Forest Gate is a district in the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is located northeast of

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. The town was

historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

part of the parish (and later

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

) of

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

in the hundred of Becontree in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. Since 1965, Forest Gate has been part of the London Borough of Newham, a local government district of Greater London. The town forms the majority of the London E7 postcode district. Neighbouring areas include Leytonstone to the north,

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a Major Centre. The population is 76,186. It was originally part of the Becontree Hun ...

to the east, Plaistow to the south and Stratford to the west.

History

The first known record of the name 'Forest Gate' comes from the

parish registers of the late 17th centuryThe London Encyclopaedia, 1983, edited by Weinreb and Hibbert and describes a gate placed across the modern Woodford Road to prevent cattle straying from the open Wanstead Flats area of Epping Forest onto the main

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

(

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

road) linking Camulodunum to

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cross ...

. The gate was located close to the former Eagle & Child public house. It never was a toll gate and was demolished along with the keepers' cottage in 1881. At the time of the gate's construction, the Forest and its mosaic of habitats (coppice woodland, common grazing and wood pasture) extended from

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

to the Romford Road where a coppice woodland called 'Hamfrith' (meaning the woodland belonging to the Ham area) Wood, which existed until around 1700, formed the southernmost point. An

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

jewelled bead was found in Forest Gate in 1875 during sewer construction behind the former Princess Alice public house in the Sprowston Road area. The 'bead' is made of gold, garnet and blue glass dating to the late sixth or early seventh century with the workmanship suggesting that it belonged to a woman of wealth or high status such as a 'princess' and dates from the 6th–7th centuries (500 – 699 AD). At this time

was an independent kingdom with a territory extending over Essex, Middlesex and London and half of Hertfordshire. Having been found as a single object, it is surmised that the bead was lost casually whilst travelling along the ancient Roman road (now the Romford Road) rather than as a burial object, but this is by no means certain as there is a lack of detail about how it was recovered. Stylistically, the piece is said to relate to similar jewellery produced in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, which influenced designs in Essex. It is known that King

Sledd of Essex Sledd (or Sledda) was King of Essex in the late 6th century, possibly between (?) 587 - ''c''. 604. Extremely little is known about him. An East-Saxon genealogy preserved as British Library Add. MS 23211, possibly of the late 9th century, makes ...

married Ricula, the sister of King Æthelberht of Kent in about 580 AD. The piece was acquired by

Sir John Evans Sir John Evans (17 November 1823 – 31 May 1908) was an England, English archaeologist and geologist. Biography John Evans, son of the Rev. Arthur Benoni Evans, A. B. Evans, was born at Britwell Court, Buckinghamshire. At the age of seventeen ...

and was presented to the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...

in Oxford by Sir Arthur Evans in 1909. The area remained rural until the 19th century. From the 18th century a number of wealthy city dwellers had large country houses in the area and many of them were

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

; the best known of these were the families of Gurney, Fry and Lester. As the population expanded, new churches were built in the area, such as

Emmanuel Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the H ...

(1852) and its mission church St Mark's (1893-1898). In 1890 a fire at the Forest Gate Industrial School in Forest Lane, occupied by children belonging to the Whitechapel Union, killed 26 boys between the ages of 7 and 12 years old. Forest Gate formed part of the

County Borough of West Ham West Ham was a local government district in the extreme south west of Essex from 1886 to 1965, forming part of the built-up area of London, although outside the County of London. It was immediately north of the River Thames and east of the River ...

since its creation (initially as a municipal borough) in 1886. The county borough was abolished to form part of the present-day London Borough of Newham in 1965. Local history blog ''E7 Now and Then'' details other Forest Gate history. An

ethnographic study Ethnography (from Greek language, Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view ...

of the neighbourhood by researcher Dr Joy White, ''Terraformed: Young Black Lives in the Inner City'', was published in 2020 by

Repeater Books Repeater Books is a publishing imprint based in London, founded in 2014 by Tariq Goddard and Mark Fisher, formerly the founders of radical publishers Zero Books, along with Etan Ilfeld, Tamar Shlaim, Alex Niven and Matteo Mandarini. Formation I ...

