Stratford's early significance was due to a
Roman road (later known as the
Great Essex Road) running from
Aldgate in the
City, across the
River Lea, to
Romford,
Chelmsford and
Colchester. At that time the various branches of the river were tidal and without channels, while the marshes surrounding them had yet to be drained. The
Lea Valley formed a natural boundary between
Essex on the eastern bank and
Middlesex on the west, and was a formidable obstacle to overland trade and travel.
Original ford and place name origin The name is first recorded in 1067 as Strætforda and means '
ford on a Roman road'. It is formed from Old English 'stræt' (in modern English 'street') and 'ford'.
The former river crossing lay at an uncertain location north of Stratford High Street. The district of
Old Ford in northern
Bow – west of the Lea – is named after the former crossing, while Bow itself was also initially named Stratford, after the same ford, and a variety of suffixes were used to distinguish the two distinct settlements, including Stratford-le-Bow.
Bow Bridge In 1110
Matilda, wife of
Henry I, ordered a
distinctively bow-shaped (arched) bridge to be built over the River Lea, together with a
causeway across the marshes along the line now occupied by Stratford High Street. Reports state she (or her retinue) encountered problems crossing the river to get to
Barking Abbey. The western Stratford then become suffixed by "-atte-Bow" (at the Bow), eventually became known simply as
Bow, while over time the eastern Stratford lost its "Langthorne" suffix. The bridge was repaired and upgraded many times over the centuries until eventually demolished and replaced in the 19th century.
Stratford Langthorne Abbey In 1135 the
Cistercian Order founded
Stratford Langthorne Abbey, also known as West Ham Abbey. This became one of the largest and most wealthy monasteries in England, owning in the immediate area and 20 manors throughout Essex. The Abbey lay between the
Channelsea River and Marsh Lane (Manor Road). Nothing visible remains on the site, as after its dissolution by Henry VIII in 1538, local landowners took away much of the stone for their own buildings and the land was subsequently urbanised. A stone window and a carving featuring skulls – thought to have been over the door to the charnel house – remain in
All Saints Church, West Ham (dating from about 1180). The Great Gate of the abbey survived in Baker's Row until 1825. The doorway to the Old Court House, in Tramway Avenue (Stratford), displays the Abbey's coat of arms. The chevrons from this device, originally from the arms of the Mountfitchet family, together with an abbot's
crozier were incorporated into the arms of the former
County Borough of West Ham in 1887. The new
London Borough of Newham adopted the same arms in 1965.
Industrialisation The industrialisation of Stratford started slowly and accelerated rapidly in the early Victorian era. The Stratford and national experience of the
Industrial Revolution inspired scenes in the
2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony covering the traumatic transition from a 'Green and Pleasant Land' to the 'Pandemonium' of the revolution and the huge social and economic changes it brought. The level of industrialisation experienced by the parish and borough of West Ham led to it becoming known as the
Factory centre of the south of England. Stratford was the base the greatest concentration of manufacturing activity within West Ham.
Pre-industrial economy Stratford was originally an agricultural community, whose proximity to London provided a ready market for its produce. By the 18th century, the area around Stratford was noted for potato growing, a business that continued into the mid-1800s. Stratford also became a desirable country retreat for wealthy
merchants and financiers, within an easy ride of the
City. When
Daniel Defoe visited Stratford in 1722, he reported it had "...increased in buildings to a strange degree, within the compass of about 20 or 30 years past at the most". He continues that "...this increase is, generally speaking, of hansom large houses... being chiefly for the habitations of the richest citizens, such as either are able to keep two houses, one in the country, and one in the city; or for such citizens as being rich, and having left off trade, live altogether in these neighbouring villages, for the pleasure and health of the latter part of their days".
Early developments An early industrial undertaking at Stratford was the
Bow porcelain factory, which despite the name, was on the Essex side of the River Lea. Using a process that was patented in 1744,
Edward Heylin and
Thomas Frye operated a factory near Bow Bridge called "New Canton" to produce some of the first
soft-paste porcelain to be made in the country. The site of the factory was to the north of Stratford High Street near the modern Bow Flyover; it was the subject of
archaeological excavations in 1921 and 1969.
Victorian acceleration The Victorian era saw growth hugely accelerated by three major factors: the
Metropolitan Buildings Act 1844, the arrival of the railway and the creation of the nearby
Royal Docks. Rapid growth followed the Metropolitan Buildings Act 1844, which restricted dangerous and noxious industries from operating in the metropolitan area, the eastern boundary of which was the
River Lea. Consequently, many of these activities were relocated to the banks of the river, and West Ham became one of Victorian Britain's major manufacturing centres for pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and processed foods. This rapid growth earned it the name "London over the border". The growth of the town was summarised by
The Times in 1886:
"Factory after factory was erected on the marshy wastes of Stratford and Plaistow, and it only required the construction at Canning Town of the Victoria and Albert Docks to make the once desolate parish of West Ham a manufacturing and commercial centre of the first importance and to bring upon it a teeming and an industrious population." A small dock and a number of
wharves were operating on the River Lea at Stratford by the 1820s, serving the needs of local industries. The opening of the Victoria Dock (later
Royal Victoria Dock) nearby on the Thames in 1855, and the subsequent construction of the
Royal Group of Docks (at one time the largest area of impounded water in the world), increased Stratford's importance as a transport and manufacturing centre. Rising population levels led to two major new Anglican churches in the area,
St John's Church in 1834 and
Christ Church in 1851. Stratford station was opened on 20 June 1839 by the
Eastern Counties Railway (ECR). The
Northern and Eastern Railway opened a section of its authorised line from to join the ECR at Stratford on 15 September 1840. A railway works and depot for engines and rolling stock was established by
Great Eastern in 1847 to the north of Stratford. At its peak, the works employed over 2,500, many of whom had homes, along with other railway workers, in the town that developed nearby. It was originally called Hudson Town, after
George Hudson, the "Railway King", but after his involvement in bribery and fraud was revealed in 1849, the settlement quickly became better known as
Stratford New Town, which by 1862 had a population of 20,000. During the lifetime of the Stratford works, 1,682
locomotives, 5,500
passenger coaches and 33,000
goods wagons were built. The last part of the works closed in March 1991.
20th century Stratford, like many areas of London, particularly in the East End, suffered significant de-industrialisation in the 20th century. This was compounded by the closing of the London Docks in the 1960s. Around this time, the Stratford Shopping Centre was built, beginning efforts to guide the area through the process of transformation from a working-class industrial and transport hub to a retail and leisure destination for the contemporary age. ==Administration and scope==