Historically, the area was in the extreme west of
Essex and, along with
Canning Town and
Silvertown, formed the south of the
parish of
West Ham, a largely rural parish until the early 19th century. Trade expanded in the
British Empire and the
royal docks were built, connecting to the
River Thames in this district. Custom House took its name from the Custom House of the Royal Victoria Dock, opened in 1855. The demand for trade brought rapid population expansion, chiefly the families of dockworkers, warehousemen, carters (distributors), packaging and semi-skilled manufacturing hands, building and utilities workmen and workers in London's street and general distribution markets. About 1740 the number of householders was estimated at 570. In the first national census of 1801 the population of West Ham was 6,485. It rose steadily to 12,738 in 1841 and then began a growth, which was especially rapid between 1871 and 1901, when over 204,000 were added. By 1911, with 289,030 inhabitants, West Ham was seventh in size among English
county boroughs, a status newly acquired. The new population were crowded within the boundaries of the ancient parish being in limited height of homes then affordable to most people. Unlike in the various wealthy streets of other London districts almost the whole population of this part of what was Canning Town consisted of low-paid workers who lived in cheap, unadorned brick and mortar
low rise terraces. There was a chronic shortage of open land which only became available once again when the cost of sound mid-rise and high-rise buildings became lower. High rise was first adopted in the country as
social housing, attaching a stigma to
tower blocks, many of which have since been demolished, including the few in this district of what was West Ham or Canning Town. A slight population decline to 1931 paled into insignificance by the devastation wrought on this area in
World War II, when bombing destroyed in many cases entire streets and forced large-scale evacuation. The area is marked in early 20th century maps as the eastern half of Canning Town. The first Custom House in London was built in 1275 next to
Old Billingsgate Market in the
City of London several miles to the west.
Royal Victoria Dock which was the economic hub of the settlement is today in recreational use but it dominated the industry and commerce of the area from its 1855 opening until the 1940s and closed in 1980 due to
containerisation of freight. == Governance ==