the area west of Park Lane as the "Sloper's Island" slum and the worst part of the district. The council felt the opportunity had been missed to make the Romford/Hornchurch boundary more regular and also desired
4828-477: Was refused, pending a review of the local government arrangements of the Greater London area. The urban district of Hornchurch formed part of the review area of the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London . The proposal of the commission was for Hornchurch to form a Greater London borough. The transfer to Greater London was supported by Hornchurch Urban District Council and opposed by Essex County Council. The London Government Bill that resulted from
4899-407: Was renamed North London Railway in 1853. In 1854 the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway connected Forest Gate on the Eastern Counties with Barking and Rainham. The East London Railway was opened in 1869. The Great Eastern Railway connected Lea Bridge with Walthamstow in 1870, and in 1872 built a connection from the Eastern Counties line at Bethnal Green to Hackney Downs. This was connected to
4970-426: Was the construction of the Great Eastern loop line to connect Woodford with Ilford via Fairlop in 1903. Areas further east developed in the Victorian and Edwardian eras after the expansion of the railways in the 19th century. Development of suburban houses for private sale was later matched by the provision of large-scale social housing at Becontree in the 1920s and Harold Hill after the Second World War . However,
5041-402: Was the industries associated with the River Thames , such as shipbuilding and the docks, that encouraged growth in the east, and by 1650, Shadwell was a developed maritime settlement. The docks in Tower Hamlets started to reach capacity in the early 19th century, and in 1855 the Royal Victoria Dock was opened in Newham. By 1882, Walter Besant and others, were able to describe East London as
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