was a borough in the far south west of
Essex from 1886 to 1965. It was immediately north of the
River Thames and east of the
River Lee .
It was first created a
Municipal Borough in
1886 and gained further status, becoming a
County Borough , in
1888 .
The area did not become officially part of London until 1965, which allowed dangerous and polluting industry to be set up in the area which was otherwise prohibited from operating in the metropolis whose boundary in the east was the Lee. After rapid growth the area earned the name "London over the border". Most of the workers of the local industry lived in slum conditions close to where they worked.
The borough included
Plaistow ,
West Ham ,
Stratford ,
Canning Town and
Silvertown - all of the current-day London Borough of Newham west of
Green Street . The borough ran its own
Tram services until they became the responsibility of the
London Passenger Transport Board in 1933. The borough ran its own fire brigade which was absorbed into the
London Fire Brigade in 1965.
The county borough, along with the
County Borough Of East Ham , was abolished and became part of the
London Borough Of Newham in
1965 when
Greater London was created.
