East Ham Nature Reserve

East Ham, at the time of the Norman Conquest, was owned by Leofric and Edwin and in the Domesday survey is recorded as consisting of '38 villagers, 30 small-holdings and 3 slaves', with '17 ploughs, 15 cattle, 180 sheep, 44 pigs with woodland for 700, 59 acres of meadow, and 3 beehives'. The word 'Hame' meant 'low-lying pasture', and in medieval times the area was largely arable land and woodland although intensive farming led to the disappearance of the latter by the late C13th. The ancient parish church of St Mary Magdalene indicates where the medieval settlement was centred. The church was built in c.1130 and is one of the oldest in the country. Numerous building materials were used in its construction including Roman tiles, Kentish rag, flints and chalk, and Norfolk pudding-stone; the original Norman timber roof over the apse remains, held together by wooden pegs. A tower was added in the C13th, although the tower today dates from the C16th. It once housed five bells, of which only one remains, 'Gabriel', the oldest bell in London, which was cast in 1380 at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry. In the church are two church-wardens 'prickers' of 1805 that were used to wake those who slept during the sermon. There is an anchorite's cell in the north side of the chancel, and the church has a number of monuments and brasses dating from the C16th and C17th including a large Jacobean monument to Lord Mortimer, his wife and 7 children, and a marble and onyx monument to Giles Breame and his wife. Breame's father was granted the patronage of the living of East Ham after the Abbey of Stratford Langthorne was dissolved in 1532.

There are approximately 7,500 named graves in the churchyard, one of the largest in London, including 64 war graves. Among the many graves and tombs in the churchyard is a memorial for two of the crew of the SS Titanic; a relative of Fletcher Christian is buried here, as is the C18th antiquarian William Stukely who surveyed and recorded Stonehenge. The churchyard was officially closed for burials in 1974 and was for many years a wilderness until its value as a wildlife reserve was realised in c.1977. It is now managed as East Ham Nature Reserve, and is an important teaching resource for Newham schools. Various areas of the Nature Reserve have been named after people and places associated with the church, such as Roll's Plantation after the Revd. Sir James Roll, vicar here between 1944 to 1958. The idea for a nature reserve was that of curate Ian Robertson; it was decided to build a visitor/ education centre, which was designed from c.1979, and required hundreds of bodies to be exhumed. In 1981 hedges were planted around the oldest part of the churchyard, a copse of 20 Scots pines was planted in the south, and the Visitors Centre opened. The Nature Reserve was formally opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth II in 1983.

In 1990 the Wren Conservation Group co-ordinated the planting of 5,000 young native tree species to increase woodland, with a grant from the Nature Conservancy Council. At this time paths were upgraded and nature trails were laid out, one for wheelchair users to use unassisted, and another for their use with assistance; additional support came from the Area Museum Service for South-East England. The National Churchyard Conservation Campaign was launched from here in May 1991.

In 2019 Shape Newham was launched in order to co-design and install imaginative public space improvement projects across the borough, locations and priorities chosen through a series of community events and workshops. East Ham Nature Reserve was selected, with local artist Matt Ponting working with volunteers, members of the community and other stakeholders to design a series of improvements, given the name 'Hidden Creatures'. New entrance gates, signage and a mural were installed at the Visitor Centre, and trail markers and noticeboards installed throughout the site featuring information about the reserve and ecological facts,. The project completed in summer 2022.

East Ham Nature Reserve Heritage and Conservation Volunteers maintain the reserve, meeting on Wednesday mornings and the last Saturday morning each month. Tasks include hedge laying, removing ivy from trees and gravestones, pruning, making dead hedges, clearing goosegrass and clearing coarse grass in order to sow wildflower seeds. The Friends of East Ham Nature Reserve are also involved here.