The Francis Frith Collection.
You are here: Home > Explore your past > England > London > East Ham
2008 Christmas Gift Guide - great gifts for your family and friends

East Ham

East Ham photos (16 available)

Old photo of East Ham

East Ham maps (2 available)

Old map of East Ham

East Ham books (8 available)

East Ham memories

The Station & the Cinemas

I was born in Manor Park in 1937 but spent a lot of time in East Ham as my mother was a keen cinema-goer.  The Granada in Barking Road used to have a four hour programme with two films and an hour long stage show.  I recall seeing rock singer Charlie Gracie there.  Remember the song 'Fabulous'?  The stars appearing often used the cafe opposite before their act.  The Premier in the High Street had an alley at the side where entertainers amused the people queuing. I recall you walked through what could have been an earlier smaller cinema before you stepped into the main area.  Anyone know the story of the  smaller area? Be interesting to know.

In 1957 ...read more here
Contributed by David Bolton

EAST HAM FROM 1958

I was born and raised in East Ham and was very proud of it.  We lived in Friars Road off the Barking Road and moved to Lincoln Road off High Street North.  The postcards brought back memories of home.  East Ham used to be a very good place to live.  I can remember ladies washing their front door steps and paths down every day.  As children we used to play in Plashet Park without fear.  Sometimes venture to Wanstead Flats with a bottle of orange squash and have a good time.  Do you remember the Town Show over Central Park with fireworks at the end.  The fair over Wanstead Flats.  Going on a boat over Barking Park?  The Lido and the ...read more here
Contributed by ROSEMARIE LEE

Visiting my Nan and Grandad

I remember as a young girl going to visit my grandparents house in Monega Road, Manor Park.  They lived in a three-up, two-down with a funny type coal shed under the stairs!

I can remember walking down the tree-lined street with my grandad, I must have been about 3 or 4 and he knew everyone he saw in the street.  They lived a few doors away from the Monega Road School, which both my Mum and Uncle went to as little un's.  They then moved on to the Grammer schools (separate ones, of course).

I can still remember the smell as I used to walk into their house, of stale cigarettes and old spice.  The sight of my grandad ...read more here
Contributed by JENNY WATTS

meeting my future wife

East Ham, Town Hall c1965

I worked for israels who had a fruit & veg shop opposite the town hall from june 1963 to 1965 in early 64 i noticed a pretty young girl walking past the shop each morning on her way to east ham station to catch the underground to the city (she had just left school xmas 63) we used to smile at one another but it took me till june that year to ask her for a date the rest is history we married in 66 lived in manor park then east ham we have 2 children sarah born in 1970 & david in 1971 and twin grand daughters chloe & jessica we are now retired and live near spalding lincolnshire ...read more here
Contributed by david brown

Up The Hammers

East Ham, view from Town Hall Tower c1965

My grandfather, John Williams, lived in a victorian terraced house in Seymour Road with his parents and four brothers. The house was knocked down and replaced with the large block of flats you can see in the distance to the centre of the photograph. It stands right next to the Boleyn ground, West Ham United's stadium, which has been there for over a hundred years. My grandfather and his brothers were regular visitors to the ground, being avid fans, a tradition which he passed down to myself and more recently my son. As a boy one evening John and his brothers decided to honour the club by redecorating the football ground with colourful slogans such as 'Up the Hammers' only to ...read more here
Contributed by Julian Hight

Extracts From East Ham & London books

Woodmansterne, the Village c1955

Nestled in the rear slopes of the North Downs, the village derives its ancient name from the Saxon word ‘wudmeresthorn’, meaning ‘thornbush by the boundary of the wood’, and was mentioned in the Domesday Book. This 1930s mock-Tudor shopping parade still stands on Rectory Lane as it winds its way south to the junction with the Chipstead Valley Road, where the buildings of the Woodmansterne Treatment Works, belonging to the Sutton and East Surrey Water Company, are just visible.
An extract from from"Around Cheam, including Sutton, Ewell, Banstead and Epsom Photographic Memories".

Banstead, High Street c1955

Much of Banstead High Street was rebuilt during the 1920s with a series of shopping parades. The leafless lime tree in the middle distance occupies the spot where the village pond once existed, while All Saints’ churchyard is concealed behind the trees on the extreme right.
An extract from from"Around Cheam, including Sutton, Ewell, Banstead and Epsom Photographic Memories".

Banstead, the Station c1965

The station, on the branch line from Sutton to Epsom Downs, opened in 1865, and the white stuccoed house, now a builder’s offices, dates from around the same time. The small confectionery kiosk was one of a trio servicing the requirements of commuters, with other branches at Sutton and Epsom. The roof of the station no longer bears the white lettering, and the building is almost a mile from the town centre itself. The road almost immediately makes another sharp bend over the railway line below, before passing the Cuddington Golf Clubhouse and continuing on to East Ewell.
An extract from from"Around Cheam, including Sutton, Ewell, Banstead and Epsom Photographic Memories".

Cheam, Banstead Downs Golf Club c1955

Originally founded for ladies in the autumn of 1890, the club admitted gentlemen to membership within a year, and from a tin hut close to Banstead Railway Station it moved to this site in Burdon Lane nine years later. A putting green was added in 1923, and further major development took place in the years after this photograph was taken.
An extract from from"Around Cheam, including Sutton, Ewell, Banstead and Epsom Photographic Memories".

Cheam, Tennis Court, Meadowside Road 1925

Situated on the corner of Sandy Lane, these courts, flanked by suburban houses, now form part of Cheam Fields Club. The pavilion in the background, although substantially altered, has also survived to the present day.
An extract from from"Around Cheam, including Sutton, Ewell, Banstead and Epsom Photographic Memories".