Upton Park

Upton Park station opened in 1877 with the District Line service beginning 25 years later in 1902. The Hammersmith and City Line followed in 1936. There are two working platforms, one for each direction.

The platforms are linked by the station building.

Similar to the previous station at East Ham the ironwork has been retained showing the initials of the  London, Tilbury and Southend Railway, the first railway company that opened the station.

As I left the station it felt like deja vu  as it seemed identical to the previous station in East Ham.

Turning right from the station onto Green Street  you immediately come to  Queen's Market, a large covered food, fabric and clothing market.  

Next to the market is The Queens pub. It was a favourite with football fans but since West Ham football club moved in 2016  trade has decreased considerably so this might be another pub that will be closing soon.

Not far away is the Boleyn Ground where West Ham United Football Club used to play. The club moved from here to the Olympic stadium in 2016. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames ironworks and reformed as West Ham United in 1900. They moved to the Boleyn Ground for the start of the 1904/5 football season. The stadium was built on a plot of land, in the grounds of Green Street House, originally leased from the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Authorities.  The ground was improved and developed over the decades and became known as the Boleyn Ground but after 112 years the club left the Boleyn Ground for their new home in Stratford.

Green Street House was built in the mid 16th cent and was known as Boleyn Castle House.  It is not clear where the name of Boleyn originated. It is thought the Boleyn family who lived in Kent had a manor house built here so Henry VIII could stay whilst hunting in Epping Forest.  In 1869 Cardinal Manning bought the Boleyn Castle estate and used the building  as a R.C. school and a 'tin tabernacle' was constructed on the site in 1901. Much of the site closed in 1907 with most of it sold to West Ham United FC.

A few years later in 1911 this church, Our Lady of Compassion Catholic church, was built next to the football ground. The house was allowed to deteriorate and was demolished in 1955. The site is now being redeveloped as housing, retail and leisure facilities.

This sad looking area next to where the entrance into West Ham's football ground used to be is the Boleyn Ground Memorial Garden.  It was a place where relatives scattered ashes and put up commemorative plaques in memory of their loved ones.  It is a small area that means so much to the families of these fans.

The move of West Ham to their new home, the former Olympic Stadium was not a happy one. As someone remarked to me 'It's like the heart and soul has been ripped out of Upton Park'  Once the club moved, the garden seemed to have been forgotten and looks overgrown and in a bit of a state. No-one can access it because of these metal railings.













There has been much discussion as to what should happen to this memorial garden. Should it remain in situ or be taken to the club's new home in Stratford. The developers of the Boleyn Ground have said 'West Ham United Football Club and Barrett London are working closely together on future plans for this Memorial area, which will form an important part of  Upton Gardens once all landscaping work has been completed '.

At the end of this month (Jan 2020) there will be a closing ceremony at the memorial garden giving relatives an opportunity to collect any remaining items from the garden before hoardings are erected around the garden whilst the redevelopment continues. There will be no further access until the new Memorial  Garden reopens in 2022.

A short walk from the Boleyn Ground brought me to the junction of Green Street with Barking Road. On one side you have the Boleyn pub and on the other side is The World Cup Sculpture.

 This Victorian Grade II listed building was a favourite with football supporters coming to watch a match at the Boleyn Ground just up the road. It is said that on match days hundreds and hundreds of pints would be served every hour from the horseshoe bar which is apparently the longest in the country. That kind of trade has now disappeared and the pub has new owners.

The pub is currently closed for extensive refurbishment. The new owners are hoping they will find new trade from the residents in the new Boleyn Ground redevelopment.

On the other side of the road is this sculpture.

The World cup sculpture or The Champions is a bronze statue of the 1966 World Cup final. It depicts the victory scene after England won. This was the only time England have ever won the football world cup. The statue shows the England captain Bobby Moore holding the trophy. The sculpture celebrates West Ham's contribution to the game as three of the key players were from West Ham United football club. It was unveiled in 2000, ten years after the death of Bobby Moore from cancer at the age of 51.

Round the corner on Barking Road is the Boleyn Cinema.