. Newham has the second highest percentage of

Muslims in Britain Islam is the second largest religion in the United Kingdom, with results from the 2011 Census giving the total population as 2,786,635, or 4.4% of the total UK population,Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

in the 2001 census. Many have their roots in Bangladesh and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and most follow the Sunni Deobandi or the

Salafi The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generat ...

tradition.

Residential areas

The Woodgrange Estate

Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

is a residential area with predominantly double-fronted

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

three and four bedroomed houses built between 1887 and 1892 by developer Thomas Corbett and sons who went on to oversee the construction of more than 1,100 houses to exploit the transport links provided by one of the first Essex lines, opened by

Eastern Counties Railway The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) was an English Rail transport, railway company incorporated in 1836 intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then extend to Norwich and Great Yarmouth, Yarmouth. Construction began in 1837 on t ...

in 1839, running through Forest Gate in 1840. Corbett paid £40,000 () for land associated with Woodgrange Farm, Essex, in 1877, which was formerly used as a market garden serving London. The Woodgrange Estate consists of four roads from north to south: Hampton Road; Osborne Road; Claremont Road and Windsor Road, all of which link to Woodgrange Road to the west. There are blocks of council flats at the western end of Claremont and Windsor roads built on the site of houses damaged during bombing in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Nearby Godwin Junior School in Forest Gate recently picked up a British Council International School Award, while the

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

Outstanding-rated

Forest Gate Community School Forest Gate Community School is a coeducational secondary school in the London Borough of Newham, rated Outstanding by Ofsted in February 2020 for the second time. It was first rated Outstanding in 2016. The school was extended from eight forms ...

remains one of the best in the country, by measure of Progress 8 scores. The secondary school is also a member of World Class Schools, having been accredited following a process. To the north of the railway running through Forest Gate is the "village" with terraced streets named for the

Oxford Martyrs The Oxford Martyrs were Protestants tried for heresy in 1555 and burnt at the stake in Oxford, England, for their religious beliefs and teachings, during the Marian persecution in England. The three martyrs were the Church of England bishop ...

(Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer) running up to the open spaces of Wanstead Flats.

Leisure

Forest Gate also houses West Ham Park, providing a place for sports to be played and to the north Forest Gate borders Wanstead Flats, which has numerous football pitches and areas set aside for bio-diversity and walking. Among the many teams playing on the flats is Sunday League football team

Senrab F.C. Senrab F.C. is a Sunday League football club, based at Wanstead Flats in the Forest Gate district of London, England. It is noted for the high number of professional players who played for the club in their youth. History The club takes its n ...

Based in Forest Gate, Senrab operates fifteen teams for age groups ranging from 5 to 17 years old and has produced several players who have gone on to successful professional careers, including:

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the assi ...

(who gave an undisclosed sum to keep the club running in April 2011),

Sol Campbell Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell (born 18 September 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Southend United. He previously managed Macclesfield Town from November 2018 to August 20 ...

, Jermain Defoe,

Ledley King Ledley Brenton King (born 12 October 1980) is a former player who was a one-club man, spending his entire career at Tottenham Hotspur and playing 323 competitive matches for the club from 1999 to 2012. He is currently a club ambassador for Tot ...

Bobby Zamora Robert Lester Zamora (born 16 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Zamora began his career at Football League club Bristol Rovers, but was soon signed by Brighton & Hove Albion, where he found first ...

and Paul Konchesky. Several professional coaches also started out at Senrab, most notably

Dario Gradi Dario Gradi, MBE (born 8 July 1941) is an Italian-English former amateur football player, coach and manager. He was associated for more than 36 years with Crewe Alexandra, where he was variously manager, director of football and director of the ...

Ray Wilkins Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

and

Alan Curbishley Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley (born 8 November 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He played as a midfielder for West Ham United, Birmingham City, Aston Villa, Charlton Athletic and Brighton & Hove Albion and has worke ...

