The Edwardian era (1901 - 1910) was a fascinating one - wedged between the end of Victorian Britain and the outbreak of World War 1. Locally, it saw the first reversal of population growth, after a century of continuous expansion (numbers fell from 60,892 in 1901 to 51,071 by the time of the census a decade later).
The decade co-incided with an early boom in the post card trade; and the many survivors enable us to paint a vivid street and social portrait of the district, perhaps for the first time.
In this, the first of two posts, we reproduce a number of Edwardian postcards showing Forest Gate streets, a little over a century ago. They are presented, somewhat unimaginatively, in alphabetical order.
For a flavour of life in and around these streets at the time, we would refer you to three previous posts on this blog, taken from a 1907 publication, by social commentators, Howarth and Wilson, in their book: West Ham - a study in industrial problems.
The posts refer to the three then local authority districts:
Forest Gate Ward
Park Ward
Upton Ward
In the second post in this "photographic essay" of Edwardian Forest Gate, we will reproduce postcards illustration recreation and entertainment, religion, education, transport and politics of the time.
Street life in Edwardian Forest Gate
See how your road has changed over the last century - absence of traffic and litter and abundance of healthy trees are among the most obvious differences between now and then.
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| Atherton Road - 1910 |
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| Broadway (with fire station and ladder in front of what is now the semi- dilapidated dentist) - 1904 |
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| Broadway - 1908 |
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| Capel Road - 1906 |
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| Chestnut Avenue - 1908 |
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| Chestnut Avenue - 1910 |
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| Claremont Road - c 1910 |
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| Dames Road - 1906 |
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| Earlham Grove - c 1910 |
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| Ham Park Road (163) - 1905 |
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| Hampton Road - c 1901 |
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| Osborne Road - c 1907 |
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| Romford Road - 1904 |
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| Romford Road - 1904 |
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| Romford Road (with Congregational church) - 1905 |
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| Sebert Road - 1908 |
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Upton Lane - 1910
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| Windsor Road - 1908 |
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| Woodford Road - 1904 |
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Woodgrange Road - 1903
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