53-828: The Mary Ward Centre is an adult education college in Stratford, London . The centre was founded by Mary Augusta Ward , a Victorian novelist and founding president of the Women's National Anti-Suffrage League , better known by her married name Mrs Humphry Ward. The original name of the institution was the Passmore Edwards Settlement , as it was part of the settlement movement , and was financed by John Passmore Edwards . The settlement began in 1890 as University Hall, located in Gordon Square , Bloomsbury. Its 1898 building – still named Mary Ward House –
106-639: A 1904 portrait in chalk of Mary Ward by Albert Sterner . 51°32′11″N 0°00′13″W / 51.5365°N 0.0035°W / 51.5365; -0.0035 Stratford, London Stratford is a town in East London , England, in the London Borough of Newham . Part of the Lower Lea Valley , it is 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Charing Cross , and includes Maryland and East Village . Historically an ancient parish in
159-476: A dispute with the landlord. The club would merge with Thames Ironworks F.C. , the forerunner of West Ham United F.C. , in 1895. Directly to the south of the churchyard stands a 12.80-metre tall granite obelisk , which was erected in 1861 as a memorial to the Quaker philanthropist and abolitionist , Samuel Gurney (1766 to 1856). The plinth carries two brass drinking fountain heads on opposite sides, with
212-476: A hamlet in the northwest part of the ancient parish of West Ham , as the area urbanised it expanded, increased in population and merged with neighbouring districts. Except as a ward, Stratford has never been a unit of administration and so, like many London districts, lacks formally defined boundaries. As described however, Stratford occupies the north-west part of West Ham and so takes the northwest boundaries of that area; boundaries which have subsequently become
265-528: A letter to students its plans to move to new premises in Stratford , East London . In the letter, students were told that the organisation had purchased a new building in Queensway House on Stratford High Street, citing the "unaffordable" cost of its current location and the need for specialist educational provision in East London as factors influencing the decision to move. Since September 2023
318-457: A natural boundary between Essex on the eastern bank and Middlesex on the west, and was a formidable obstacle to overland trade and travel. 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
371-565: A permanent legacy of the 2012 Summer Olympics. It closed after the end of the Games, but was reopened to the public in April 2014. Built in 1868, as part of the new London sewerage system by Sir Joseph Bazalgette , the building originally housed steam pumps and is a notable example of Italian style Gothic Revival architecture . It is opened to the public on an occasional basis, when the "flamboyant interior of enriched cast ironwork" can be seen. It
424-451: 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
477-599: Is a memorial to the Stratford Martyrs , who were burned at the stake in 1556 (possibly at Stratford, but more likely at Bow ) during the reign of Queen Mary . The memorial itself is octagonal with terracotta plaques on each face, surmounted by a twelve sided spire. It was unveiled in 1878. St Francis of Assisi Church, Stratford is the Roman Catholic church in Stratford. It was built in 1868 and
530-565: Is held by Rokhsana Fiaz since 4 May 2018. In 2018, previous incumbent Sir Robin Wales was de-selected by the Newham Labour Party to be their candidate in the mayoral election, losing to Custom House councillor Rokhsana Fiaz by 861 votes to Wales who had 503. The modern borough has an electoral ward named 'Stratford and New Town'. Most of the 560-acre Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is located within Stratford, with other parts of
583-591: Is located just off Tavistock Square , also in Bloomsbury. It was designed by Arnold Dunbar Smith and Cecil Claude Brewer and is listed at Grade I. It is considered to be a masterpiece of late Victorian architecture and one of the best Arts and Crafts buildings in London. In a speech to mark the opening of the Settlement in 1898 Mary Ward stated its mission as: "education, social intercourse, and debate of
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#1732801432229636-543: Is served by Franciscan Friars . As of the 2011 census, White British is the largest ethnic group in the Stratford and New Town ward, at 21% of the population, followed by Other White at 19% and Black African at 13%; other ethnic groups comprised the remaining 47%. Maryland, London Maryland is a neighbourhood in Stratford in London , United Kingdom . It is in the London Borough of Newham . The community centres around Maryland Station and borders Leytonstone to
689-460: The hundred of Becontree in Essex , following reform of local government in London in 1965 it became part of the borough of Newham in the newly formed Greater London. Stratford grew rapidly in the 19th century after the railway came to the area in 1839, forming part of the conurbation of London , similar to much of south-west Essex. The late 20th century was a period of severe economic decline in
742-536: 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. Stratford was originally an agricultural community, whose proximity to London provided
795-667: 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. These efforts continued with the Olympic bid for Stratford, and the ongoing urban regeneration work going on there. Stratford began as
848-629: 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. 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 1,500 acres (610 hectares) in
901-483: 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