. Pubs include the Spotted Dog at 212 Upton Lane.

Transport

Forest Gate railway station Forest Gate railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line serving Forest Gate in the London Borough of Newham, east London. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between and . Its three-letter station code is FO ...

is in Travelcard Zone 3 on the

Great Eastern Main Line The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...

and was first opened in 1840, a year after the line was built, but closed in 1843, before re-opening after pressure from local residents on 31 May 1846. The station is now on the Elizabeth Line, with services westbound to

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

and eastbound to

Shenfield Shenfield is a commuter suburb of Brentwood, in the borough of Brentwood, Essex, England. In 2020, the suburb was estimated to have a population of 5,396. History The old village (now town), by the church and Green Dragon pub, lies along the ...

. Other stations in the area include

Wanstead Park railway station Wanstead Park is a railway station in Forest Gate, London. It is on the Gospel Oak to Barking line in Zone 3, down the line from and situated between and . It is operated by London Overground. Despite its name, Wanstead Park Station is not s ...

, which is on the Gospel Oak to Barking line in Zone 3.

Bus

Forest Gate is on the

London Buses London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that manages most bus services in London, England. It was formed following the Greater London Authority Act 1999 that transferred control of London Regional Transport (LRT) bus se ...

network, served by routes: 25, 58, 86, 325, 330, 308 and 425. Night bus N25 and N86 run overnight through Forest Gate.

Music

Forest Gate has various associations with music and acting: it was for many years the home of the Tonic Sol-fa College of John Curwen, which taught large numbers of people to play music without learning conventional notation. In December 1966

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

wrote ''Purple Haze'' in the Upper Cut Club, owned by Douglas Bayle and George and Billy Walker, it had been opened by The Who, and had The Small Faces as the house band, for a while. It later became the Ace of Clubs in Woodgrange Road. De Underground Records, the seminal

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

record shop and studio was located in Sebert Road, Forest Gate, from 1991 to 1996. The

Newham Generals Newham Generals are a grime duo from East London, currently consisting of MCs D Double E and Footsie. They are best known for their singles "Frontline", "Hard" and "Like It Or Not" as well as their live performances. The group was founded in ...

(D Double E & Footsie) are also from Forest Gate, and the video for their song 'Frontline' was filmed at

. Ben Drew aka

Plan B Plan B typically refers to a contingency plan, a plan devised for an outcome other than in the expected plan. Plan B may also refer to: * Plan B, a brand name of levonorgestrel, an emergency contraception drug Film and television * Plan B En ...

grew up in Forest Gate and lived in Hampton Road on the Woodgrange Estate.

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

started recording in John Bassett's studio on Sebert Road. The first Rock Against Racism concert was held at the Princess Alice pub at the junction of

Romford Road The A118 is a road in east London, England which links Bow Interchange with Gallows Corner in Romford via Stratford and Ilford. The section from Bow Interchange to Gallows Corner formed the original route of the A12 until the designatio ...

and Woodgrange Road in 1976. Damnably Records began in Forest Gate on Salisbury Road and many of its bands including

Shonen Knife Shonen Knife is a Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka in 1981. Influenced by 1960s girl groups, pop bands, the Beach Boys, and early punk rock bands such as the Ramones, the band crafts stripped-down songs with simple yet unconventional lyr ...

Geoff Farina Karate is an American band, formed in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts in 1993 by Geoff Farina, Eamonn Vitt and Gavin McCarthy, with Jeff Goddard joining in 1995. The band split up in 2005 before reuniting in 2022. The band is chara ...

