Stratford, London
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Coordinates:Stratford, historically Stratford Langthorne, is a place in the London Borough of Newham in East London.
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[edit] History
Until the arrival of the railways in 1839 much of Stratford was open countryside in the historic county of Essex, then from 1889 to 1965 it was part of the County Borough of West Ham, which was conterminous [1] with the ancient Parish of West Ham. With the formation of Greater London in 1965 Stratford became a part of the London Borough of Newham.
North of modern Stratford is Stratford New Town, initially called "Hudson Town" after George Hudson the railway entrepreneur, and it was the location of the Eastern Counties Railway's railway works at Temple Mills. It was closed in 1963, but a small depot still exists.
Stratford was the home of the former fruit and vegetable market which bore the same name and closed at the end of the twentieth century.
The church of St John in Stratford Broadway, designed by Edward Blore, contains in the churchyard the elaborate Martyrs' Memorial to those Essex Protestants burnt in the Marian Persecutions as documented by John Foxe.
[edit] Today
Stratford is a major shopping centre and contains Newham's cultural quarter centred around the Theatre Royal Stratford East and Stratford Circus. Stratford station and adjacent bus station is a major transport hub. The area is considered by some to be "up and coming" with a growing street cafe culture.[citation needed]
[edit] Future
Stratford will be the location of the future Stratford International station on High Speed 1 and in 2012 the location of the main Olympic Park, which will contain a significant number of venues to be used in the 2012 Summer Olympics, including the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, and London Velopark.
Stratford has been a focus of regeneration for some years and as of 2006 the 73 hectare brownfield railway lands to the north of the town centre as far as Temple Mills are to be redeveloped in a multi-billion pound scheme called Stratford City. This will form a new purpose-built community of 5,000 homes, offices, retail spaces, schools, public spaces, municipal and other facilities. It is hoped that this will become a major metropolitan centre for East London. Part of Stratford City will serve as the Olympic Village. There are also plans for several residential and office skyscrapers to be built in the area, including a 55-storey tower designed by architects Allies and Morrison opposite Stratford station. New superstores are being built in the Stratford area, with completion expected in 2008.
Stratford is in the London Borough of Newham, which has the fifth highest crime rate of any borough in London and, according to government indices, Newham is also the eleventh most "deprived" district in Britain. Ten years ago Newham was indexed as the second most deprived borough in Britain, which either shows that great strides in urban regeneration and social inclusion have taken place, or that a large-scale process of gentrification is underway.
[edit] Notable people associated with Stratford
- Jim Barrett, Footballer
- Tony Banks, Labour Party politician
- Stan Earle, Footballer
- Bryan Forbes, Actor, Screenwriter, Film Producer
- Ernie Gregory, Footballer
- Peter Grotier, Footballer
- Walter Hancock, Inventor
- Luke Howard, Meteorologist
- Gerard Manley Hopkins, Poet
- Anna Kingsford, Theosophist & Author
- Nina Frances Layard, Archaeologist and Poet (birthplace)
- Joan Littlewood, director of the Theatre Workshop, at the Theatre Royal
- Dawn Neesom, journalist
- David Webb, Footballer
[edit] Education
- For details of education in Stratford, London see the London Borough of Newham article
[edit] Places of interest
- Discover, centre for children
- 2012 Olympic Park
- Stratford Circus
- Theatre Royal Stratford East
- The Rex Theatre, Stratford
- Three Mills Studios
- University of East London
[edit] Transport
[edit] Nearest places
- Maryland
- Leyton
- Forest Gate
- West Ham
- Bow
- Hackney Wick
- Homerton
- Lower Clapton
- Manor Park
- Canning Town
- Poplar
[edit] Nearest tube and railway stations
- Stratford station: tube, rail and DLR, as well as being a local bus hub
- Stratford International station (under construction)
- Maryland railway station
[edit] External links
- London East Research Institute
- Local development site futurestratford.com
- St Johns Church Website
- Stratford Historical Trade Directories & Pubs from 100 years ago
London Borough of Newham | ||
|---|---|---|
| Districts | Beckton · Canning Town · East Ham · Forest Gate · Manor Park · North Woolwich · Plaistow · Silvertown · Stratford · Upton Park · West Ham | Image:Arms-newham-lb.jpg |
| Attractions | ||
| Markets | Queens Road · East Ham · Stratford Shopping | |
| Constituencies | ||
| Parks and open spaces in Newham | ||
nl:Stratford (Londen) no:Stratford (Newham)