The Boleyn Cinema opened in 1938. It was built on the site of the Boleyn Electric theatre which was built in 1910 but demolished to make way for this Odeon  cinema. It was built in the art deco style and could seat 2200 people. It was closed by the Rank Organisation in 1981 and remained closed for 14 years. The cinema was then bought by a new owner who converted the auditorium into three screens and opened it in 1995 as the Boleyn Cinema to screen Bollywood films.

I made my way back towards the station to have a look at the other end of town. 

On the way I popped into the library to see if there was anything of interest.

Green Street library seems to be a very proactive library. Regular English speaking and listening classes were advertised as well as numerous clubs and arts and crafts activities. Most libraries I have visited only have books written in English but here there was a large number of books written in other languages.

This is one of several brightly decorated mosaic benches on Green Street. The designs were made by local schools in collaboration with the artist, Peter Dunn. There are a number of benches as well as pavement mosaics. The themes of the designs are 'Our bodies, ourselves and global links'.

Just off Green Street is the Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple.

Around the corner from the temple is a community garden. The garden was created as part of the London 2012 Changing Places programme, an initiative set up to support communities in the Olympic host boroughs to develop social and environmental benefits as a legacy of the Games. The idea was to give time and materials to help community groups to transform rundown and underused open spaces .

I followed the road back round to Green Street as I wanted to look south of the main street. I turned off Green Street onto Plashet Road passed a new looking mosque.

I walked on to have a look at  St Anthony's church. I assume a lot of the land in this area was owned by the Catholic church as there are a  number of RC churches and schools within a small area.  This is St Anthony's church. A church and monastery were built here in 1884 by Pugin and Pugin, the architects of the Houses of Parliament.

The church is dedicated to St Antony of Padua and was built to serve as the abbey church of the Franciscan Friary which was built alongside it.

Close to the church is West Ham Park which has been owned and maintained by the Corporation of London since 1874 and at 77 acres, is the largest park in the London Borough of Newham. There is a seven acre ornamental garden as well as a range of other facilities including sports, guided walks and entertainment on the bandstand in the Summer.

Documents relating to the park date back to 1566 and show that the site was originally part of Upton House estate before being acquired in 1762 by philanthropist Dr John Fothergill. Encouraged to build a botanical garden, Dr Fothergill waived his fees and accepted gifts of rare plants instead. After Dr Fothergill's death, residents worked with the corporation of London to raise funds to buy the site and preserve it as an open space. West Ham Park was opened to the public in 1874.

 

Across the road from the park are Meggs' almshouses. Almshouses have been around since the 10th century and provided a home for the poor. They are usually provided and maintained by a charity or the trustees of a bequest. Here they are 12 self contained, one bed roomed flats on Upton Lane which were built in 1893 to replace an earlier development on Whitechapel Road. The original ones were constructed in 1658, by City benefactor and draper William Meggs. They were demolished in 1883 to make way for railway construction. and the rector and churchwarden of Whitechapel who were trustees of the charity that Meggs had established, chose a spot on Upton Lane for their replacement, ten years later. These almshouses are currently listed  and now managed by the East Thames Housing Group. Would be tenants must be residents from the London boroughs of  either Newham or Tower Hamlets.

This boarded up building has parts which date  back to the mid 16th cent. Not much is known of its early history but at some point, possibly in the early 19th century it was converted into an inn called the Spotted Dog. Sadly it has been left derelict for many,many years. It is now on Historic England's 'Heritage at Risk' register.

I then turned off  Upton Lane into Upton Avenue to see this unusual building. Known as the Red House, the building began life as the home of a Dutch merchant and was remodelled in the 1880s. It was later the home of a manufacturer of trade union banners. In 1933 it became St Anthony's Catholic social club.

A terracotta tile of fishermen embedded into the wall of the building.

On my way back to the station I came across the East shopping centre. Most of the shops were selling men's' and women's traditional Asian fashion

I decided to have a look in the food court. There was a small cafe as well as larger outlets.. I only wanted a sandwich and cup of tea. I ordered a tuna sandwich and was told to sit down whilst it was being made. I couldn't understand why it was taking so long as there was no-one else in the cafe. I was finally served with a HOT tuna and cheese concoction between two rounds of toast. It was vile. I obviously didn't choose well today as this must rate as the worst lunch I've had since beginning my underground walks. The cup of tea was OK though.

