Rainham ( ) is a suburb of East London, England, in the

London Borough of Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. Th ...

. Historically an ancient parish in the county of

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 Grea ...

, Rainham is east of Charing Cross and is surrounded by a residential area, which has grown from the historic village, to the north and a commercial area, fronting the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, to the south. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century, Rainham significantly expanded and increased in population, becoming part of

Hornchurch Urban District Hornchurch was a local government district in southwest Essex from 1926 to 1965, formed as an urban district for the civil parish of Hornchurch. It was greatly expanded in 1934 with the addition of Cranham, Great Warley, Rainham, Upminster and W ...

in 1934, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965. The economic history of Rainham is underpinned by a shift from agriculture to industry and manufacture and is now in a period of regeneration, coming within the

London Riverside The London Riverside is a redevelopment area on the north side of the River Thames in East London, England and part of the larger Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The London Riverside area forms part of the Green Enterprise District, a project ...

section of the

Thames Gateway Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching east from ...

redevelopment area.

History

Toponymy

Rainham is recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

of 1086 as ''Raineham'' and is thought to mean 'homestead or village of a man called Regna', formed from an

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

name and 'hām', meaning settlement. It is also possible that it follows

Rainham, Kent Rainham ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Gillingham. Historically, Rainham was a separate village until, in 192 ...

which is thought to derive 'home of the Roegingas'. This is also of uncertain meaning, but could refer to 'the ruling people'. The link with Rainham in Kent is strengthened by the discovery of Jutish cemeteries in Rainham.

Bronze age

A hoard of 453 late

bronze-age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

(900 to 800 BC) artefacts was found in Rainham in 2018. Known as the

Havering hoard The Havering hoard is a hoard of 453 late Bronze-age (900 to 800 BCE) artefacts found at a site overlooking the River Thames in Rainham, London, in 2018. It is the largest bronze-age hoard to be found in London and the third-largest in the Unite ...

, it comprises swords, socketed axe heads, spear heads,

knives A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...

s, woodwork tools,

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, suc ...

ingot An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedure of sha ...

s, and other items, weighing more than 45 kg in total.

Economic development

For much of its history Rainham was an agricultural settlement, using the

for trade. In the 16th century industry was limited to a boat-builder and tannery. There are links between Rainham farms and the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

from the Middle Ages and after the wharf was redeveloped in the 1720s trade increased; including the bringing of

muck Muck most often refers to: *Muck (soil), a soil made up primarily of humus from drained swampland Muck may also refer to: Places Europe * Muck, Scotland, an island * Isle of Muck, County Antrim, a small island connected by sand spit to Portmu ...

from London for use in the fields. By 1929 most of the farmland had been given over to

market gardening A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to som ...

. The ferry to London was supplemented with new coaching links in the 18th century and a railway station opened in 1854. A second wharf was constructed in 1872 and from 1869 there was a growth in industrial development, including chemical and fertiliser factories. The Murex iron-founders moved to Rainham in 1917 and grew along the river, eventually becoming part of the British Oxygen Company. Away from the river, other industries included brickmaking and after

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 opposing ...

there was a growth in gravel extraction.

Local government

Rainham formed an ancient parish of in the

Chafford Chafford was an ancient hundred in the south west of the county of Essex, England.Vision of Britain Chafford hundredhistoric map) Its area has been partly absorbed by the growth of London; with its name reused for the modern housing development of ...

hundred of

. In 1836 the vestry lost control of poor relief, with Rainham becoming part of the Romford Poor Law Union and in 1875 the parish became part of Romford

rural sanitary district Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

. Following the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

, the sanitary district became

Romford Rural District Romford Rural District was a local government district in southwest Essex, England from 1894 to 1934. It surrounded, but did not include, Romford which formed a separate urban district.Vision of Britain �Romford RD London Traffic Area The London Traffic Area was established by the London Traffic Act 1924 to regulate the increasing amount of motor traffic in the London area. The LTA was abolished in 1965 on the establishment of the Greater London Council. The traffic area ex ...

from 1924 and the

London Passenger Transport Area The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passe ...

from 1933. In 1934 the parish council was abolished and Upminster was combined with other parishes to form part of

. In 1965 the urban district was abolished and its former area was combined with that of

Municipal Borough of Romford Romford was a local government district in southwest Essex from 1851 to 1965.Vision of Britain Romford UD/MB London Borough of Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. Th ...

in Greater London.

Urban development

The earliest development was around the Church of St Helen and St Giles, and this is the only medieval building to survive. New prosperity from increased trade in the early 18th century led to several new buildings, including

Rainham Hall Rainham Hall is a Grade II* listed Georgian house, owned by the National Trust, in Rainham, in the London Borough of Havering. Built in 1729 for Captain John Harle, the house was transferred to the National Trust in 1949; let to a number of p ...

