West Ham, Industrial district in East London, England
West Ham is a district in the eastern borough of Newham, roughly 10 kilometers east of Charing Cross. It spreads between the Thames waterfront to the south and the River Lea to the east across low-lying land.
The area became a factory zone from the mid-1800s after new building regulations pushed industries out of central London. Dense rows of workers' housing rose alongside the mills and workshops.
The name comes from an Anglo-Saxon term for a settlement on wet land, reflecting its position between the Thames and the Lea. Today red-brick terraces and smaller parks shape the residential streets.
Several tube and tram stops link the district to the city center and other eastern neighborhoods. Walking routes are mostly flat and straightforward, with some underpasses beneath railway lines.
During Victorian times so many mills clustered here that the district was called the factory center of southern England. The old workshop layout remains visible in narrow lanes between housing blocks.
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