East Ham

Here I am at the 10th station that I have visited on the District Line.

There are two platforms for the East/Westbound District and Hammersmith and City lines. Other trains pass through but their lines are not visible as a barrier has been erected to separate the lines.

The ironwork on the canopy support shows the initials of the first railway company that opened the station in 1858 - the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway. Much of the original Victorian station architecture has been retained

A busy station it has a large number of ticket barriers.

This is the first station building on this line that looks different.  It was rebuilt in 1902 when the station became part of  the London Underground and was taken over by the District Line. When the station first opened the area was described as a 'scattered village' but due to the new railway the population increased by over 7000% according to the census of 1911!


The station exits onto a long High Street.

East Ham is in the London Borough of Newham. It is a multicultural area with a majority of Caribbean and South Asians, African and Eastern European residents. In 2010 East Ham was noted as having the fourth highest level of unemployment in the country. Around 7 in 10 children are from low income families making it the worst area in the country for child poverty.

Newham is a London Borough that experiences significant problems with poverty and inequality. 35.6% of employees are low paid, the highest percentage in London and the poverty rate is 37% - ten percentage points higher than the London average. However the number of affordable homes has increased in the  last five years and the unemployment rate has also dropped. (Information from Trust for London.)

I turned right  as I left the station and just 100m along the High Street was this Hindu Temple.

The Sri Mahalakshmi Temple was completed in 2017. This was formerly the site of a public house. The ornate exterior was the design of specialist Hindu Temple designers and is based on temples prevalent in Southern India

A very impressive golden entrance. The Gopouram's (towers) are deliberately  intended to be visible from a long distance away and are an important part of the building.

On the other side of the High Street is a 99p store, above which is a Masjid or Mosque.

Due to a very large Muslim community, East Ham has many mosques. Some of the mosques include the Masjid Bilal and Islamic Centre and the Medina Masjid and Muslim Cultural Centre. The centre has provided Islamic knowledge to the local community since the 1980s. The madrasah is open each evening and  weekends to educate children between the ages of 5 and 14 in all matters of the Islamic faith.

Most of the fashion shops catered for an Asian community.

Also on the High Street is The Ruskin Arms, well known as home to local rock and heavy metal music, where the group 'Iron Maiden' began their career and played here regularly. They immortalised the pub on the cover of their 1986 album 'Somewhere in Time'. The pub closed down in December 2018 when its licence was not renewed following a brutal attack outside the pub. It was alleged that bar staff from the pub continued to serve drinks and failed to call the police as two men were reportedly said to have 'stamped on the head' of an unconscious customer.









Another place of worship on the High Street was this church which turned out to be a community centre run by the Kingdom Mandate Ministries.

As I looked in through the open door I was greeted by a man vacuuming the floor who beckoned me in. He was very keen to tell me about the centre and explain all its functions and activities. On Saturdays it was used by Muslims who were taught the Quran and on Sundays it was used by Christians studying the bible.

During the week it offered many different classes including English conversations for the whole community. It was also a food bank and distributed food to the needy. It truly was a centre for the whole community.

This was the gentleman who welcomed me into the centre. Ruben is a Tamil from Sri Lanka and moved to East Ham 20 years ago. He now has 40 members of his extended family also living in the area.  He told me how much he loved living here. Ruben wanted to make me a cup of tea but I declined as I had only just stepped off the train and still had a lot more walking to do.

I left the High Street to have a look at the side streets which were full of cars as these houses were built long before every household owned at least one car.

There were so many places of worship in East Ham. Every denomination seemed to be represented. Here's just a few of the churches I walked past.

Manor Park Spiritualist church

Pilgrim's Way Church (Congregational and Methodist)

 East Ham Christadelphian church

St Paul's (Church of England)

This church houses the Trinity Centre. Trinity centre was set up in 1972 for the benefit of Newham residents. Last year it provided 251 different activities at the centre. Over 110 languages are spoken in Newham.

I walked down a couple of side streets and ended up at Plashet Park. Every area has at least one park. Plashet Park was originally the grounds of the 18th Cent Wood House. The land was acquired for the park in 1889 and opened to the public in 1891. The original layout of paths and trees remains but some features such as the bandstand and fountains have now gone. New facilities were added and in 1964 a small zoo opened with Vietnamese pot bellied pigs, wallabies, Shetland ponies and an aviary and butterfly house. This was closed in the 1990s. The current facilities in the park include tennis courts, a children's playground and a bowling green.

