Steve Lewis, photographer. A few old Newham photos

[MBrennan]

http://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/07/09/steve-lewis-east-end/

Would like to see more 

I'm a bit confused about the photo of David Bailey & girlfriend visiting his mum in East Ham. It looks more like Notting Hill to me 

[DougT]

Mark

There have been other posts about Steve Lewis's book of Photographs of Newham and surrounding area some time ago (around Oct 2010). I don't think anyone commented on the location of the photograph of David Bailey and his girlfriend. Like you I am unable to recall any properties of that type in East Ham but possibly older parts of the borough such as Stratford or Plaistow may have had 3 storey houses. From my schoolbays I know that there were a number in the Mile End area. Perhaps someone may be able to identify the location.

Doug

[MBrennan]

Thanks Doug,

I will have a look for the old posts later. I just looked at the photo again and I'm sure there are no hoses like that in East Ham. I know there are some larger houses in Forest Gate but I didn't go there often. I had a cousin who lived in Earlham Grove I saw once in a while. Even then, I think they were larger Victorian houses rather than 3-storey. Could be anywhere. Like you, the nearest places I can think there are houses that large are Mile End & Bow.

[Kathy Taylor]

MBrennan

If you buy Steve Lewis’s book you will be able to see many more of his amazing images, most of which were taken in Newham.

Lewis did an article for the Newham Recorder about David Bailey, who was originally from Heigham Road, East Ham. It is the Spittlefields Life website (the link that you attached) that incorrectly states

“David Bailey and his American girlfriend Penelope Tree visit his mother in East Ham”

There is no location mentioned for the Bailey photos in the book, but they appear to be have been taken at his West End flat. Lewis does not say in the book that the Bailey photos were taken in East Ham he merely mentioned that his mum still lived there.

Kathy

[MBrennan]

Thanks Kathy,

I'm not going mad then - there isn't a secret part of East Ham that I never got to see  

I love the photo of the two old ladies. Funny how things change. There used to be a uniform for ladies 'of a certain age' - almost Victorian. I can picture people dressed like that when I was small.

Slightly off-topic, but when I was a teenager I worked in various markets -  Romford Market. Roman Road, Petticoat Lane (Middlesex Street) etc.

For a while I worked for a man selling bags. Not very diplomatic of me but I was young.  A woman was pointed to a handbag she wanted to look at and I referred to it as a 'granny bag' - the owner said that it wasn't the correct term and that I should refer to them (at least to customers) as 'boarded bags'  

(I know neither of the ladies in the photo have handbags)

PS - What happened to string bags? - I was always sent shopping with one.


PPS - I AM going mad after all. I googled the book on Amazon and thought it looked familar. I had even commented on one of the reviews mentioning this forum 2 weeks ago.  


Mark

[Rennay]

My Aunt had a childrenswear stall in Romford market in the 1950's. We used to go and see her and then look at all the animals for sale in the cattleyards! Happy days.

[MickG]

I remember Romford Market in the 1950's. Our mother used to take us on day trips to Southend using a Green Line bus which went through the market. In those days Romford was a rural country town. Now if you look on Google earth, with the exception of a less than five mile gap between the outskirts of Basildon and Upminster, all you can see is the endless browny grey blotch of buildings.

The 63 mile stretch of land between Slough and Shoeburyness is now virtually a swathe of continuous buildings. It makes one wonder if Shoeberryness will become the new east London.

[Rennay]

I've been reading about David Bailey and he says he lived in Heigham Road and that he remembers staring through the railings of Plashet school waiting for his mum to pick him up. What school is he talking about? I thought Plashet school was a girls school. What would have been the nearest primary school to Heigham Road?

[DougT]

Reenay

The nearest primary school to Heigham Road was in Lathom Road but I remember that in the days of East Ham County Borough they tried to ensure that children of Primary School age did not have to cross a main road such as High Street North to reach their school and therefore children living in Heigham Road may well have been Hartley Avenue School situated in Wakefield Street/Hartley Avenue.

Doug
 

[Rennay]

Thanks Doug, I thought it might have been Shaftesbury but looking at the map Hartley seems more logical. I went to Hartley briefly. I wonder what number Heigham Road he lived?

[DougT]

Reenay

Like you I can only remember East Ham Girls Grammar and Plashet Secondary Modern being in Plashet Grove however I think Plashet School was built in the mid-1950s and I have no idea what was on that site before. David Bailey was born, I believe, in 1938, and therefore his initial schooling would have taken place during the 2nd World War. It is possible that as many children were evacuated from the area in the war that schools for those who remained may have been set up in "senior" schools on a temporary basis.

Doug   

[Tony_H]

The author of the website describes the picture of the courtyards of Manor Road Buildings, (the second
picture down) as a "halfway home" in Newham.  That's incorrect.

[MBrennan]

Is that the flat near West Ham station Tony?

I thought they were a step up for many who had moved from slum dwellings without bathrooms. In fact I'm sure one of the women in 'The Sugar Girls' mentioned moving there.

I had a friend in the early 80s, a nurse at St. Andrews, who lived in one and they were quite decent-sized flats and built solidly. They are very similar to the flats by Bow flyover. I rented a 2-bed maisonette one (Prioress House) around 1982 (£20 a week inc rates  ) I was also offered the chance to buy it for £3,500 when the average flat in the area was £17,000. Although I didn't earn much then, I have kicked myself many times since for not trying!!! - probably work £250,000+ now!

Mark

[Tony_H]

Hi Mark - Thats the ones, come out of the station and they're in front of you.  They were built in the 1920's to replace the terrible slums in "old Canning Town", Bidder St, Ship St, Wharf St etc and up to the 60's were considered  reasonable places to live They went through a bit of a rough time when they were used as a place to house "problem families" and this combined with lack of proper maintenance sent the area into a period of decline. 

Give Newham Council credit where its due.  It's now an attractive well kept thriving area complete with coffee bar and the flats go for £250,000!