East Ham

Area in the eastern borough of Newham in London, England. It is surrounded by Forest Gate, Plaistow, Manor Park, and Beckton, and is just to the north of London City Airport. Situated on the geographical periphery of the capital's ‘East End’, East Ham is the gateway to the suburbs of Essex, and until 1965 it had been a county borough independent of Essex. It is a thriving, multi-ethnic area in one of the poorest boroughs in the capital. East Ham's Central Park is the area's principal attraction.

Until the late 19th century, East Ham was a rural village acting mainly as a gateway between London and the county of Essex, and famed for its onion pickling. However, the expansion of the Royal Docks area, comprising three docks built 1880-1921 on riverside marshes in the borough of Newham, radically changed East Ham as it became a feeding town for the shipping industries. The area suffered severe damage in the Blitz during World War II; the post-war years witnessed massive reconstruction, both physically and socially. Thousands of families moved out and those who remained were joined by people from the former Commonwealth colonies of the Indian subcontinent and West Indies.