Year	What Was Happening ?
	At St John's	In & Around Stratford	In The Church	In The World
1135		Stratford Langthorne Abbey founded by William de Montfichet for brethren of the Cistercian order, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary and All Saints.
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
1648		Stratford was at the centre of a running battle between Royalists and Parliamentary forces. British History Online
1658		Richard Henry Lee, Great-great-great-grandfather of General Robert E. Lee, aquires a residence in Stratford and names it 'Maryland Point', after his plantations in America.
1761		Mrs. Bonnell founds her School in Stratford
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'.
1809		Hugh Chambres-Jones becomes vicar of West Ham, replacing Gerald Valerian Wellesley, brother of the Duke of Wellington.
1828		Hugh Chambres-Jones, vicar of West Ham, granted permission to build a chapel at Stratford.
1830		St. Mary, Plaistow, opened.
1831		Population of Stratford is 6,686
1834 »	St John's Church opened as a chapel of ease to All Saints, West Ham.