Think you know Newham? A new book finds something fresh on every page.
Where can you see a clock that doubles as a drinking fountain and trebles as a horse trough? Why does Beckton sport a bridge to nowhere? Why has east London got a plaque to Jimi Hendrix? All these questions and 1,000 other details are examined in new book Secret Newham, by Malcolm Batten.
For an entity that didn't exist before 1965, Newham holds a lot of history. Batten's breezy guide captures some of the quirkier corners, from street furniture to abandoned factories to unusual road names, generously illustrated with around 100 photos. Below, we've picked out 10 of our favourite bits of trivia from the book, along with a few of the author's photos.
10 Things you might not know about Newham
1. Until 1965, East Ham and West Ham had their own fire brigades and ambulance services — part of their powers as County Borough Councils.
2. By the late 19th century West Ham was the eighth largest town in Britain. Its population would peak at 300,860 in the 1921 census but declined thereafter until the present century.
3. In 2006, Lyle's Golden Syrup tin was awarded a Guinness World Record as being the world's oldest branding. (As of 2024 it's been rebranded.)
4. The disused remains of Beckton Gas Works were used to represent bombed-out Vietnam in certain scenes of the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick.
5. In 1891 the Stratford Railway Works of the Great Eastern Railway fully erected a locomotive in 9 hours, 47 minutes – a world record never beaten.
6. On 6 August 1939 the Cunard-White Star liner SS Mauritania entered King George V Dock after its maiden Atlantic crossing. At 772 feet long and 89 feet 6 inches wide, it only just fitted into the entrance lock, which is 800 feet long and 100 feet wide. Over 100,000 people came to watch its entrance — the largest ship to ever enter the Royal Docks.
7. A public house on the south side of Stratford Broadway used to be named The King of Prussia, commemorating Frederick the Great (1740–86). However, in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War it was patriotically renamed King Edward VII, a name it still carries.
8. During the Covid-19 pandemic crisis of 2020, a large tented temporary mortuary was set up on Wanstead Flats. This was removed later in the year as the situation eased and the ground was re-seeded with grass.
9 At the 1936 Olympic Games, five members of the British water polo team came from Plaistow Swimming Club.
10. On 8–9 October 1988 the French musician Jean-Michel Jarre held a concert with fireworks and light show (Destination Docklands) in the former Royal Victoria Dock, attended by some 200,000 people. The light show used second world war searchlights and lasers, lighting up the area like the incendiary bombs of wartime, and the electronic music could be heard from as far away as Manor Park.
Secret Newham by Malcolm Batten is out now from Amberley Books.
Note: As well as the publisher link, we've also included an affiliate link to Bookshop.org, which will source your copy from an independent bookshop (and throw us a few pennies of commission).