954-531: The Great or else after King Frederick William IV who visited the area in 1842 to meet Elizabeth Fry , the prison reformer. In 1914, the first year of World War One , the pub was renamed in honour of the preceding king, Edward VII who had died in 1910. The old name was problematic as 'The King of Prussia' was one of the titles of the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II . More than a hundred years later,
1007-830: The King Edward VII pub is still locally nicknamed 'The Prussian'. A 38 tonne 0-6-0 saddle-tank steam locomotive named Robert is displayed in Meridian Square, the forecourt of Stratford Station. It was built in 1933 by the Avonside Engine Company of Bristol for use at the Lamport Ironstone mines railway near Brixworth , Northamptonshire. It was previously an exhibit at the North Woolwich Old Station Museum , but moved to Stratford in 1999. In 2008, it
1060-472: 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. The settlement to the east of the Lea was also known as Estratford (recorded in 1291), referring to the location east of the other Stratford, Statford Hamme (recorded in 1312) alluding to
1113-654: The Mary Ward Adult Education Centre has been based on Stratford High Street in East London. The Mary Ward Legal Centre is based at 10 Great Turnstile in Holborn . The Mary Ward Legal Centre provides free, independent advice to people who live and work in London to help them access their legal rights and entitlements. The Mary Ward Centre houses a portrait of John Passmore Edwards by Felix Moscheles . Also on display are two works by Marc Breen, Untitled and Rooftops of Queen Square , as well as
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#17328014322291166-731: The Old Town Hall has provided the climax of victory celebrations for West Ham United FC , winning major trophies such as the FA Cup in 1980 and the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023. Opposite St John's Church stands an early 19th-century pub , the King Edward VII , with original pedimented doors and early 19th-century bay windows ; it is a Grade II listed building. It was originally called "The King of Prussia ", either in honour of Frederick
1219-812: The Settlement was renamed as the Mary Ward Settlement in memory of her work. In addition to the educational centre, the organisation includes the Mary Ward Legal Centre. The settlement was renamed the Mary Ward Centre in the 1970s. In 1982 it relocated to the Grade II listed 42–43 Queen Square , formerly the Stanhope Institute . The building and its attached cast-iron railings are listed at Grade II. In late 2018, The Mary Ward Adult Education Centre announced in
1272-599: The West Ham Local board of health . It later became the town hall for the county borough and was enlarged in 1881 to accommodate a courthouse and cells . On 26 June 1982, the main part of the building was badly damaged by fire; after a painstaking reconstruction of the original features and refurbishment as a conference centre , it was reopened by the Queen in July 1986. It is a Grade II listed building . The balcony of
1325-503: The area, eventually reversed by ongoing regeneration associated with the 2012 Summer Olympics , for which Stratford's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park , part of the large, multi-purpose Stratford City development, was the principal venue. The Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, one of the largest urban shopping centres in Europe, opened in 2011. Stratford is east London's primary retail, cultural and leisure centre, and has also become
1378-411: The borough was large enough in terms of population to become a county borough and was outside the area of responsibility of Essex County Council . Stratford formed the centre of administration of the county borough and was the location of the town hall. Following reform of local government in London in 1965, West Ham was reunited with East Ham ( Ham is believed to have formed a single unit until
1431-534: The built up area of London the parish remained outside the statutory metropolitan area established in 1855 and the County of London established in 1889. Instead, administrative reform was undertaken in the area in much the same way as a large provincial town. A local board was formed in 1856 under the Public Health Act 1848 and subsequently the parish was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1886. In 1889
1484-769: 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
1537-399: 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
1590-646: 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. The Victorian era saw growth hugely accelerated by three major factors: the Metropolitan Building Act , the arrival of the railway and the creation of the nearby Royal Docks . Rapid growth followed the Metropolitan Building Act of 1844, which restricted dangerous and noxious industries from operating in
1643-487: The former County Borough of West Ham in 1887. The new London Borough of Newham adopted the same arms in 1965. 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
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1696-476: 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 it 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
1749-457: The importance of play within children's education, the equivalent of an after school club, a youth club for teenagers and a centre for pre- and ante-natal advice, among many others. It was the site of the historic debate on women's suffrage between Millicent Garrett Fawcett and Mrs Humphry Ward in February 1909, when the host was decisively defeated. In 1920 Mary Ward died and the following year
1802-525: The inscription: IN REMEMBRANCE OF SAMUEL GURNEY / WHO DIED 5 June 1856 / ERECTED BY HIS FELLOW PARISHIONERS AND FRIENDS / 1861 / "When the ear heard him then it blessed him" (a paraphrase from the Book of Job , Chapter 29 verse 11). Designed by Lewis Angell and John Giles in the Italianate style with a 100-foot (30-metre) tall domed tower, Stratford Town Hall opened in 1869 as the public offices for
