London Custom House??

[SooCatt]

Ellen Rymer Handley was born 18 May 1898, place of birth is given as London Custom House, West Ham.
Can anyone tell me anything about this please?  Is it an area or an actual house? 
Word of mouth in the family said she was born in Canning Town, is this in the same vicinity?
Be glad to get any info.  It all adds leaves to the tree......
Thanks
Susan

[alley]

Hi susan

custom house is at canning town.canning town comes under the borough of west ham.the last i knew of it it was a seamans retirement home for the less fortunate.
It is very big and at one time could have been a work house i suspect
regards

alan

[SooCatt]

Thanks for that Alan.
I've tried looking for info on the net but just keep getting hotel sites.  I'll try for Canning Town and West Ham and see what comes up.
Thanks again

Susan

[Rio In The City]

I am interested in knowing about Custom House.
My Grandmother and her three sisters were born there.
I don't think it was a workhouse.

[jericho]

I'm also interested in Custom House as I have relatives living there in 1901 so I'd be interested to find out more.

[hughar]

Custom House is an area of London by the Victoria Dock.  Here is a description from the web-site at http://www.lalamy.demon.co.uk/plaistow.htm

"Custom House (part of West Ham)
South-eastern part of Canning Town, an area with a name connected to the Royal Docks which themselves date back to the 1850's when their construction began, firstly on the huge Victoria Dock, (the last - the Albert Dock - opened as late as 1921). As was necessary to house the workforce for the docks, Custom House contains a large amount of domestic working class housing. It was also the home of West Ham Stadium (note: NOT the home of West Ham United, but home to a speedway/dog racing track) which had a capacity for over 100,000 people - demolished in the 1970s."

You can see it on a modern map if you enter 'Custom House' as a GB Place in http://www.streetmap.co.uk/

[Biker]

Hello,

To my knowledge Custom House was both a parish district and a building in the Canning Town area of London, sometimes referred to also as a part of West Ham.

As it is situated just north of the Royal Victoria  Docks (some of the most significant docks in London) most of the activity revolved around the maritime trades.  The area got its name from the Custom House (building) which was a focal point of the area and I believe incorporated functions of martime customs administration as well as early dock workers unions.

The area still exists but was heavily bombed during WW2 and redeveloped.  There is still a building "Custom House" but I'm not sure whether it is the original Victorian Building.

Hope that helps.
Jonathan

[Rio In The City]

Thanks for the information guys.

[jericho]

Thanks guys, very interesting reading.