The former Plashet Park Church building
stands at the south-east corner of Katherine Road and Chester Road
in East Ham. It was founded in 1884 in a room in Crescent Road. A
two-storey building was erected on the present site in 1887 (later
used as classrooms). An iron building followed in 1890, with a
permanent church established in 1895. This was gutted by fire in
1925 and the present hall was built in 1926. By 2008 it was home
to the Grangewood Independent School.
St Michael's Mission Church is on the
south side of Rutland Road, close to Katherine Road. It was the
second of three missions opened by St Stephen's Green Street
(see links). Services were initially held in 1895 in Saxby
Villas, Red Post Lane (now Katherine Road). An iron church opened
next to the present site in 1898 and was replaced by this building
in 1912. It closed post-war and by 2013 was in use as the Greek
Orthodox Church of St Lazarus & St Andrew.
Hope Baptist Chapel is on the northern
side of Stafford Road, close to the junction with Katherine Road.
It was founded by two Strict Baptist London ministers as Ebenezer
Chapel in 1889, with a site on nearby Ferndale Road. In 1902 two
rooms in Red Post Lane (now Katherine Road) were registered for
worship, and these were used until 1906, when Hope was opened. A
primary school hall was built in 1939, with an upper storey being
added in 1950.
Manor Park Spiritualist Church is on
Shrewsbury Road, at the south-eastern corner with Strone Road.
An iron building was erected here in 1897 by the Free Church,
dedicated as St Stephen's Reformed Episcopal Church (not
to be confused with St Stephen's Green Street (see links)). It
apparently survived until 1909 when it passed to Spiritualists.
The present building was registered in 1940 and additional members
probably came from the 1903 Temperance Hall meeting.
St Edmund King & Martyr Forest Gate
stood at the south-east corner of Halley Road and Katherine Road.
The Red Post Lane mission district was formed in 1895, and a temporary
church erected. A new parish was established in 1901 when this church
opened. The building was completed in 1932 by the addition of the
clerestory. Since 1988 the building next door (to the right) has
been used as the parish office and chapel, while the original
building was demolished.
Barclay Hall (Quakers) stands at the
north-west corner of Green Street and St George's Road. It was
founded by the Bedford Institute Association in 1900 with an iron
building. Within a year it became a hive of various religious,
social, and educational activities, and another building was added.
In 1902 it became a full mission church. In 1906 a permanent brick
building was opened - to be bought by the borough council in 1948 as
an adult education and social centre.
Ridley Christian Centre (London City Mission)
is on Upton Road, at the north-western corner with Dunbar Road in West
Ham. The London City Mission had two centres in West Ham in 1903, one
being North Street Centre, Stratford (probably North Place on
the High Street which closed after 1926), and Balaam Street
Centre in Plaistow. Balaam Street closed at some point after 1930.
In 1914 it also had the Goodwill Mission in Plaistow (see links)
which still survives.
St Matthew's Church West Ham, stands at
the north-west corner of Vaughan Road and Dyson Road. It originated
around 1891 with the opening of a mission to serve the Romford Road
and West Ham Park area. The present flint-and-brick building was
completed in 1896, and a separate parish was formed in 1897. Around
1900 the church opened a mission in Vicarage Lane. This was destroyed
by Second World War bombing and the site's sale was authorised in 1951.
Upton Lane Primitive Methodist Church
stood at the north-eastern corner of Upton Lane and Doris Road in
Forest Gate (at the centre of this aerial view of around 2008-2010).
It began around 1889 with meetings held by R S Blair. The church
building was erected in 1892. By 1940 it was part of the West Ham
circuit but closed soon after, merging with Field Road United
Methodist Church (see links). The building was used by industry
until demolition in 2011-2012.
St Antony of Padua Catholic Church occupies
the south-west corner of St Antony's Road (formerly Khedive Road) and
Lancaster Road in West Ham. It was not until 1884 that the Forest Gate
parish was established, to be served by the Franciscans, when the
foundation stone was laid. By 1891 it, St Bonaventure's School, and
the friary buildings were completed to the design of Pugin & Pugin.
The church is of yellow brick with lancet windows in the Early English
style.
Nine photos on this page by P L Kessler (from
2010-2011).
