Forest Gate is a residential area in 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...
.
Its name is derived from a southern gate of
Epping ForestEpping Forest is an area of ancient parkland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....
which once stretched continuously down from
EppingEpping is a small market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located north-east of Loughton, south of Harlow and north-west of Brentwood....
. Fragments of the forest remain throughout north east London and the heathland of
Wanstead FlatsWanstead Flats is the southern-most portion of Epping Forest in east London. It is surrounded by the heavily built-up areas of Leytonstone to the west, Wanstead to the north with Manor Park and Forest Gate to the southeast and south respectively. To the north-west it is connected by way of Bush...
, which borders Forest Gate, is an example.
Forest Gate is home to the oldest
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,...
in the borough, The Old Spotted Dog (now closed), and nearby
Clapton Football ClubClapton F.C. are an English association football club, who play in Forest Gate, East London, England . They were one of the founding members of the Southern League in 1893...
; the northern half of the famous and busy
Green StreetGreen Street is a road in the London Borough of Newham, England. There is an official website for this road.The southern portion is the location of the Boleyn Ground, home to West Ham United and is the title of a 2005 film about football hooliganism, Green Street...
also runs through it.
Forest Gate is a residential area in 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...
.
Its name is derived from a southern gate of
Epping ForestEpping Forest is an area of ancient parkland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....
which once stretched continuously down from
EppingEpping is a small market town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of the County of Essex, England. It is located north-east of Loughton, south of Harlow and north-west of Brentwood....
. Fragments of the forest remain throughout north east London and the heathland of
Wanstead FlatsWanstead Flats is the southern-most portion of Epping Forest in east London. It is surrounded by the heavily built-up areas of Leytonstone to the west, Wanstead to the north with Manor Park and Forest Gate to the southeast and south respectively. To the north-west it is connected by way of Bush...
, which borders Forest Gate, is an example.
Forest Gate is home to the oldest
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,...
in the borough, The Old Spotted Dog (now closed), and nearby
Clapton Football ClubClapton F.C. are an English association football club, who play in Forest Gate, East London, England . They were one of the founding members of the Southern League in 1893...
; the northern half of the famous and busy
Green StreetGreen Street is a road in the London Borough of Newham, England. There is an official website for this road.The southern portion is the location of the Boleyn Ground, home to West Ham United and is the title of a 2005 film about football hooliganism, Green Street...
also runs through it. To the west lies
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....
town centre. High Speed 1 runs underneath Forest Gate on its way into Stratford and London. Forest Gate also houses
West Ham ParkWest Ham Park is a public park in the London Borough of Newham. Spanning , the park has been managed by the City of London Corporation since 1874. Previously it was the grounds of Ham House, owned by the Gurney family and demolished in 1872...
, providing a place for sports to be played and a contrast to the otherwise urban environment.
The Woodgrange Estate is a residential conservation area in Forest Gate with predominantly double fronted
VictorianThe term Victorian architecture can refer to one of a number of architectural styles predominantly employed during the Victorian era. As with the latter, the period of building that it covers may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria after whom it is...
houses. There are sets of flats are certain ends of most of these roads replacing houses which were bombed during
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...
. The Woodgrange estate consists of four roads Windsor, Claremont, Osbourne and Hampton; all of which link to the Woodgrange road. Nearby Godwin Junior School in Forest Gate was recently honoured with the prestigious
British CouncilThe British Council is a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation based in the United Kingdom which specialises in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is a non-departmental public body, a public corporation incorporated by royal charter, and is registered as a charity in...
’s International School Award. The school is among only 127 schools in the country to have received the three-year accreditation. The school's headteacher was named
Teacher of the Year.
Forest Gate has various associations with music and acting; it was for many years the home of the Tonic Sol-Fa Institute, which taught large numbers of people to play music without learning conventional notation. In December 1966
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter...
wrote
Purple Haze in the Upper Cut Club, owned by Douglas Bayle and George and Billy Walker, it had been opened by The Who, and had The Small Faces as the house band, for a while. It later became the Ace of Clubs in Woodgrange Road. Although born in
PlaistowPlaistow is the name of several places in England, and the USA:in England:*Plaistow, Newham, East London**Plaistow *Plaistow, West Sussex*Plaistow, Bromley, South East London*Plaistow, Derbyshirein the USA...