. Roads were laid out in 1880 and the new developments consisted of semi-detached and terraced houses. At the same time a community developed around a pub on the river and operated as a resort for day-trippers. As the Thames industrialised it declined in popularity and was gone by 1945. Rainham developed into a suburb of London after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. As the estates were broken up for housing some land was purchased by smallholders from Bow and West Ham. In the 1940s they successfully campaigned against having it returned to agricultural use and it was excluded from the

Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

. The roadways and sewerage systems did not keep up with the rate of growth and a residents' group fought for improvements in infrastructure throughout the 1960s.

Governance

Rainham War Memorial (Southwest View - 01)

The town forms part of the Dagenham and Rainham constituency, and is covered by the Havering ward of Rainham and Wennington. The current MP is Jon Cruddas of the Labour Party, who has served the constituency since its creation in 2010. The constituency combines wards in southern Havering with eastern Barking and Dagenham. The Rainham and Wennington ward elects three councillors to

Havering London Borough Council Havering London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Havering in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Havering is divided into 18 wards, each elec ...

. All three councillors elected in 2010 were the Rainham and Wennington Residents Independent Association candidates and the area is unusual in that the residents' association is strongly active. Rainham is within the Havering and Redbridge London Assembly constituency and was in the London European Parliament constituency.

Geography

Rainham is mostly situated on gravel, rising to between and . The marshlands along the southern boundary of the

are about above sea level and a tidal section of the

River Ingrebourne The River Ingrebourne is a tributary of the River Thames 27 miles (43.3 km) in length. It is considered a strategic waterway in London, forming part of the Blue Ribbon Network. It flows through the London Borough of Havering roughly from n ...

forms the western boundary. It is located in part of London that is susceptible to flooding. The historic core of Rainham, including the town centre, forms a conservation area. The land to the south has been affected by gravel extraction and of

Rainham Marshes Rainham may refer to: *Rainham, Kent, Medway, England **Rainham railway station (Kent) *Rainham, London, London Borough of Havering, England **Rainham railway station (London) Rainham railway station is on the London, Tilbury and Southend line, ...

has been filled with 9 million tons of dredged soil by the Port of London Authority. Rainham is a

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...

in the

RM postcode area The RM postcode area, also known as the Romford postcode area,Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) is a group of twenty postcode districts in south-east England, within nine post towns. These cover parts of eastern Greater London and ...

; it covers a wide area of southern Havering and additionally includes Coldharbour,

South Hornchurch South Hornchurch is a locality to the south of Hornchurch in London Borough of Havering, east London. It is a suburban development situated 13.6 miles (21.8 km) east of Charing Cross. The area is a relatively recent addition, compared with ...

and Wennington. Climate data is taken from the nearest weather station at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, around southwest of Rainham:

Demography

Demographic data is produced by the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for t ...

for the ward of Rainham and Wennington. In 2001 the population of the ward was 12,114, consisting of 3,362 families and 4,811 households. The population is 93.35% White, 2.81% Asian, 2.25% Black and 0.32% Chinese or other. 75.58% report their religion as Christian compared to 76.13% for Havering, 58.23% in London and 71.74% in England. 12.04% report having no religion, compared to 13.18% in Havering, 15.76% in London and 14.59% in England. At the 2001 census, there were 4,589 residents who fell into the social category ABC1, which equated to 37.9% of the population in the

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of Rainham and Wennington. The age distribution was: 5.32% aged 0–4, 15.63% aged 5–15, 5.02% aged 16–19, 33.78% aged 20–44, 24.92% aged 45–64 and 15.32% aged 65 years and older. The general health was described as follows: 70.49% good, 21.52% fairly good and 7.99% not good. 16.41% of people had a limiting long-term illness.

Economy

The northern part of Rainham is identified in the

London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Greater London area in the United Kingdom that is written by the Mayor of London and published by the Greater London Authority. The regional planning document was first pu ...

as a local district centre with of commercial floorspace. Within Havering, it is identified as one of seven town centres in the borough, with a retail area extending along Upminster Road South and Broadway. The southern part of Rainham is a centre for employment, part of the

business improvement district, and the location of the Tilda Rice main plant. Several large companies have operations and offices based in Rainham, including Keebles, Carpetright, Harveys Furniture, and Rainham Steel. The plans of the

London Thames Gateway Development Corporation The London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC) was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government, with directors appointed by the Secretary of State, including some democratically elect ...

include 3,200 new homes and the upgrading of run-down industrial and warehouse facilities on the A1306 road to provide mixed-use development. In 2006 Havering London Borough Council proposed that land in Rainham could be used for a large regional casino.

