Editing Stratford, London (section)

====Victorian acceleration====
The Victorian era saw growth hugely accelerated by three major factors: the [[Metropolitan Buildings Act 1844]], the arrival of the railway and the creation of the nearby [[Royal Docks]].

Rapid growth followed the Metropolitan Buildings Act 1844, which restricted dangerous and noxious industries from operating in the metropolitan area, the eastern boundary of which was the [[River Lea]]. Consequently, many of these activities were relocated to the banks of the river, and West Ham became one of Victorian Britain's major manufacturing centres for pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and processed foods. This rapid growth earned it the name "London over the border".<ref name=charter>{{cite news |title=The Incorporation of West Ham |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=1 November 1886 |page=12 }}</ref> The growth of the town was summarised by ''[[The Times]]'' in 1886:

<blockquote>''"Factory after factory was erected on the marshy wastes of Stratford and Plaistow, and it only required the construction at Canning Town of the [[Royal Docks|Victoria and Albert Docks]] to make the once desolate parish of West Ham a manufacturing and commercial centre of the first importance and to bring upon it a teeming and an industrious population."''<ref name=charter/></blockquote>

By the early 19th century, Stratford was an important transport hub, with [[Wagonette|omnibus]]es and [[stagecoach|coach]]es running into London four times every hour and coaches from [[East Anglia]] passing through hourly. The route into London was plied by [[Walter Hancock]]'s [[History of steam road vehicles#Early steam carriage services|steam coach]]es for a period during the 1830s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol6/pp61-63|title=West Ham: Transport and postal services {{pipe}} British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> A small dock and a number of [[wharf|wharves]] were operating on the River Lea at Stratford by the 1820s, serving the needs of local industries. The opening of the Victoria Dock (later [[Royal Victoria Dock]]) nearby on the Thames in 1855, and the subsequent construction of the [[Royal Group of Docks]] (at one time the largest area of impounded water in the world), increased Stratford's importance as a transport and manufacturing centre.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol6/pp57-61|title=West Ham: Rivers, bridges, wharfs and docks {{pipe}} British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> Rising population levels led to two major new Anglican churches in the area, [[St John's Church, Stratford|St John's Church]] in 1834 and [[Christ Church, Stratford|Christ Church]] in 1851.

[[File:Stratford Railway Works.jpg|thumb|right|Engine repair shop of the Stratford Railway Works, 1921]]

Stratford station was opened on 20 June 1839 by the [[Eastern Counties Railway]] (ECR). The [[Northern and Eastern Railway]] opened a section of its authorised line from {{stnlnk|Broxbourne}} to join the ECR at Stratford on 15 September 1840.<ref>{{cite book|author=White, H.P.|editor1=Thomas, David St John|title=A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain — Volume 3: Greater London|edition=3rd|year=1987|publisher=[[David & Charles]]|location=Dawlish}}</ref> A railway works and depot for engines and rolling stock was established by [[Great Eastern Railway|Great Eastern]] in 1847 to the north of Stratford. At its peak, the works employed over 2,500, many of whom had homes, along with other railway workers, in the town that developed nearby. It was originally called Hudson Town, after [[George Hudson]], the "Railway King", but after his involvement in bribery and fraud was revealed in 1849, the settlement quickly became better known as '''Stratford New Town''', which by 1862 had a population of 20,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol5/pp570-576|title=The northern suburbs: The Lea and Stratford-le-Bow {{pipe}} British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> During the lifetime of the Stratford works, 1,682 [[locomotive]]s, 5,500 [[Railroad car|passenger coach]]es and 33,000 [[goods wagon]]s were built. The last part of the works closed in March 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newhamstory.com/node/1609|title=Stratford Railway Works – General Offices Building – The Newham Story|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316121313/http://newhamstory.com/node/1609|archive-date=16 March 2013}}</ref>