Canning Town is an area of East
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is part of the
London Borough of NewhamThe London Borough of Newham is a London borough in East London, within Greater London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames...
and is situated in the area of the former London docks on the north side of the
River ThamesThe River Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows through several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading and Windsor....
. It is the location of Rathbone Market. Despite being a neighbour to many Dockland developments, Canning Town remains in the top 5 per cent most deprived areas in the UK with local people suffering from poor health, low education and poverty. The
ExCeL Exhibition CentreExCeL London is an exhibitions and conference centre in London, United Kingdom. It is located on a 100-acre site on the northern quay of the Royal Victoria Dock in London Docklands, between Canary Wharf and London City Airport...
is also nearby.
History
Prior to the 19th century, the district was largely marshland, and accessible only by boat, or a toll bridge. In 1809, an
Act of ParliamentAn act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament....
was passed for the construction of the Barking Road between the
East India DocksThe East India Docks were a small group of docks in the Blackwall area of East London, just north of the Isle of Dogs.- History :Following the successful creation of the West India Docks which opened in 1802, an Act of Parliament in 1803 set up the The East India Dock Company, promoted by the...
and
BarkingBarking is a suburban town in East London, England in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. A retail and commercial centre situated in the west of the borough, it lies east of Charing Cross...
. A five span iron bridge was constructed in 1810 to carry the road across the
River LeeThe River Lea or River Lee in England originates in Leagrave Park , Leagrave, Luton in the Chiltern Hills and flows generally southeast, east, and then south to London where it meets the River Thames , the last section being known as Bow Creek....
at
Bow CreekBow Creek is a long tidal estuary of the River Lee and is part of the Bow Back Rivers. Below Bow Locks the creek forms the boundary between the London Boroughs of Newham and Tower Hamlets, in East London....
. This bridge was damaged by a collision with a collier in March 1887 and replaced by the
LCCLondon County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889-1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
in 1896. This bridge was in turn replaced in 1934, at a site to the north and today's concrete flyover begun in smaller form in the 1960s, but successively modified to incorporate new road layouts for the upgraded A13 road and a feeder to the
Limehouse Link tunnelThe Limehouse Link tunnel is a tunnel carrying the A1203 road in the Limehouse area of East London.It was constructed to provide a key section of a new east-west route between Central London and the Royal Docks area of London Docklands...
, avoiding the
Blackwall TunnelThe Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the London Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road...
. The abutments of the old iron bridge have now been utilised for the Jubilee footbridge, linking the area to
LeamouthLeamouth is the area to the west of the mouth of the River Lee at the River Thames at . The northern part of the area lies within a meander of the Lee; the southern part is bounded in the west by the former East India Docks, on two sides by the Lee and by the River Thames to the south...
, in the
London Borough of Tower HamletsThe London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London, England and north of the River Thames in East London, taking in much of the East End. It includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks and Canary Wharf...
, on the western bank of the Lee.
Originally known as
Hallsville, the area is thought to be named for the first Viceroy of India,
Charles John CanningCharles John Canning, 1st Earl Canning KG, GCB, PC , known as Viscount Canning from 1837 to 1859, was an English statesman and Governor-General of India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.-Background and education:...
, who suppressed the Indian Mutiny about the time the district expanded. The population increased rapidly after the
North London LineThe North London Line is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of London, England. Its route is a rough semicircle from the south west to the north east, avoiding central London. The line is owned and maintained by Network Rail...
was built from
StratfordStratford, historically Stratford Langthorne, is a place in the London Borough of Newham in East London. It will be the primary location of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
to
North WoolwichNorth Woolwich is a place in the London Borough of Newham. It is located north of Woolwich proper which is on the south bank of the River Thames. The two places are linked by the Woolwich Ferry and the Woolwich foot tunnel.-History:...
, in 1846. This was built to carry coal and goods from the docks; and when the passenger station was first built it was known as
Barking Road. Speculative builders constructed houses for the workers attracted by the new chemical industries established in the lower reaches of the
River LeeThe River Lea or River Lee in England originates in Leagrave Park , Leagrave, Luton in the Chiltern Hills and flows generally southeast, east, and then south to London where it meets the River Thames , the last section being known as Bow Creek....
, and for the nearby
Thames IronworksThe Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works based at Leamouth, the junction of Bow Creek and the River Thames...
and
Tate & LyleTate & Lyle plc is a UK-based multinational agri-processor. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index as of 23 March 2009.-History:...
refinery. The opening of the
Royal Victoria DockThe Royal Victoria Dock is the largest of three docks in the Royal Docks of east London, now part of the redeveloped Docklands.-History:Opened in 1855 on a previously uninhabited area of the Plaistow Marshes, it was the first of the Royal Docks and the first London dock to be designed specifically...
accelerated the development of the area. The casual nature of employment meant poverty and squalid living conditions for many residents, and by the 1930s the
County Borough of West HamWest Ham was a local government district in the extreme south west of Essex from 1886 to 1965, forming part of the built-up area of London, although outside the County of London...
commenced slum clearances.
