West Ham, Essex Poor Law Union

History
There is evidence of a parish workhouse at Westham [West Ham] in 1729. A parish workhouse was set up by Walthamstow parish in 1726 in rented premises on Hoe Street. In 1730, a purpose-built workhouse was erected on an acre of Church Common purchased for £6. The building, a simple two-storey design with eight rooms accommodating 30-40 inmates, cost £343.12s.3d. It was enlarged in 1756, and again in 1779, and by the 1820s usually accommodated more than eighty. The Walthamstow workhouse building now houses the Vestry House Museum and local archives.

Woodford set up a parish workhouse in 1723, while Leyton established one on Church Road in 1742; the parliamentary report of 1777 recorded parish workhouses in operation at West Ham (for up to 155 ), Leyton (30), and Walthamstow (50). West Ham Poor Law Union was formed on 31st May 1836. A new West Ham Union workhouse was built in 1839-41 in Leyton. It was designed by Alfred Richard Mason and later extended in 1845 to provide additonal accommodation. In 1864, a 200-bed infirmary, was added at the west of the workhouse. The infirmary buildings were demolished to form residential accommodation. After the First World War, the site became known as the Central Home. In 1930, control passed to West Ham Borough Council, who ran it as a home for the chronic sick, aged and infirm. In 1936, it had around 1,800 beds. In 1948, with the inauguration of the National Health Service, it became a geriatric hospital and renamed Langthorne Hospital, forming part of the Leytonstone group of the North East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. The site has now been redeveloped for residential use.

Whipp's Cross Hospital
In 1900-03, the West Ham Guardians erected a large new union infirmary at Whipp's Cross, Leytonstone. It was designed by Francis J Sturdy and is still in use by Whipps Cross Hospital. Margate Convalescent Home In 1900, the union acquired the former Metropolitan Infirmary for Children at Margate for use as a seaside convalescent home.

Aldersbrook Homes and Scattered Homes
West Ham placed many of its poor law children is scattered homes where a group of children were looked after by a house-parent and attended local schools. By 1913, the union had scattered homes at 31 and 31B, 96, 98, 100, 102 Ferndale Road, Leytonstone and 21-27 Pelham Road, South Woodford. In the mid-1920s, there were also homes at Savage Gardens, East Ham; Ashford Road, South Woodford; Davies Lane, Leytonstone; Capel Road, Forest Gate; Keogh Road, Stratford; and Pulteney Road, South Woodford. In 1907, the West Ham Guardians purchased a site at Aldersbrook on which, in 1910, they erected receiving homes for children being placed in the union's scattered homes. The homes were subsequently taken over by East Ham County Borough who added a recreation hall in 1931. The homes have now been converted to flats.

Constituent Parishes
East Ham, Essex Leyton, Essex Leytonstone, Essex Little Illford, Essex Plaistow St Mary, Essex Stratford St John, Essex Walthamstow, Essex [St Mary] Walthamstow St James, Essex Walthamstow St John, Essex Walthamstow St Peter, Essex Wanstead, Essex West Ham, Essex Woodford, Essex Woodford Bridge, Essex

Records
Newham Archives and Local Studies Library, Stratford Library, 3 The Grove, London E15 1EL. Holdings include: Guardians' Minutes (1836-42, 1844-61, 1873-5, 1884-1930). Waltham Forest Archives, Vestry House Museum, Vestry Road, Walthamstow, London E17 9NH. Holdings include: Central Home admissions (1906-59, women and children only); Printed Guardians' Minutes (1906-8, 1912-13, 1922-26, 1929-30);

Websites
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?WestHam/WestHam.shtml Workhouses site