Maryland is a neighbourhood in Stratford in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, United Kingdom. It is 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 community centres around Maryland Station and borders

Leytonstone Leytonstone ( ) is an area in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the nor ...

to the north, Stratford New Town to the west and

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district of West Ham in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. ...

to the east, with Stratford town centre to the south-west.

History

Maryland's earliest known recorded appearance is on a map of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

published by J. Oliver in 1696, where it is marked as 'Maryland Point'. The origin of the name is uncertain: * One popular theory is that it originated with a rich local merchant who bought land and built in the area having returned from the then American colony of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. If true, then London's Maryland would be an unusual example of a place in Britain named after an American location. Various attempts have been made to identify such a merchant. Richard Lee (1617–1664, great-great-grandfather of Confederate General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

), who emigrated to Virginia around 1640 and became a tobacco planter, trader, an owner and trader of slaves, had an estate which included land on the Maryland side of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

, near a place known as Maryland Point (later to be the site of the Maryland Point Light). On returning to England in 1658, Lee bought land in Stratford, and in 1662 was recorded as owning a large house there. However, retired history professor Ged Martin has questioned the American name-origin theory, finding limited documentary support for the story, and noting that Lee's interests were far more associated with Virginia than Maryland. *Professor Martin has put forward an explanation that the name has an etymology related to similar names in the region and derives from Old English words for a boundary, cognate to the Anglo-Saxon words ''maere'' and ''mearc''. With the growth of Stratford in the mid-19th century the vicinity was built up as Stratford New Town, and Maryland gained a prosperous shopping thoroughfare. Maryland station opened in 1874. By 2021, the population and distinctivness of the area was sufficient for it to be recognised for the first time as an electoral ward in Newham, with the first two councillors for Maryland elected in 2022.

Notable people

*'The Birthplace of

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

'
Cart & Horses
1 Maryland Point *

Charles Edmund Clutterbuck Charles Clutterbuck (1806–1861) was an English stained glass artist of the early Victorian era, being a younger contemporary of Thomas Willement and William Warrington Personal life Clutterbuck was born in London on 3 September 1806, th ...

(1806–1861),

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

artist
Charles Hitchcock
grandfather to

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

, had a fishmongery business at 20 Leytonstone Road * Dorothy Kilner (1755–1836), children's writer *

Anna Kingsford Anna Kingsford (; 16 September 1846 – 22 February 1888) was an English anti-vivisectionist, Theosophist, a proponent of vegetarianism and a women's rights campaigner. She was one of the first English women to obtain a degree in medicine, aft ...

(1846–1888), anti- vivisectionist,

theosophist Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neo ...

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

and campaigner for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

, née Bonus, was born at Maryland Point

Transport

* Maryland Station is served by

Elizabeth line The Elizabeth line is a railway line that runs across Greater London and nearby towns, operating similarly to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries. It runs services on dedicated infras ...

trains, with a frequency of 5 minutes in each direction. Trains towards central London run a stopping service terminating at London Paddington and Heathrow Airport. To the east, trains run a stopping service terminating at

Shenfield Shenfield is a suburb of Brentwood, Essex, Brentwood in the Borough of Brentwood, Essex, England. In 2020, it was estimated to have a population of 5,396. History The former village, by the church and Green Dragon public house, pub, lies alo ...

. *Maryland is served by

bus routes A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used in ...

69 (24hr), 257, 308, and night bus N8.

Education

Local primary schools include Maryland Primary School, St. Francis' Catholic Primary School, and Colegrave Primary School.

References

{{LB Newham Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Newham Stratford, London