Newham as we know it became one of the London boroughs in 1965, but there are many things we don’t know about the place we call home. So Jordan Jones decided to find some.

1. The origins of the name Newham. Most of us already know that the name Newham derives from the merging of East and West Ham. However, the ‘ham’ part of Newham originates from the Old English ‘hamm’ meaning ‘a dry area of lands between rivers or marshland’. This refers to the location of the settlement within the boundaries created by the rivers Lea, Thames and Roding.

2. The West Ham Hammers. West Ham United are known as the “hammers” thanks to their association with Thames ironworks, but it’s not so well known that from 1929 to 1972, Custom House was home to the West Ham Hammers speedway team at West Ham Stadium. The team were the first winners of the British League in 1965 and were the London Cup Winners for three consecutive years from 1965-1967. The 1972 season saw the Romford Bombers move into the stadium, racing under the name West Ham Bombers.

3. Far From Home – more like close to home. Newham may consider itself a movie star, as West Silvertown DLR Station was used as a filming location for the 2019 film Spider-Man: Far From Home. The station stood in as an understudy of sorts for a station in Berlin. Scenes from the film were also filmed at the Millennium Mills.

4. Rock Against Racism. The first Rock Against Racism (RAR) gig took place at the Princess Alice pub in Forest Gate in November 1976 and featured Carol Grimes and Matumbi as the headline acts. RAR was founded as a response to many well-known rock musicians, such as Eric Clapton and David Bowie, making inflammatory and racist statements amid rising support for the National Front in the UK.

5. Progressio cum Populo. The Borough’s coat of arms was derived from that of the County Borough of West Ham, while the motto is a direct translation of the County Borough of East Ham’s Latin “Progressio cum Populo” meaning “Progress with the People”.

6. Talking diversity. We are living in the most diverse place in the country, according to Newham’s Sustainable Community Strategy for 2010-30, with over 200 languages

and dialects spoken. Feel free to use these in your next socially distanced zoom quiz night for a Newham based round!

Jordan is a student journalist studying at University of East London. In 2019 she was shortlisted for the British Journalism Review’s 30 Under 30 Competition in celebration of their 30th Anniversary.

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