In 1857
Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens FRSA , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print...
wrote about the area:
"Canning Town is the child of the Victoria DocksThe Royal Victoria Dock is the largest of three docks in the Royal Docks of east London, now part of the redeveloped Docklands.-History:Opened in 1855 on a previously uninhabited area of the Plaistow Marshes, it was the first of the Royal Docks and the first London dock to be designed specifically...
. The condition of this place and of its neighbour prevents the steadier class of mechanics from residing in it. They go from their work to Stratford or to Plaistow. Many select such a dwelling place because they arte already debased below the point of enmity to filth; poorer labourers live there, because they cannot afford to go farther, and there become debased. The Dock Company is surely, to a very great extent, answerable for the condition of the town they are creating. Not a few of the houses in it are built by poor and ignorant men who have saved a few hundred pounds, and are deluded by the prospect of a fatally cheap building investment."
The slum clearances and the devastation of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, destroying 85% of the housing stock, lead to the preponderance of council estates that characterise the area today. From the late 19th century, a large African mariner community was established in Canning Town as a result of new shipping links to the
CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts...
and
West AfricaWest Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries distributed over an area of approximately 5 million square km:*Benin...
.
On the 21 June 1898,
The Albion, a
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
cruiserA cruiser is a large type of warship, which had its prime period from the late 19th century to the end of the Cold War. The first cruisers were intended for individual raiding and protection missions on the seas...
was to be launched sideways from the Thames Ironworks, on
Bow CreekBow Creek is a long tidal estuary of the River Lee and is part of the Bow Back Rivers. Below Bow Locks the creek forms the boundary between the London Boroughs of Newham and Tower Hamlets, in East London....
. Schools were given the day off, and thousands attended the launch. About 200 people thought to get a good view by climbing on to an adjacent temporary slipway, where a Japanese warship was being built. The launch caused a tremendous backwash that threw the people on the slipway into the water. Their cries for help were drowned by the cheers for the Duke and Duchess of York, and 38 lives were lost. The event was commemorated by the poet, William McGonagall, and the
Royal Humane SocietyThe Royal Humane Society was founded in England in 1774 as the Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned, for the purpose of rendering "first aid" in cases of drowning and for restoring life by artificial means to those drowned....
issued 26 Bronze Medals to men who had leapt into the river to try to save the victims.
In 1907, the Royal Acquarium in
WestminsterWestminster is an area of Central London, within the City of Westminster. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
was dismantled and brought to Canning Town. It was re-erected as the Imperial Palace Music Hall. The
music hallMusic hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
was destroyed by fire in 1931, and replaced by a cinema.
Victorian times
In 1857
Charles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens FRSA , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print...
published a detailed description of the area in
Household WordsHousehold Words was an English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens which took its name from the line from Shakespeare "Familiar in his mouth as household words" — Henry V.-History:...
entitled "Londoners over the Border", writing:
"...by the law there is one suburb on the border of the Essex marshes which is quite cut off from the comforts of the Metropolitan Buildings Act;-in fact, it lies just without its boundaries, and therefore is chosen as a place of refuge for offensive trade establishments turned out of the town, - those of oil boilers, gut spinners, varnish makers, printers ink makers and the like. Being cut off from the support of the Metropolitan Local managing Act, this outskirt is free to possess new streets of houses without drains, roads, gas, or pavement."
Describing the slum housing conditions and its effect on the health of local residents, Dickens wrote:
"Rows of small houses, which may have cost for their construction eighty pounds a piece, are built designedly and systematically with their backs to the marsh ditches; ...to or three yards of clay pipe “drain” each house into the open cess pool under its back windows, when it does not happen that the house is built as to overhang it... In winter time every block becomes now and then an island, and you may hear a sick man, in an upper room, complain of water trickling down over his bed. Then the flood cleans the ditches, lifting all their filth into itself, and spreading it over the land. No wonder that the stench of the marsh in Hallsville and Canning Town of nights, is horrible. A fetid mist covers the ground... the parish surgeon... was himself for a time invalided by fever, upon which ague followed. Ague, of course, is one of the most prevalent diseases of the district; fever abounds. When an epidemic comes into the place, it becomes serious in its form, and stays for months. Disease comes upon human bodies saturated with the influences of such air as is breathed day and night, as a spark upon touchwood. A case or two of small pox caused, in spite of vaccination, an epidemic of confluent small pox, which remained three or four months upon the spot."
