Silvertown facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Silvertown |
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 Wesley Avenue in Britannia Village, a completed part of the Silvertown Quays redevelopment project. |
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 Silvertown
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| OS grid reference | TQ415795 |
| London borough | |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | E16 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| EU Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament |
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| London Assembly | |
Silvertown is a part of east London, England. It is located in the London Borough of Newham. This area sits on the north side of the River Thames.
Historically, Silvertown was part of the old areas of West Ham and East Ham. Since 1965, it has been part of the London Borough of Newham. This is a local government area within Greater London. Silvertown is also part of the London E16 postcode district. Other nearby areas include Canning Town and Custom House.
The area got its name from factories started by Stephen William Silver in 1852. Today, the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery still stands by the river. New homes are being built around it.
In central Silvertown, you can find St Marks Church. This church is now a place called Brick Lane Music Hall. London City Airport is also here. A new arts and creative space, The Factory Project, has also opened.
A big plan to improve part of the area was approved in 2015. This project is worth £3.5 billion.
Contents
History of Silvertown
In 1852, a company called S.W. Silver & Company moved to Silvertown. They started a rubber factory. At first, they made waterproof clothes. This factory later grew into the India Rubber, Gutta Percha and Telegraph Works Company. This company made and laid many underwater cables.
By the 1860s, more factories were built. These included chemical plants and places to store oil. In 1864, Silvertown became its own church area. Its main church was St Mark's.
Two sugar companies moved to the area. Henry Tate arrived in 1877 and Abram Lyle in 1881. These two companies later joined together in 1921. They formed the well-known company Tate & Lyle. Even though they were rivals, they never actually met. Tate & Lyle still has two large sugar factories in Silvertown today.
In 1889, Silver's factory had a long strike. Most of its 3,000 workers stopped working for twelve weeks. They wanted better pay. The factory managers refused to talk to the workers. Important people like Tom Mann and Eleanor Marx supported the strike. Eventually, the workers had to go back to work because they ran out of money. Many of them were treated unfairly for striking.
On January 19, 1917, a large part of Silvertown was destroyed. This happened because of a huge TNT explosion. It was at the Brunner-Mond munitions factory. This event is known as the Silvertown explosion. Seventy-three people died, and hundreds were hurt. It was one of the biggest explosions ever in the British Isles.
In the early 1900s, Silvertown had a lot of traffic problems. It was located between the River Thames and the Royal Docks. These docks were very busy at the time. Roads were often blocked by bridges lifting for ships. Also, train crossings were closed for long periods. Because of this, an elevated road called Silvertown Way was built in the 1930s. It was one of the first of its kind in a city.
During the first night of The Blitz in World War II, many factories were bombed. Tate and Lyle's sugar factory, John Knight's soap factory, and the Silvertown Rubber Works were all badly damaged.
Silver's factory was later taken over by another company. It closed in the 1960s. Now, it is an industrial area. Another big employer was the Loders and Nucoline plant. This factory made fats from palm kernel oil.
Silvertown was part of the old areas of West Ham and East Ham in Essex. In 1965, these areas joined to create the new London Borough of Newham.
Making Silvertown Better
After the old Silvertown train station closed, the local shops and services suffered. Many shops, the post office, a social club, and the library were lost. Only one of the many pubs on Albert Road remains. Some new homes were built in the 1980s. However, the main part of Silvertown has not seen much improvement since then.
Further west, a residential area called Britannia Village was built in the 1990s. This part is now known as "West Silvertown."
On April 21, 2015, the Newham Council approved a big plan. This plan is to redevelop part of Silvertown. It will cost £3.5 billion. The project will include:
- Offices and a technology hub
- 3,000 new homes
- Places for businesses to show off their brands
- A new school, health centre, and shops
A new bridge will also be built across the Royal Docks. This bridge will connect people to Custom House station and Crossrail. However, these new developments will mostly benefit the western part of Silvertown, not the older, central area.
The Silvertown Partnership is leading this project. Their goal is to build homes, restaurants, and business buildings. They also plan to create public spaces for the community. They believe the project will create up to 20,700 new jobs. It could also add £260 million each year to London's economy. The plan also includes fixing up the old Millennium Mills flour factory.
In January 2015, the Mayor of London announced £12 million in government money. This money was to start tearing down parts of Millennium Mills. It was also used to remove dangerous asbestos. Before this, the area changed a lot in the 1970s. The Thames Barrier was built, along with a park, new homes, and London City Airport.
Education
Maritime Activities
The Tate & Lyle Thames Refinery is a very important port area in London. It is one of the largest sugar refineries in the world. It can process 1.2 million tonnes of sugar every year. The refinery has special jetties for loading and unloading ships. These jetties have large cranes. The terminal handles sugar as dry bulk. It also handles edible and vegetable oils as liquid bulk. It sends sugar all over the world. It imports sugar from places like Fiji, the Caribbean, Africa, and South America.
Getting Around Silvertown
The closest Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station is London City Airport. Pontoon Dock station is also nearby. Getting to Silvertown became much easier in 2005. That's when the DLR line was extended from Canning Town to Woolwich Arsenal.
The old Silvertown railway station closed in 2006. A new London Underground station opened at nearby Custom House in 2022. This station is part of the Crossrail project. It makes it easier to get to central London, Essex, and even London Heathrow Airport. The new Crossrail line uses the path of the old North London Line. There are plans to build a future stop for Silvertown on this line.
The London Cable Car connects West Silvertown to the Greenwich Peninsula.
London City Airport is located right in central Silvertown.
A new bridge is planned to connect West Silvertown with Custom House station. This bridge is part of the £3.5 billion redevelopment plan for London's Royal Docks.
The Silvertown Tunnel is a road tunnel under the Thames. It is expected to open in 2025. It will provide a way to drive to the Greenwich peninsula, though there will be a toll.
Public buses also serve Silvertown. The 473 bus runs from Stratford to North Woolwich. The 474 bus goes from Canning Town to Manor Park. Both of these buses stop at London City Airport. A new bus route, the 241, runs between Stratford and Pontoon Dock.
There have been efforts to create bike lanes in recent years. However, ongoing construction and road work limit these. Cyclists often have to share the road with cars.
Silvertown in Books and Music
Silvertown is featured in a song by Mark Knopfler. It is called Silvertown Blues. The song describes the area before it was redeveloped.
The band Men They Couldn't Hang released an album called 'Silvertown' in 1989. One song on it, 'Blackfriers Bridge', mentions Silvertown.
The area also appears in Charlie Connelly's 2004 book, Attention All Shipping. In the first chapter, he writes about his grandparents leaving the area during The Blitz. His 2015 book Constance Street also uses the docks and factories of Silvertown as its setting. It tells the stories of 12 women during the war.
Melanie McGrath's book Silvertown is a story about her grandmother's life in the area. Her grandmother and husband ran a cafe there.
The Sugar Girls, by Duncan Barrett and Nuala Calvi, shares true stories. It is about women who worked at Tate & Lyle's factories in Silvertown. The book includes many details about the area.
Notable People
- Frank Bailey (1925–2015), a firefighter
