Coordinates: 51°33′03″N 0°01′39″E / 51.550832°N 0.02739°E
| Forest Gate | |
  Forest Gate
Forest Gate shown within Greater London |
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| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| London borough | Newham |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Region | London |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LONDON |
| Postcode district | E7 |
| Dialling code | 020 |
| Police | Metropolitan |
| Fire | London |
| Ambulance | London |
| EU Parliament | London |
| UK Parliament | West Ham |
| London Assembly | City and East |
| List of places: UK • England • London | |
Forest Gate is a residential area in the London Borough of Newham.
Its name is derived from a southern gate of Epping Forest which once stretched continuously down from Epping. Fragments of the forest remain throughout north east London and the heathland of Wanstead Flats, which borders Forest Gate, is an example.
Forest Gate is home to the oldest public house in the borough, The Old Spotted Dog (now closed), and nearby Clapton Football Club; the northern half of the famous and busy Green Street also runs through it. To the west lies Stratford town centre. High Speed 1 runs underneath Forest Gate on its way into Stratford and London. Forest Gate also houses West Ham Park, providing a place for sports to be played and a contrast to the otherwise urban environment.
The Woodgrange Estate is a residential conservation area in Forest Gate with predominantly double fronted Victorian houses. There are sets of flats are certain ends of most of these roads replacing houses which were bombed during World War II. The Woodgrange estate consists of four roads Windsor, Claremont, Osbourne and Hampton; all of which link to the Woodgrange road. Nearby Godwin Junior School in Forest Gate was recently honoured with the prestigious British Council’s International School Award. The school is among only 127 schools in the country to have received the three-year accreditation. The school's headteacher was named Teacher of the Year.
Forest Gate has various associations with music and acting; it was for many years the home of the Tonic Sol-Fa Institute, which taught large numbers of people to play music without learning conventional notation. In December 1966 Jimi Hendrix 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.[1] Although born in Plaistow, Ronnie Lane of the Small Faces spent his childhood and early adulthood in Forest Gate, living at 385 Romford Road,[2] while members Steve Marriott and Jimmy Winston lived nearby in Manor Park. Roy Carter, a rhythm guitarist with 70s hit funk band Heatwave, was raised in Forest Gate. Two of the top-selling Grime artists are Forest Gate; Kano, whose debut album 'Home Sweet Home' made number one in the urban charts and rapper Plan B, whose song, Raking the Dead, refers to a friend who discovered a body on Wanstead Flats.[3] The Newham Generals (D Double E & Footsie) are also from Forest Gate, and the video for their song 'Frontline' was filmed at Forest Gate railway station. Young rock band Bleech, also hailing from Forest Gate, have started to make a splash. Recently they both featured in the NME and supported Pete Doherty on tour. The former Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, star of a string of very successful movies including The Terminator and True Lies, was known to have lived in Forest Gate and weight trained at Wag Bennett's famous gymnasium in Romford Road well before he achieved fame. Another is the award winning actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, born in Forest Gate in July 1974, who has had significant roles in films such as American Gangster with Denzel Washington, and Amistad with Matthew McConaughey.
Forest Gate formed part of the County Borough of West Ham 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.
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Notable people associated with Forest Gate
- Sam Alper - caravan designer and founder of Little Chef
- John Bowstead - artist
- Alan Curbishley - former manager of West Ham United Football Club
- Elizabeth Fry - prison reformer
- John Grahl - economist
- Terrence Hardiman - actor
- Jimi Hendrix - musician
- Roy Carter - musician
- Sarah Jezebel Deva - musician
- Kano (rapper) - musician
- Ronnie Lane - musician[2]
- Kele Le Roc - singer
- Lennox Lewis - heavyweight boxing champion
- Plan B (rapper) - musician
- Arnold Schwarzenegger - actor, politician
- Barry Windsor-Smith - comic book artist
- Lyn - Radio Celebrity on LBC 97.3
- Jason Lee - footballer
- Idris Elba - Actor
- Ravi Bopara - Cricketer
- Edward Whymper - Climber, who married at Emmanuel Church, 1906
- Linvoy Primus - Footballer, and Christian Charity worker
Education
- For details of education in Forest Gate see the List of schools in the London Borough of Newham
Nearby places
See also
References
External links
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Wikinews has news coverage 2006 Terror Suspect Raid: |
- Forest Gate, Newham council tax bands and charges
- Site with information about Forest Gate
- The Forest Gate War Memorial Project
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