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Statistics and Social Conditions of the Area.
HE COUNTY BOROUGH OF WEST HAM
is classified the tenth largest of the 118 Great
Towns of England and Wales. Situated
geographically within the County of Essex,
it comprises an area of seven and a half square
miles. In elevation it is almost flat, varying from
less than 5ft. to 45ft. above ordnance datum.
The Charter of Incorporation was granted to West Ham in
1886.
It is bounded on the West by the Administrative County of
London, on the East by the County Borough of East Ham, on the
North by the Borough of Leyton, and on the South by the River
Thames. The River Lee forms a natural boundary between
West Ham and the Metropolis.
There are over 128 miles of dedicated roads in the Borough,
and 123 acres of waterways.
In the Silvertown district of the Borough the New Dock Road,
a wonderful feat of engineering, which is now nearing completion,
has absolutely transformed this section of West Ham, and
facilitated the approaches to the Victoria Dock.
Along a comparatively short line, some 600 houses have been
pulled down to make way for the new viaduct. Families displaced
by this necessity have been rehoused in new dwellings adjoining
Prince Regent Lane.
The first section of the High Street, Stratford, Improvement
Scheme, the Bridge which spans the new river at the City Mills,
was officially opened in November of 1933. The widening of this
highway it is hoped will greatly ease the passage of traffic in and
out of London.
In the carrying out of this work ninety per cent. of the labour
engaged on the construction of the bridge was comprised of West
Ham men.
The County Borough is an important industrial centre. In
addition to a number of factories in the North, there are in the
South of the Borough some of the largest and most important
factories in or near London. These factories manufacture various
articles such as rubber, soap, sugar, and glass.
By rail the Borough is only 5 miles from the City of London,
hence a large number of the populace work in London and district.
The whole of the Royal Victoria Dock, and part of the Royal
Albert, and the new King George the Fifth Docks, as well as the
locomotive and other works of the London and North Eastern
Railway Company, and the carriage works of the Midland
18