Riverside sewage treatment works

The Riverside

sewage treatment Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding e ...

works is located off Manor Way adjacent to Rainham Creek; it is designed to treat up to 94,000 cubic metres per day of sewage. About 16,300 cubic metres per day is from factories; these factories contributed to the construction of the plant instead of paying a charge for the treatment of waste. The outfall of treated effluent is from the southern corner of the works into Rainham Creek (the tidal reach of the

), and thence into the

river Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Sewage sludge Sewage sludge is the residual, semi-solid material that is produced as a by-product during sewage treatment of industrial or municipal wastewater. The term " septage" also refers to sludge from simple wastewater treatment but is connected to s ...

was disposed of by dumping at sea at the

Black Deep The Black Deep is in the outer Thames Estuary. It is the greatest of three mainly natural shipping channels linking the Tideway to central zones of the North Sea without shoals, the others being the Barrow Deep and Princes Channel. Between thes ...

in the outer

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

, until this practice was banned in 1998. From 1998 to 2012 the sludge produced at Riverside was pumped to Beckton sewage works for treatment and incineration. In 2012 anaerobic digestion facilities were installed at Riverside, enabling the plant to turn solid waste into enough renewable energy to power the site.

Culture

Havering Council's urban strategy recognises that nearby Hornchurch is the main cultural hub of the borough with a large theatre and arts spaces, and Romford offers the largest regional concentration of entertainment facilities.

Transport

The A1306 road passes through Rainham and acts an alternative route to the main

A13 road This is a list of roads designated A13. Roads entries are sorted in the countries alphabetical order. * ''A13 highway (Australia)'' may refer to: ** South Australian route A13, including Main South Road and Victor Harbor Road * A13 motorway (Aust ...

between Central London and the

Dartford Crossing The Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurro ...

. High Speed 1 and the London-Tilbury-Southend Line pass through the area, with Rainham railway station served by

c2c Trenitalia c2c Limited,Companies House extract company no 789726 ...

train services running between

Fenchurch Street Fenchurch Street is a street in London linking Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street in the west. It is a well-known thoroughfare in the City of London financial district and is the site of many corporate office ...

in the City of London and Grays in Thurrock and is in

London fare zone 6 Fare zone 6 is an outer zone of Transport for London's London fare zones, zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, National Rail services (since ...

. Several

London Bus Buses have been used as a mode of public transport in London since 1829, when George Shillibeer started operating a horse-drawn ''omnibus'' service from Paddington to the City of London. In the decades since their introduction, the red London b ...

routes serve Rainham, including routes 103, 165,

287 Year 287 (Roman numerals, CCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequ ...

372 __NOTOC__ Year 372 ( CCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Modestus and Arintheus (or, less frequently, year 1125 ' ...

, which provide connections to

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

Elm Park Elm Park is a suburban planned community in East London within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is identified as a district centre in the London Plan with several streets of shops and a priority for ...

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a l ...

, Lakeside and

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, Romfo ...

. The

London Loop The London Outer Orbital Path — more usually the "London LOOP" — is a 150-mile (242 km) signed walk along public footpaths, and through parks, woods and fields around the edge of Outer London, England, described as "the M ...

key walking route passes through Rainham, and it forms the end point of section 23 from

Upminster Bridge Upminster Bridge is a crossing of the River Ingrebourne carrying the A124 road between the suburbs of Hornchurch and Upminster in northeast London, England. The bridge is known to have existed since at least 1375 and the current brick bridge was ...

and the starting point of section 24 to

Purfleet Purfleet-on-Thames is a town in the Thurrock unitary authority, Essex, England. It is bordered by the A13 road to the north and the River Thames to the south and is within the easternmost part of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater Lon ...

. The

Belvedere Crossing The Belvedere Crossing was a proposed River Thames crossing in East and South East London, running between Rainham in the London Borough of Havering and Belvedere in the London Borough of Bexley. Plans for the crossing, as well as the Gallio ...

is a proposed tunnel or bridge, between

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

and Rainham On 26 May 2003, Mayor Question Time, then London Assembly member for Havering and Redbridge Roger Evans asked former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone what progress had been made in convincing the government of extending the

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Lo ...

to Rainham, the mayor responded by saying Rainham would be linked to the DLR at

Dagenham Dock Dagenham Dock is a place in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in London, England. It is located to the south of Dagenham and on the River Thames. It was once the site of a large coaling port and continues to be the location of a small t ...

by the

East London Transit East London Transit (ELT) is a part-segregated bus rapid transit, operated as part of the London Buses network. The East London Transit opened in phases between 2010 and 2013. The scheme for this system was developed by Transport for London ...

References

External links

National Trust - Rainham Hall
{{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Havering Districts of London on the River Thames District centres of London