Timeline (Prior to 1834)
| Year | What Was Happening ? | |||
| At St John's | In & Around Stratford | In The Church | In The World | |
| 1110 | Matilda, wife of Henry I, reputedly took a tumble at the ford over the River Lee on her way to Barking Abbey, and ordered a distinctively bow-shaped, three-arched bridge to be built. The first Bow Bridge. A causeway was also built from the bridge to Channelsea Bridge. | Henry I becomes King of England | ||
| 1135 | Stratford Langthorne Abbey founded by William de Montfichet for brethren of the Cistercian order, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary and All Saints. | Henry I died and Stephen became King of England | ||
| 1253 | Richard de Montfichet procures a charter for a market at West Ham. An annual fair of four days' duration was granted at the same time | |||
| 1264 | King Henry III 'took up his abode at Stratford Abbey, while his army encamped about Ham' after marching through London British History Online (Stratford) - External Link - | |||
| 1529 | Henry VIII declares himself head of the English church. | |||
| 1530 | England achieves a 60% literacy rate owing in part to the introduction by William Caxton of the German printing press late in the 15th century. | |||
| 1533 | The Act of Supremacy finalizes the Church of England's break with the Catholic church. King Henry VIII is declared head of the church, and monasteries are suppressed. | |||
| 1556 | 23 Protestant men and women burnt alive at the stake for their religious views at 'Stratford the Bowe'. | |||
| 1563 | Thirty-Nine Articles drafted as a doctrinal statement by a convocation of the Church of England. | John Foxe's 'Actes and Monuments of These Latter and Perillous Dayes' published in English. (Originally in Latin) | ||
| 1611 | King James Version of the Bible published. | |||
| 1648 | Stratford was at the centre of a running battle between Royalists and Parliamentary forces. British History Online - External Link - | |||
| 1658 | Richard Henry Lee (external link), Great-great-great-grandfather of General Robert E. Lee (external link), acquires a residence in Stratford and names it 'Maryland Point', after his plantations in America. | Oliver Cromwell died and his Son, Richard, became Lord Protector of England | ||
| 1749 | Bow Porcelain factory opens in Stratford | |||
| 1761 | Mrs. Bonnell founds her School in Stratford | Englishmen, John Harrison invents the navigational clock or marine chronometer for measuring longitude | ||
| 1762 | The number of houses in West Ham parish was stated in an official return to be 700, of which by far the larger proportion were entered as 'mansions'. | John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, becomes Prime Minister | ||
| 1799 | Freemason Lodge 210 'Lodge of True Friendship' is meeting every 3rd Tuesday at the Bird and Hand in Stratford. (Boyle's View of London, and its Environs; 1799) | |||
| 1809 | Hugh Chambres-Jones becomes vicar of West Ham, replacing Gerald Valerian Wellesley, brother of the Duke of Wellington. | Spencer Perceval becomes Prime Minister Humphrey Davy invents the first electric light - the first arc lamp |
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| 1828 | Hugh Chambres-Jones, vicar of West Ham, given a grant of £5,000 by 'His Majesty's Commissioners of Churches' towards building a chapel at Stratford. Population of the Parish of West Ham is 9,753 (The Clerical Guide, Or Ecclesiastical Directory (3rd Edition 1829)) |
Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, becomes Prime Minister London Zoo opens |
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| 1830 | St. Mary, Plaistow, opened. | William IV becomes King Charles, 2nd Earl Grey, becomes Prime Minister The first railways appeared in England Frenchmen, B. Thimonnier invents a sewing machine |
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| 1831 | Population of Stratford is 6,686 | Michael Faraday invents an electric dynamo | ||
| 1833 | Construction of St John's begins. | |||
| 1834 » | St John's Church opened as a chapel of ease to All Saints, West Ham. | |||