,
Ronnie LaneRonald Frederick "Ronnie" Lane was an English singer, songwriter and bass player best known for his membership in two prominent English rock bands, the Small Faces and Faces .-Early life:Ronnie Lane was born in the East End of London...
of the Small Faces spent his childhood and early adulthood in Forest Gate, living at 385 Romford Road, while members
Steve MarriottStephen Peter Marriott , popularly known as Steve Marriott, was a successful and versatile English singer-songwriter, guitarist and musician....
and Jimmy Winston lived nearby in
Manor ParkManor Park may refer to places:in Canada:*Manor Park, Nova Scotia, a neighborhood in Dartmouth*Manor Park , Canadain New Zealand:*Manor Park, New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Huttin the United Kingdom:*Manor Park, London...
. Roy Carter, a rhythm guitarist with 70s hit funk band
HeatwaveHeatwave was an international funk/disco musical band featuring Americans Johnnie Wilder, Jr. and Keith Wilder of Dayton, Ohio, Englishman Rod Temperton , Spaniard Mario Mantese , Czechoslovakian Ernest "Bilbo" Berger , Jamaican Eric Johns and Briton Roy Carter, .They were known for their...
, was raised in Forest Gate. Two of the top-selling Grime artists are Forest Gate;
KanoKane Brett Robinson , better known as Kano, is a British rapper. His grandparents came to the United Kingdom as immigrants from Jamaica. He was formerly a key member of East London’s N.A.S.T.Y...
, whose debut album 'Home Sweet Home' made number one in the urban charts and rapper
Plan BPlan B is a popular term used to mean a reserved, secondary plan, in case a first plan fails. It also may refer to:Music* Plan B , an American music producer* Plan B , English rapper* Plan B , a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo...
, whose song,
Raking the Dead, refers to a friend who discovered a body on Wanstead Flats. The Newham Generals (D Double E & Footsie) are also from Forest Gate, and the video for their song 'Frontline' was filmed at
Forest Gate railway stationForest Gate railway station is located in the London Borough of Newham, in East London. The station is located at It is in Travelcard Zone 3 on the Great Eastern Main Line, and was first opened in 1840, a year after the line was built, but closed in 1843, before re-opening after pressure from local...
. Young rock band Bleech, also hailing from Forest Gate, have started to make a splash. Recently they both featured in the
NMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music magazine in the United Kingdom which has been published weekly since March 1952. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, which first appeared in the 14 November 1952 edition. The magazine's commercial heyday was during the 1970s when it...
and supported
Pete DohertyPeter Doherty is an English musician, writer, artist and poet. He is currently a singer and songwriter in the band Babyshambles, but first came to fame with indie band The Libertines, alongside Carl Barât...
on tour. The former Hollywood actor
Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian American bodybuilder, actor, businessman, and politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of the state of California....
, star of a string of very successful movies including
The TerminatorThe Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed and co-written by James Cameron and distributed by the independent film studio Orion Pictures. It features Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor and Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese. The film was followed by...
and
True LiesTrue Lies is a 1994 action comedy film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston, and Art Malik. Eliza Dushku makes an early appearance in her acting career...
, was known to have lived in Forest Gate and weight trained at Wag Bennett's famous gymnasium in Romford Road well before he achieved fame. Another is the award winning actor
Chiwetel EjioforChiwetel Ejiofor, OBE is a British actor. In 2006 he received 2 Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series.-Early years:...
, born in Forest Gate in July 1974, who has had significant roles in films such as
American Gangster with
Denzel WashingtonDenzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Melvin B...
, and
AmistadAmistad is a 1997 Steven Spielberg film based on the true story of a slave mutiny that took place aboard a ship of the same name in 1839, and the legal battle that followed...
with
Matthew McConaugheyMatthew David McConaughey is an American actor. After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s , he appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
.
Forest Gate formed part of 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...
since its creation (initially as a municipal borough) in 1886. The county borough was abolished to form part of the present-day London Borough of Newham in 1965.
Notable people associated with Forest Gate
- Ben Drew - Amazing actor and brilliant rapper
- Sam Alper
Samuel Alper OBE was a London born caravan designer and manufacturer responsible for the famous Sprite caravan, founder of the Little Chef chain of roadside restaurants, a viticulturist who revived the ancient Roman winery at Chilford Hall, a sculptor, the founder of the Curwen Print Study Centre...
- caravanA travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation , without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
designer and founder of Little ChefLittle Chef is a chain of 177 roadside restaurants in the United Kingdom, founded in 1958 and owned by the UK private equity group RCapital. Restaurants are typically found on A roads...