Across the road from the park is East Ham Memorial Hospital. It was founded in 1902 as the East Ham Hospital, a voluntary cottage hospital with 20 beds. The original concept of a cottage hospital was a small rural building housing a few beds. It had the advantage of providing care locally and avoiding the need to travel long distances to the county hospital. Local doctors could admit their patients to it and prior to the NHS the in patients would have to pay a small weekly sum for their keep. This particular one was financed by a Cornish philanthropist, John Passmore Edwards who gave £5000 towards its cost. The hospital was extended in 1915 and renamed the Passmore Edwards East Ham Hospital. During WW1 it became an army hospital. Following the war an appeal raised enough money to build a general hospital here as a memorial to those local servicemen who died during WW1. A new 2 storey building was erected on an adjoining site in 1929 and was renamed the East Ham Memorial Hospital. It had 100 beds. The former hospital was converted into children's wards. When it joined the NHS in 1948 it had 138 beds. It closed as an acute hospital in 1981 but reopened in 1990 with beds for acute psychiatric and psychogeriatric patients. A purpose built 78 bedded care centre opened in 2007 and the building and facilities are part of the East Ham care Centre.

The main entrance to the Passmore Edwards Building.

Around the corner from the hospital is this Grade II listed building the Passmore Edwards Library. It has no connection to the hospital except it was financed by the same philanthropist. Edwards was born in 1823 in Cornwall, the son of a carpenter. He went on to become a journalist and freelance writer in London. About this time he became an activist and served on a number of committees such as one in favour of the abolition of capital punishment. He also published and edited a number of magazines that promoted peace and temperance. Over the next few years he purchased  several successful publications and in 1876 he bought the 'Echo', London's first daily newspaper. A decade later he was in a position to begin his philanthropic activities. Some of his major beneficiaries were the Whitechapel Art Gallery and The London School of Economics. He founded 24 libraries and in a short period of time he funded 70 different building projects including hospitals, schools, convalescent homes and art galleries, many of which continue today.

At the end of the road is Plashet, a girls' secondary school. The school is housed in two buildings on either side of Plashet Grove, linked by the award winning Plashet Unity Bridge. The bridge has become a feature in its own right and is an unusual installation for a school. The undulating Unity bridge is a symbol of the uniting of two schools. East Ham Grammar School for girls was opened in the 1930s on the South site. Two decades later on the North site the Plashet County secondary modern school for girls was opened. The two schools were amalgamated in 1972 but it wasn't until 2000 that the bridge was built to unite the buildings. It was initially designed to be a safer way for the girls and members of staff to cross the very busy road between the two buildings but it seems it became much more than that and symbolised the fusion of the two schools. The bridge received the Structural Steel Bridge award in 2001, the RIBA award in 2001 and was a finalist for the building of the year award (2001).

At the end of the street is a pedestrian bridge over the railway. I have to admit I would not be walking around here during the dark and even in daylight I didn't feel particularly safe.

A piece of wasteland near the railway lines. The land used to be part of the Beckton Gas works which had nine gasometers.The gasometers were used to store 'town' gas made from coal. Only No.8 gasholder still survives. The discovery of natural gas in the North sea meant it was uneconomic to manufacture gas. The gas works closed in 1969. Some gasometers are being restored for historical reasons. I'm not sure what will happen to this one. I returned from here back to the High Street to have a look at the Southern end of the High Street.

This 1930s building used to be Burton's menswear.

At the end of the High Street is Newham Town Hall. A beautiful ornate Grade II listed Edwardian building which was opened in 1903 by the philanthropist, Passmore Edwards.

Beside the town hall is the technical college, Opened in 1905, it was designed for use as a secondary day school as well as an evening college. As a technical college it had carpenters' and plumbers' workshops, a building department and a clinical laboratory. The building is now a 6th form college, library and leisure centre.
Time to return to the tube station. My abiding memory of East Ham will be the number of places of worship and the community projects helping to create harmony within the town.