1855-662: The land was acquired by the local council, the open plot opposite West Ham Police Station, was let to Castle Swifts F.C. for use as their home ground. This was the works team of the Castle Shipping Line which had an repair yard at Leamouth in Blackwall . The Castle Swifts named the ground Dunottar Park in honour of the company's ship RMS Dunottar Castle . The club were only based in Stratford in that, their first year, moving to Temple Meadows in East Ham after
1908-629: The late 12th century) and small areas of neighbouring districts, to form the London Borough of Newham , part of the new Greater London . Stratford is in the constituency of West Ham , represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Lyn Brown of the Labour Party . Stratford is part of the mayorship under the Mayor of Newham which is a directly elected mayor and
1961-460: The location within the parish of West Ham, Abbei Stratford , referring to the presence of Stratford Langthorne Abbey , and Stretford Langthorne (recorded in 1366) after a distinctive thorn tree (possibly a pollarded Hawthorn ) which stood in the area. The thorn tree itself, was mentioned much earlier, in a charter of the Manor of Ham , in 958 AD. The tree is thought to have stood in the vicinity of
2014-492: 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
2067-629: The modern Channel Sea rail junction, around 200 metres north-north-west of the London Aquatics Centre . 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
2120-423: The north, Stratford New Town to the west and Forest Gate to the east, with Stratford town centre to the south-west. Maryland's earliest known recorded appearance is on a map of Essex published by J. Oliver in 1696, where it is marked as 'Maryland Point'. The origin of the name is uncertain: With the growth of Stratford in the mid-19th century the vicinity was built up as Stratford New Town, and Maryland gained
2173-665: The northwest boundary of the modern London Borough of Newham . In this way the River Lea and the complex network of the Bow Back Rivers mark the western limits of the area, which also extends north as far as the boundary of the London Borough of Waltham Forest . Most of Stratford is in the E15 postal area, however the Royal Mail has given the new E20 postcode to the Olympic Park and Stratford City developments; this
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2226-480: The park have been built on, replaced by cultural and commercial premises, as well as new housing. Stratford Park on West Ham Lane was laid out, in stages, by the County Borough of West Ham between 1899 and 1912. It was originally called West Ham Recreation Ground and is still known to many as West Ham Rec . The name was changed in 1999 to avoid confusion with nearby West Ham Park . In 1892–93, before
2279-403: The park in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Waltham Forest . The park was prepared as the main venue of the 2012 Summer Olympics and permanently opened to the public in 2014. As part of the games and its legacy, the park included a number of sporting venues as well as extensive open spaces. Since the games many of the open parts of
2332-501: The pleasure and health of the latter part of their days". 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
2385-516: The second most significant business location in east London after Canary Wharf . 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
2438-403: The wider sort, music, books, pictures, travel". She added: "It is these that make life rich and animated, that ease the burden of it, that stand perpetually between a man and a woman and the darker, coarser temptations of our human road". Over time the activities at the Settlement expanded to include fully equipped classrooms for children with disabilities, one of the first in England, pioneering
2491-484: 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 Broxbourne to join
2544-595: 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." By the early 19th century, Stratford was an important transport hub, with omnibuses and coaches running into London four times every hour and coaches from East Anglia passing through hourly. The route into London
2597-643: Was moved on to the East Anglia Railway Museum at Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station near Colchester ; there it was cleaned and repainted at the expense of the Olympic Delivery Authority and returned to Stratford in 2011. A 114-metre-tall (374 ft) sculpture and observation tower in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It is Britain's largest piece of public art and is intended to be
2650-598: Was plied by Walter Hancock 's steam coaches for a period during the 1830s. 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
2703-608: Was previously only used by the BBC TV soap EastEnders for its fictional East London setting of Walford . The name "Walford" is a portmanteau of the names of nearby Walthamstow and Stratford itself. Stratford was one of three ancient wards in the large ancient parish of West Ham , in the Becontree hundred of Essex . It came within the Metropolitan Police District in 1840. Despite forming part of
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#17328014322292756-426: 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. Stratford, like many areas of London, particularly in the East End, suffered significant de-industrialisation in
2809-399: Was used to portray a lunatic asylum in the 2005 film Batman Begins and is a Grade II* listed building. The Church of England parish church of Stratford is the 1830s church called St John's on Stratford Broadway, a major thoroughfare, and The Grove and is part of Diocese of Chelmsford , itself part of the Province of Canterbury . It is a Grade II listed building . In its churchyard
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