- John Bowstead
John Bowstead was born in Northampton on September the 27th 1940. He is an English artist and best known as a contributor to the Pop Art movement of the 1960s....
- artist
- Alan Curbishley
Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is a football manager and former professional player....
- former manager of West Ham United Football Club
- Elizabeth Fry
Elizabeth Fry was an English prison reformer, social reformer and, as a Quaker, a Christian philanthropist....
- prison reformer
- John Grahl
Professor John Grahl is an academic and professor of Human Resources Management at Middlesex University. He is a member of European Economists for an Alternative Economic Policy in Europe and author of 'European Monetary Union: Problems of Legitimacy, Development and Stability' , and more famously...
- economist
- Terrence Hardiman - actor
- Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter...
- musician
- Roy Carter - musician
- Sarah Jezebel Deva
Sarah Jane Ferridge , better known by her stage name Sarah Jezebel Deva, was a backing vocalist in Cradle of Filth, and also fronts her own band, Angtoria.-Career:...
- musician
- Kano (rapper)
Kane Brett Robinson , better known as Kano, is a British rapper. His grandparents came to the United Kingdom as immigrants from Jamaica. He was formerly a key member of East London’s N.A.S.T.Y...
- musician
- Ronnie Lane
Ronald Frederick "Ronnie" Lane was an English singer, songwriter and bass player best known for his membership in two prominent English rock bands, the Small Faces and Faces .-Early life:Ronnie Lane was born in the East End of London...
- musician
- Kele Le Roc
Kele Le Roc is a British pop, UK garage and R&B singer.-Career:Le Roc began singing at the age of three, and she attended Langdon Comprehensive School in East Ham. She first found widespread acclaim in 1995 with the underground hit "Let Me Know"...
- singer
- Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and former undisputed World heavyweight champion. He won gold for Canada at the 1988 Olympic Games as an amateur....
- heavyweight boxing champion
- Plan B (rapper)
Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew is an English rapper and actor from Forest Gate, East London.-Biography:...
- musician
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian American bodybuilder, actor, businessman, and politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of the state of California....
- actor, politician
- Barry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith, also known as Barry Smith is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States....
- comic book artist
- Lyn
Lyn may refer to:In television and film:* Euros Lyn, Welsh director for television* Lyn Ashley, Australian actress who worked in the United Kingdom on television during the 1960s* Lyn Brown , African American anchorwoman...
- Radio Celebrity on LBC 97.3
- Jason Lee
Jason Lee is an English footballer. He enjoyed a brief period of notoriety in the mid-1990s while he played for Nottingham Forest, where he was best remembered for his haircut, earning him the nickname "Pineapple Head"...
- footballer
- Idris Elba
Idris Akuna Elba is a British television, theatre, and film actor who has starred in both British and American productions. Idris Elba grew up in Hackney, East London. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including Ultraviolet...
- Actor
- Ravi Bopara - Cricketer
- Edward Whymper
Edward Whymper , was a British illustrator, climber and explorer best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865...
- Climber, who married at Emmanuel Church, 1906
- Linvoy Primus
Linvoy Stephen Primus is an English football player, writer and Christian charity worker. He currently plays for Portsmouth, and is primarily a central defender, though he also can play at right back....
- Footballer, and Christian Charity worker
Education
- For details of education in Forest Gate see the List of schools in the London Borough of Newham
Nearby places
- Manor Park
- 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....
- Stratford
Stratford, 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....
- Wanstead
Wanstead is a suburban area in the London Borough of Redbridge, East London. The main road going through Wanstead is the A12. The name is from the Anglo-Saxon words wænn and stede, meaning "settlement on a small hill"....
- Upton Park
Upton Park is an area in the London Borough of Newhamcentred upon Green Street, a high street that runs north-south between the A118 Romford Road and the A124 Barking Road...
See also
- Forest Gate railway station
Forest Gate railway station is located in the London Borough of Newham, in East London. The station is located at It is in Travelcard Zone 3 on the Great Eastern Main Line, and was first opened in 1840, a year after the line was built, but closed in 1843, before re-opening after pressure from local...
- London Borough of Newham
The 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...
- Stratford
Stratford, 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....
- 2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid
The 2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid saw the arrest of two men at their east London homes in Forest Gate by police acting on what they described as "specific intelligence" that they might be terrorists in possession of a chemical bomb. One of the men was shot during the raid. No explosive devices were...
External links