Beckton

Beckton is a suburb in east London, England, located east of Charing Cross and part of the London Borough of Newham. Adjacent to the River Thames, the area consisted of unpopulated marshland known as the East Ham Levels in the parishes of Barking, East Ham, West Ham and Woolwich. The development of major industrial infrastructure in the 19th century to support the growing metropolis of London caused an increase in population with housing built in the area for workers of the Beckton Gas Works and Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. The area has a convoluted local government history and has formed part of Greater London since 1965. Between 1981 and 1995 it was within the London Docklands Development Corporation area, which caused the population to increase as new homes were built and the Docklands Light Railway was constructed. Beckton is named after Simon Adams Beck, the governor of the Gas Light and Coke Company when work building Beckton Gas Works began in November 1868. The name New Beckton was used in 1881 for the workers estate at Cyprus. Prior to industrialisation, the area that became Beckton was remote and unpopulated Thameside marshland, known as the East Ham Levels. Urban development took place in the south of the parish of East Ham, the part of the parish of Barking to the west of the River Roding and the part of Woolwich parish that was north of the River Thames. The western extremity was in the parish of West Ham. There was also a county boundary, with Barking, East Ham and West Ham in Essex and Woolwich in Kent. The whole area became part of the expanded Metropolitan Police District in 1840. Reflecting an increase in population and the need for more effective local government, local boards were formed for Woolwich in 1852, West Ham in 1856, East Ham in 1878 and Barking Town in 1882. The section in the detached part of Woolwich parish came within the Metropolitan Board of Works district in 1855 and in 1889 this area became the County of London under the control of the newly formed London County Council.