Distinctly one-of-a-kind as a result of its docks and its rich industrial history, this locale consists of Silvertown and North Woolwich in the east. Transport links are unparalleled, with multiple DLR stops, a new station for the Elizabeth Line at Custom House, Canning Town tube station to the north, and London City Airport all servicing the area. The housing scene is varied: much of the residential part is characterised by low-rise buildings developed during the early 2000s, whilst pockets of compact Victorian terraces and a few council-built tower blocks are dotted between old factories.

The Thames Barrier Park, London’s first new park opened in fifty years, boasts an impressive aesthetic of wavy-shaped hedges and a rainbow-palette flower garden. The deep-rooted docklands heritage gives the area a unique character visible in the numerous art installations throughout the neighbourhood such as the anchor, located just off the ferry terminal, mounted opposite the airport to symbolically welcome arrivals. Local Drew Primary School is rated ‘good’ by Ofsted whilst Britannia Village Primary is rated ‘outstanding’.

Prior to the arrival of the railway in 1847, most of the area constituted uninhabited marshland. Interestingly and unlike the rest of West Ham, the locale’s speciality was not just the industry ushered in as a result of the Metropolitan Building Act of 1844. A piece of legislation that saw the influx of manufacturing into the east end by prohibiting the operation of noxious industries closer to the city.

North Woolwich also had a reputation for entertainment in the form of a pleasure garden. During its heyday, these Royal Pavilion Gardens housed the largest dance stage in London, while later during the 1870s, when open- air entertainment was on the decline, the park was a lone survivor entertaining its guests with hot-air balloons, fireworks and ‘monster baby shows’. Neighbouring Silvertown, named after local factory owner Samuel Winkworth Silver, was meanwhile developing as an industrial hub, with the Royal Docks allowing for an easy supply of materials. Heavily bombed during the Blitz, the locale went through a phase of rehousing, poverty-alleviation, a Garden City movement and many council-funded construction projects. It was not until recently that a more coherent and optimistic vision for the area has materialised, on the basis of regeneration.

The area holds a claim to have influenced a social movement that would come to redefine an era of politics. Henry Tate I set up his sugar refining factory here in 1878 and was known locally as a warm-hearted man with a great sense of social responsibility. Employment in his refinery was a privilege – workers flocked from Europe, bearing the label ‘Tate’ in order to be directed to his factory. A bar and dancehall, named the Tate Institute, was established in the neighbourhood to entertain the labourers living locally. This was a stark contrast to the atmosphere of Silver’s own factory in 1889, when most of his 3,000 workers staged a three-month long strike. Karl Marx’s daughter Eleanor was a key participant and the affair contributed to the growing sympathy for the working classes. Its legacy would involve influencing the forthcoming Labour Movement and thus the shape of modern British politics.

A tragedy for the area came in 1917, when the one of the largest explosions in the history of the capital brought devastation to much of the vicinity. The Bruner Mond factory was converted from its soda crystals manufacturing business to TNT purification for use in shells during the war. Despite warnings by the chief scientist of the process that it was, in fact, “manifestly very dangerous”, operations steamed ahead at full capacity. After a fire broke out in the melt-pot room at 6:52pm January 1917, 50 tonnes of the explosive ignited and the blast devastated the factory, together with surrounding buildings, killing 73 and injuring 400.

Due to the sporadic nature of the area, the leisure and entertainment options are not comparable to their now defunct 19th century counterparts. The proximity to London City Airport may also be an off-putting factor for some. However, one local resident explained that having rapidly become used to the aviation noise, one thing which makes Silvertown unique is that “It’s really quiet and doesn’t really feel like London at all but [you] can get to Bank in 20 minutes.”

The opening of the Elizabeth Line at Custom House earlier this year has attracted new interest to the area, with Tottenham Court Road now only 15 minutes away. Today, three organisations (Chelsfield Properties, First Base and Macquarie Capital) are taking on the area to propel it to being one of London’s new creative hubs. Silvertown Quays, as it will be known, is a £3.5 billion project which will see 3,000 new homes erected in the area accompanied by 21,000 new jobs. More controversially the Silvertown Tunnel is a road tunnel under construction between the Greenwich Peninsula and west Silvertown. Local groups and climate activists oppose the scheme, arguing that an increase in road capacity will worsen air pollution while doing nothing to alleviate traffic in the long term.