, Chris Brokaw, Wussy stayed or visited there while on tour and

Kath Bloom Katherine Bloom is an American folk songwriter based in Litchfield, Connecticut. Biography The daughter of oboist Robert Bloom, Bloom grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, where she studied the cello as a child and started playing the guitar when ...

played a house concert there in 2011. Also based in the same E7 cul de sac that Damnably Records once called home are Vacilando '68 Recordings (previously operating as The Orchestra Pit Recording Co.) who have released vinyl records by international artists such as Howe Gelb, Orkesta Mendoza,

Marianne Dissard Marianne Dissard (born 20 May 1969 in France) is a singer, lyricist and author, and filmmaker who lived in the United States from 1985 to 2013, including Tucson, Arizona from 1994 to 2013. "A central figure in Tucson's desert music community" wi ...

and Naim Amor, as well as having a heavy involvement in the Medway music scene through the likes of The Singing Loins, Theatre Royal and Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society. Damnably and Vacilando '68 have teamed up numerous times to promote live shows including at the now defunct Moka East based in the Olympic Park, Stratford.

Sport

Forest Gate is home to

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

club Clapton CFC., who completed the purchase of London's oldest senior football ground

The Old Spotted Dog Ground The Old Spotted Dog Ground in Forest Gate is the oldest senior football ground in London. Clapton Community FC the fan-owned club purchased the ground in June 2020, having been initially awarded the lease. The previous tenants Clapton FC ...

in 2020. The area is also home to well-known Sunday league side

Notable people

Business and politics

Sam Alper Samuel Alper OBE (25 April 1924 – 2 October 2002) was an English caravan designer and manufacturer responsible for the famous Sprite caravan, founder of the Little Chef chain of roadside restaurants, a viticulturist who revived the ancient ...

–

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

designer and founder of Little Chef *

Sir David Amess ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

– Conservative MP (Basildon 1983 to 1997, Southend West 1997 to 2021) *

Tony Banks, Baron Stratford Anthony Louis Banks, Baron Stratford (8 April 1942 – 8 January 2006) was a British politician who served as Minister for Sport from 1997 to 1999. A member of the Labour Party, he was a member of Parliament from 1983 to 2005 and subsequentl ...

– Labour MP (Newham North West 1983 to 1997, West Ham 1997 to 2005) * Dawn Butler – Labour MP (Brent South 2005 to 2010) * Mark Stephens – lawyer, mediator, broadcaster, writer

Sport

Former managers of

West Ham United Football Club West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, h ...

associated with Forest Gate include

and Ted Fenton. Other footballers from the area include England international Ken Brown, Republic of Ireland international Chris Hughton,

Simon Royce Simon Ernest Royce (born 9 September 1971) is an English football coach and former professional Association football, footballer who is goalkeeping coach at Leyton Orient F.C., Leyton Orient, As a player he was a Goalkeeper (association footbal ...

Jason Lee Jason Lee may refer to: Entertainment *Jason Lee (actor) (born 1970), American film and TV actor and former professional skateboarder *Jason Scott Lee (born 1966), Asian American film actor * Jaxon Lee (Jason Christopher Lee, born 1968), American v ...

Linvoy Primus Linvoy Stephen Primus MBE (born 14 September 1973) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in Forest Gate, England, to Caribbean-born parents, Primus began his professional career at Charlton Athletic, whe ...

Bondz N'Gala Bondz Bondzanga N'Gala (born 13 September 1989) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. He previously played for Plymouth Argyle F.C., Plymouth Argyle, Yeovil Town F.C., Yeovil Town, Barnet F.C., Barnet and Crawley T ...

and Jay-Emmanuel Thomas.

JJ Jegede JJ Jegede (born 3 October 1985) is a British track and field athlete who specialises in the long jump. He finished fourth in the long jump at the 2012 European Athletics Championships, just seven centimetres off a medal. He works as a personal t ...

, the long jumper, was born and raised in Forest Gate and won the silver medal at the 2011 UK Championships and gold at 2012 UK Indoor Championships. JJ was a Team GB member for the London

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Mark Hunter, MBE, was born and raised in Forest Gate and won the gold medal in the lightweight double scull at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and gold medals in the lightweight double scull at 2010 and 2011 World Championships. Mark was a Team GB member for the London

. Other sportsmen and women connected with Forest Gate include heavyweight boxing champions

Billy Wells William Thomas Wells, better known as Bombardier Billy Wells (31 August 1889 – 12 June 1967), was an English heavyweight boxer. Fighting under the name "Bombardier Billy Wells", he was British and British Empire Champion from 1911 un ...

and

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a former professional boxer and boxing commentator who competed from 1989 to 2003. He is a three-time world heavyweight champion, a two-time lineal champion, and the last heavyweight to hold ...