Dickens also describes efforts to improve the housing conditions in the area:
"Two years ago, when application was made by more than a tenth of the rate payers of the parish of West Ham for an inquiry into the sanitary condition of the district, with a view to bringing it under the conditions of the Public Health Act, Mr Alfred Dickens was the civil engineer sent by the general Board of Health as an inspector. His report and the evidence at his inquiry is before us as we write, and it dwells very much upon the state of Canning Town and Hallsville. We learn from this report that the area of the ditches in the parish amounted to not less than one hundred and fifty acres, according to a surveyors book upwards of thirty five years old, and that area has been increased by side cuttings at the railway and new cuttings of open sewer. Disease had cost the parish six hundred pounds in the year previous to the inquiry. There was then, of course, as now, no drainage or paving in Canning Town; the roads in winter were impassable; but the inhabitants were paying (for what they did not get) an eighteen penny rate under the Commissioners Act, not for works done in accordance with it, but “for the expenses of the act”. Also, although the parish did not take charge of their roads, they were paying a highway rate for the parishioners elsewhere. One horrible detail in Mr Dickens report has, happily, to be omitted from our sketch. Two years ago, there was in Hallsville and Canning Town no water supply. Good water is now laid on. In all other respects, the old offences against civilised life cleave to the district. The local Board of Health which the inhabitants of the parish sought and obtained, whatever it may have done for Stratford, seems to have done nothing for Hallsville, unless it be considered something to indulge it with an odd pinch of deodorising powder."
Alfred Dickens highlighted the severe overcrowding suffered by many of the slum inhabitants as a result of landlord charging high rents and households relying on casual work.
20th Century
The 1890 Housing Act made the local council responsible for providing decent accommodation and in the 1890s some of the first council houses were built in Bethell Avenue. However, many of the terraced houses built during the late 19th Century were little more than slums and cleared by the council in the 1930s. The council replaced the terraces with the first high rise blocks.
Today
The character of Canning Town and Custom House is, according to
Newham-Places:U.K.* London Borough of Newham** Newham North East ** Newham South ** Newham North East * Coulby Newham, a housing estate in MiddlesbroughAustralia...
council, typified by a loose and dispersed urban structure, with poorly defined public spaces and a confused layout of suburban streets. For many years, there has been considerable economic deprivation in the area. In the 2000
Index of Multiple DeprivationThe Indices of deprivation 2004 is a Deprivation index at the small area level, created by the British Department for Communities and Local Government....
, Ordnance Ward, which covered most of the Canning Town area, was the most deprived ward in Greater London, and the second most deprived in the South of England, after an area of
Great YarmouthGreat Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, 20 miles east of Norwich....
. According to
Newham-Places:U.K.* London Borough of Newham** Newham North East ** Newham South ** Newham North East * Coulby Newham, a housing estate in MiddlesbroughAustralia...
council Canning Town and Custom House are in the top five percent most deprived areas in the UK. Local people suffer from poor
healthAt the of the creation of the World Health Organization , in 1948, Health was defined as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity"....
, low
educationEducation in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...
levels and
povertyPoverty is the condition of lacking basic human needs such as nutrition, clean water, health care, clothing, and shelter because of the inability to afford them. This is also referred to as absolute poverty or destitution...
. Recent surveys showed that 17 percent of the local working age population have a “limited long-term illness", 17.5 percent claim income support and 49.7 percent of 16-74 year old have no formal qualification.
Regeneration project
The
consultationThe Consultation served as the provisional government of Mexican Texas from November 1835 through March 1836 during the Texas Revolution. Tensions rose in Texas during early 1835 as throughout Mexico federalists began to oppose the increasingly centralist policies of the government. In the...
and
governanceGovernance relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists either of a separate process or of a specific part of management or leadership processes...
mechanism of the currently ongoing regeneration project is underpinning by a partnership between councillors, residents, local businesses and other “partners”. According to
Newham-Places:U.K.* London Borough of Newham** Newham North East ** Newham South ** Newham North East * Coulby Newham, a housing estate in MiddlesbroughAustralia...
council:
“The views of residents and businesses is central to the development and delivery of the regeneration initiative and developers will be expected to continue with extensive community consultation and engagement as part of their remit.”
Newham-Places:U.K.* London Borough of Newham** Newham North East ** Newham South ** Newham North East * Coulby Newham, a housing estate in MiddlesbroughAustralia...
council is currently attempting to encourage “re-interpretations” of
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
’s established street and housing forms. The council has identified terraced housing as such housing form, stating that it “continues to have enduring popularity with all types of residents including families and children”.
