The Greenway

By the 1850s the Thames in central London was effectively an open sewer since sewage drained directly into the river. The 'Great Stink' of 1858 caused Parliament and the Law Courts to seriously consider moving away from the river and the curtains on river-fronting windows in the Houses of Parliament were soaked in calcium chloride against the stench. The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was set up in 1855, with the construction of a sewage system its primary task. In 1848 London's levels had been plotted in order to devise a drainage and sewage scheme, and this was the origin of the Ordnance Survey. Joseph Bazalgette, who worked for the Metropolitan Commissioners for Sewers and later became chief engineer for the MBW, was responsible for the Northern Outfall Sewer, which took wastewater from the River Thames at Wick Lane, Hackney to the new Barking Sewage Works, constructed in 1864, later renamed Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. A second sewer was constructed south of the Thames, known as the Southern Outfall. Bazalgette was also responsible for the construction of Abbey Mills Pumping Station (q.v.) which was designed to lift lower level sewage into the Northern Outfall. Nicknamed 'the Cathedral of Sewage', the Pumping Station's two chimneys were demolished in WWII in order to prevent their use as bomber landmarks. The old Abbey Mills Pumping Station and the new pumping station of 1994-7 are both visible from The Greenway.

It was named Abbey Mills Pumping Station due to its proximity to the former site of Stratford Langthorne Abbey founded in 1135, within whose precincts was an Abbey Mill once known as Wiggen Mill. This was the earliest tidal mill in West Ham. In the early C12th the mill had been given to Barking Abbey (q.v.) by Queen Maud as part of an endowment for the upkeep of Bow and Channelsea Bridges. It was later bought by Stratford Abbey, in whose ownership it remained until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the C16th. Mainly used for corn milling, the mill was rebuilt in 1768 and then again in the 1860s but was burnt down during WWI and most of the ruin was removed in 1967.

The Greenway was created in the 1990s following publication in 1991 of a 'green strategy' for London that recommended establishing new networks for people to walk and cycle  in the city, as well as reintroducing and encouraging wildlife. As the Outfall's structure needed to be kept intact, it was only covered with a shallow layer of earth and it was planted with grass and meadow plants to encourage insects and bees. There are various landmarks of historic interest at points along the length of The Greenway as well as views across Newham. The northern end is near Old Ford Lock, which marks a river crossing or ford over the river Lea dating from Roman times; there is now a nature reserve here. Between Stratford High Street and Manor Road, near Abbey Mills, the Greenwich Meridian crosses The Greenway, marked by a coloured gravel design of moons and planets. Near here at Abbey Creek is a piece of redundant pumping station machinery, nicknamed 'The Snail'. Further south, The Greenway passes Memorial Grounds (q.v.) and the adjacent East London Cemetery (q.v.). Near Barking Road the route passes St Andrew's Church (by James Brooks, 1868-70) and also runs close to the medieval St Mary Magdalene churchyard, now East Ham Nature Reserve (q.v.), c.900 yards west of which a small Roman cemetery was discovered during the construction of the Northern Outfall Sewer in 1863. Judging by the coffins it appears that wealthy Romans were buried here.

A section of the route was closed between Marshgate Lane and Stratford High Street during the Crossrail and Olympic building works. As part of the creation of Olympic Park, a temporary observation, information, education, cycle hire and cafe was erected on The Greenway near Pudding Mill Lane DLR station, close to the Olympic Stadium. Created from recycled shipping containers, View Tube opened in 2010 and provided a viewing platform over the new park. After the Games, the building was repurposed as a community hub and café for the local community and visitors to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, maintained by Poplar HARCA. The facilities now provide affordable studios, as well as the cafe/restaurant now serving Latin fusion food, which has an outdoor garden.

In 2016 a community group, Greenway Users, was set up, which later formed Greenway Action Group to improve the logging of crime and other incidents along the route. Newham Council began improvements to lighting, with a view to opening the route 24 hours a day. The Greenway has been designated a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation. In mid-2018, a section of the route between the A13 and A118 was designated as 'Quietway 22' by Transport for London. Renovations were completed in summer 2019, following completion of major water supply works by Thames Water that included opening bridges over Waterworks River and the City Mill River. In 2022, The Greenway was one of 19 projects selected by the Mayor of London's Rewild London Fund, which aims to 'rewild the city and recover nature'.