- Custom House, London
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For other uses, see Custom House (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 51°30′27″N 0°01′47″E / 51.5076°N 0.0297°E
Custom House
Custom House shown within Greater LondonOS grid reference TQ408807 London borough Newham Ceremonial county Greater London Region London Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town LONDON Postcode district E16 Dialling code 020 Police Metropolitan Fire London Ambulance London EU Parliament London London Assembly City and East List of places: UK • England • London Custom House is an area in the London Borough of Newham in London, England.
The area is named after the custom house of Royal Victoria Dock.
The first Custom House in London was built in 1275 and was located near Billingsgate Market in the City of London.
The Custom House Hotel (on the corner of Freemasons Road), was opened in 2001 to service the expected trade from the nearby ExCeL centre.
Custom House is growing in terms of different ethnic backgrounds in the locality. The area originally consisted of a mostly white community but there have been an increase of different ethnic groups.[citation needed] The two main roads which serve Custom House are Freemasons Road located near the Custom House DLR station, and Prince Regent Lane. Buses serving Freemasons Road are the 241, 325 and 678 (school journeys only). The Custom House Surgery is also located on this road. The Royal Docks Community School and The Shipman Youth Centre are both on Prince Regent Lane, in addition to local stores which serve the residents. Bus routes passing through Prince Regent Lane are the 147, 300 and 473.
Sport and recreation
Custom House has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V. The Canning Town recreational ground is located on Freemasons Road.
Custom House was home to the West Ham Hammers speedway team at the 120,000 capacity West Ham Stadium. Many roads built on the stadium site following its demolition are named after the stars of the team - including Aub Lawson, Jack Young and promoter Johnnie Hoskins.
In the early 1930s, Custom House was home to a football league club, Thames A.F.C, before being dissolved in 1932.
Founder members of the punk band The Cockney Rejects, brothers Mick & Jeff Geggus, were both born in Custom House.
See also
Categories:- Districts of Newham
- Districts of London
- Districts of London on the River Thames
- London geography stubs
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