, 7 times world karate champion Molly Samuel MBE, cricketer Ravi Bopara, sprinter

Damien Greaves Damien David Greaves (born 19 September 1977 in Forest Gate, Greater London) is male former sprints and hurdling track and field athlete who represented Great Britain at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Athletics career Greaves wa ...

, Olympic fencer Linda Strachan, and Olympic and Commonwealth Games athlete

Jean Desforges Jean Catherine Pickering (née Desforges; 4 July 1929 – 25 March 2013) was a female track and field athlete from Great Britain, who competed mainly in the 80 metres hurdles and long jump. She won bronze medals at the Olympics and the Common ...

Arts and entertainment

Dame Anna Neagle was born in the area in 1905, and has a road named after her off Dames Road. Other actors born in Forest Gate include David Farrar,

Malcolm McFee Malcolm Raymond McFee (16 August 1949 – 18 November 2001) was an English actor best known for his role as Peter Craven in the TV series ''Please Sir!'', the film of the same name, and the spin-off TV series ''The Fenn Street Gang''. Career Ma ...

, Billy Murray,

Terrence Hardiman Terrence Hardiman (born 6 April 1937)Biographical detail

Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

was known to have lived in Forest Gate and lifted weights at Wag Bennett's gymnasium in Romford Road before he achieved fame. Other actors associated with the area include '' The Wire'' star Idris Elba, and ''Eastenders'' Ricky Norwood.

is reputed to have composed "Purple Haze" in the Upper Cut Club in Woodgrange Road. Musicians from Forest Gate include biographer, composer and pianist Norman Charles Suckling,

John Ashton John Ashton may refer to: Entertainment * John Ashton (composer) (1830–1896), Welsh musician * Will Ashton (John William Ashton, 1881–1963), British-Australian artist and art director * John Rowland Ashton (1917–2008), English author * John ...

Kele Le Roc Kelly Biggs (born 5 October 1977 in East Ham, London), better known by her stage name Kele Le Roc, is a British R&B and UK garage singer. Career Biggs began singing at the age of three, and she attended Langdon Comprehensive School in East Ham ...

and heavy metal vocalist Sarah Jezebel Deva.

Ronnie Lane Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73). Lane formed Small Faces in ...

of the Small Faces was born in Plaistow but spent his childhood and early adulthood in Forest Gate, living at 385 Romford Road.Ronnie Lane spent childhood in Forest Gate
accessed 07/01/08 Roy Carter, a rhythm guitarist with 70s hit funk band Heatwave, was raised in Forest Gate. The “godfather of breakbeat” DJ Randall, one of the first DJs to revolutionise the jungle sound in the early ‘90s, was born in Forest Gate. He later helped establish De Underground Records, a record shop, studio, and record label located at 18 Sebert Road, Forest Gate, operating from 1991 until 1996. Many current British hip hop artists are associated with the area including

D Double E Darren Dixon (born 19 January 1980), known professionally as D Double E, is a British grime MC, DJ and record producer from Forest Gate, East London. He performs both as a solo artist and as a member of the grime duo Newham Generals. Career D ...

and

Tempa T Nicky Nyarko-Dei (born 7 October 1984), known by his stage name Tempa T, is a British grime MC originating from East London. He is well known for his 2009 single "Next Hype" which is considered an anthem of the UK underground scene. Due to this ...

. Top-selling

Grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Wood ...

artist and rapper

, has a song "Raking the Dead" which refers to a friend who discovered a body on Wanstead Flats. Artists from Forest Gate include

Betsy Schneider Betsy Schneider is an American photographer who lives and works in the Boston Area. Biography After her graduation from the University of Michigan in 1987, she studied and received a second bachelor's degree in film and photography at the School ...

