Essex Lodge in Greengate Street was built was built on the site of Essex House, a large white house with Tudor windows, that had been demolished in 1836.

After 1836 some of the materials from the house were used on the same site to build Essex Lodge, a cottage style residence with gables and ornamental barge-boards. Features retained from the earlier house include part of the original garden wall which survived until 1905, a wrought iron gateway, an enriched shell-hood of c.1700 over the front door, and, internally, what appears to be an early 18th century stone doorway adapted as a fire-place. Above the fire-place was the crest of the Willyams family, a ducal coronet surmounted by a falcon with folded wings. This suggests that Essex House was the large old plastered house occupied in the mid 18th century by Thomas Willyams, and later by John Willyams, who left in 1768.

In the foreground is the Gas Bridge, looking south along Bow Creek, it was built in 1870 to carry gas and water mains across the River Lea. The abutments of this bridge are still standing.

Beyond that is the second ‘Iron Bridge' over the River Lea at Canning Town, which replaced an earlier bridge built in 1810. The second bridge was actually of steel and made at the nearby Thames Iron Works in 1896 - but the old name ‘stuck'. It was designed by Alexander Binnie, Chief Engineer to London County Council.

The Iron Bridge was demolished in 1934-5 after the new Canning Town Bridge was opened in 1932 on a new alignment north of the Gas Bridge. The new bridge was widened in the late 1990s and is now the western approach to the Canning Town flyover. The new Jubilee footbridge is built on the abutments of the old Iron Bridge.

HMS Thunderer was the last ship to be built by the Thames Iron Works Shipbuilding & Engineering Company of Victoria Dock Road, Canning Town.

‘Thunderer' was launched on 1st February 1911 and at 22,500 tons was the largest ‘dreadnought' afloat, she went down river to the specially built Thunderer Jetty at Dagenham Dock to be fitted out as she was to big for the Royal Docks,

She went on to fight at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and was armed with ten 13.5-inch guns in pairs and sixteen 4-inch guns. ‘Thunderer' remained in service after the end of the Great War and was decommissioned in 1921. She was used as a cadet training ship from 1921 until being sold for scrap on 27 December 1926.

Thames Iron Works and the Albion Disaster. The largest ship builders on the River Thames were the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company. The firm was originally opened in 1846 as C.J.Mare & Co. 

HMS Thunderer was the final battleship to be built by the Thames Iron Works. The ship was also the largest battleship to be launched on the River Thames.

From the collection of Newham Heritage Services

From the collection of Newham Heritage Services.