The area is at the western end of the
Thames GatewayThe Thames Gateway is an area of land stretching 40 miles east from inner East London on both sides of the River Thames and the Thames Estuary...
zone and is currently undergoing a £1.7 billion regeneration project, which includes:
- demolishing 1,650 homes and building 8,000 new homes
- creating 500,000 square metres of floor-space in a revitalised town centre
- providing community facilities, including a library, a health centre
- undertaking improvements to primary schools
Politics and local government
Most of the district falls within the Parliamentary constituency of Poplar and Canning Town, confusingly a small part of north-eastern Canning Town falls within the boundary of the
West Ham constituencyWest Ham is a parliamentary constituency in the London Borough of Newham, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
.
In May 2006, voters in the Ward of Canning Town South returned three members of the
Christian Peoples AllianceThe Christian Peoples Alliance is a Christian democrat political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in its present form during the late 20th century, it grew out of a cross-party interest group known as the Movement for Christian Democracy. The party operates all over Great Britain and has...
as their elected Councillors. This is highly unusual in what is regarded as the rock-solid Labour borough of Newham.
Rock and sport
The football team of the Thames Ironworks went on to become
West Ham United F.C.West Ham United Football Club is an English football club based in Upton Park, London Borough of Newham, East London. They have played their home matches at the Boleyn Ground stadium since 1904....
.
The Bridge House, a
public houseA public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises in countries and regions of British influence. Although the terms often have different connotations, there is little definitive difference between pubs, bars,...
named for the 1887
Iron Bridge, was at 23 Barking Road – now demolished. The venue operated during the 1970s and 1980s and was host to
The PoliceThe Police were an English rock trio, from London, England, formed originally in 1977. The trio consisted of Gordon Sumner, CBE , widely known by his stage name of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
,
Jeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He was one of the three noted guitarists — the others being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page — to have played with The Yardbirds...
,
Billy BraggStephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician who blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs. His lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
,
Alexis KornerAlexis Korner , born Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner, was a pioneering blues musician and broadcaster who has sometimes been referred to as "the Founding Father of British Blues"...
,
Sham 69Sham 69 are an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1976.Although not as commercially successful as many of their contemporaries, albeit with a greater number of chart entries, Sham 69 has been a huge musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived...
,
LindisfarneLindisfarne were a British folk/rock group established in 1970 , fronted by singer/songwriter Alan Hull. Their music combined a strong sense of yearning, often for home, with an even stronger sense of fun...
, The Cockney Rejects and many other notable acts. Recently, a new venue bearing the name The Bridge House2 has opened in Bidder Street. Also on Barking Road, the former public house "The Royal Oak" (now an estate agent) had a boxing ring on the first floor. Amongst others, the boxer
Frank BrunoFranklin Roy Bruno is a British former boxer whose career highlight was winning the WBC Heavyweight championship in 1995. Altogether, he won 40 of his 45 contests...
trained there.
Education
Transport and locale
Nearest places
- Plaistow
Plaistow is a place in the London Borough of Newham in East London. It formed part of the County Borough of West Ham in Essex until 1965....
- Poplar
Poplar is an area of the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Poplar is about east of Charing Cross.-History:During the development of the Isle of Dogs the street signs pointed to the new development , and Poplar was lost for a decade or more. St Matthias Old Church is...
- Silvertown
Silvertown is an industrialised district in the London Borough of Newham, named after Samuel Winkworth Silver's former rubber factory which opened in 1852, and now dominated by the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery. Another major local employer is the Loders and Nucoline plant at Cairn Mills, a...
- West Ham
West Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham in London, England. In the west it is a post-industrial neighbourhood abutting the site of the London Olympic Park and in the east it is mostly residential, consisting of Victoria terraced housing interspersed with higher density post-War...
- East Ham
East Ham is a place in the London Borough of Newham. It is a built-up district located 8 miles east north-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
- Beckton
Beckton is also the code name for a forthcoming Xeon processor.Beckton is a place in the London Borough of Newham, England, located east of Charing Cross....
Nearest rail
The nearest
London Underground station is
Canning TownCanning Town station is a inter-modal transport interchange in East London. It is served by the London Underground Jubilee line, the Docklands Light Railway and local buses operated for London Buses...
on the
Jubilee LineThe Jubilee line is a line on the London Underground , in the United Kingdom. It was built in two major sections - initially to Charing Cross in Central London, and later extended in 1999 to Stratford in East London. The later stations are notable for their larger size and safety features...
. It is also an interchange with the
Docklands Light RailwayThe Docklands Light Railway is a light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of East London, England...
. The station is in
Travelcard Zone 3Travelcard Zone 3 is a zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services...
.
External links