John Bowstead John Bowstead (27 September 1940 – 12 April 2020) was an English artist and lyricist. In 1962 Bowstead exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), as part of the exhibition ''Four Young Artists'' alongside David Hockney, Maurice ...

Walter Westley Russell Sir Walter Westley Russell CVO RA (31 May 1867 – 16 April 1949) was a British painter and art teacher. He became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1926 and served as Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools from 1927 to 1942. Life and ca ...

and Barry Windsor-Smith. Writer Mary Renault was born in the area. Fashion designer Bubs Mahil runs the famous saree house Chiffons London in Green Street, Forest Gate, and has made costumes for

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

diva Aishwarya Rai as well as British Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

– who wore her Nehru jacket in India – and his wife, Cherie. In the early 1990s and 21st century she also made headlines for dressing other notable people including Prince

Mangosuthu Buthelezi Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi (born 27 August 1928) is a South African politician and Zulu traditional leader who is currently a Member of Parliament and the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family. He was Chief Minister of the ...

, Sir

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...

Mark Ramprakash Mark Ravin Ramprakash (born 5 September 1969) is an English former cricketer. A right-handed batsman, he initially made his name playing for Middlesex, and was selected for England aged 21. A gifted, and one of the heaviest-scoring, English b ...

, Britt Ekland,

Parminder Nagra Parminder Kaur Nagra (born 5 October 1975) is a British actress of Indian Punjabi descent and Sikh heritage. She is known for portraying Jess Bhamra in the film ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002) and Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the NBC medical drama s ...

, Gurinder Chadha,

Meera Syal Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...

, Myleene Klass and

Joss Stone Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...

. In recent years, she has been involved in commissioning dresses for reality TV stars such as Yazmin Oukhellu from The Only Way Is Essex and Laura Anderson from

Love Island Love Island may refer to: Film * ''Love Island'' (1952 film), an American film directed by Adam Lloyd starring Todd Wathen and Eva Gabor * ''Love Island'' (2014 film), directed by Jasmila Žbanić Music * ''Love Island'' (album), a 1978 album ...

Other

Hannah Dadds Hannah Dadds ( Head, 16 October 1941 – 5 December 2011) was a British train driver known for being the first female train driver on the London Underground. Early life Hannah Dadds (née Head) was from the Forest Gate area of Newham. Her mo ...

- the first female train driver on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

Christopher Charles Dalliston Christopher Charles Dalliston (born 2 April 1956) is a British Anglican priest, current dean of Peterborough and former dean of Newcastle. Early life and education Dalliston was born on 2 April 1956. He was educated at Diss High School, then a g ...

– Dean of Newcastle *

Vera Day Vera Day (born 4 August 1935) is an English film and television actress. She was born in London just before the war and grew up in Forest Gate, East London. Early career Leaving school at 15, she had various jobs before finding employment in ...

– glamour girl and actress * Elizabeth Fry – prison reformer, lived at The Cedars on Portway between 1829 and 1844. *

John Grahl John Grahl (born August 1946) is a Scottish academic and professor. Life Grahl was brought-up in Burntisland, Fife, and was educated at Kirkcaldy High School between 1957 and 1964. He gained a master's degree in economics from the University o ...

– economist * Joseph McCabe – writer and speaker on

freethought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

* Claude Scudamore Jarvis – British colonial governor * Edward Whymper – climber, who married at Emmanuel Church in 1906 *

Jane Rebecca Yorke Jane Rebecca Yorke (27 January 1872''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 1953) was an English medium who was the last person convicted under the Witchcraft Act 1735. Yorke worked as a medium for many years from Forest Gate, Essex (now east Lond ...

– the last person convicted under the

Witchcraft Act 1735 The Witchcraft Act 1735 (9 Geo. 2 c. 5) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1735 which made it a crime for a person to claim that any human being had magical powers or wa ...

( 9 Geo. 2. c. 5) * Shirley Anne Field -Actress

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