Perpendicular, with an Early English tower, and contains some interest int; monuments.
WEST HAM, a municipal, county, and parliamentary borough
of Essex, England, forming an eastward suburb of London.
Pop. (1891) 204,903, (1901) 267,358. The parish stretches
north and south from Wanstead and Leyton to the Thames, and
east and west from East Ham to the river Lea. It is divided
into four wards—Church Street, Stratford-Langthome, Plaistow
and Upton. The church of All Saints has a good Perpendicular
tower, but the remainder is extensively restored. There are a
number of old monuments. In the restoration of 1866 some
early mural painting was discovered, and a transition Norman
clerestory was discovered, remaining above the later nave.
There are several modern churches, and a Franciscan monastery
end school (St Bonaventure's). West Ham Park (80 acres)
occupies the site of Ham House and park, for many years the
residence of Samuel Gurney, the banker and philanthropist.
The place was purchased for £25,000, and vested in the corporation
of London for the use of the public. Of this amount the
Gurney family contributed £10,000 and the corporation the same
sum, the remaining £5000 being collected from the inhabitants
of West Ham. The house was taken down, and the park was
opened in 1874. Mrs Elizabeth Fry lived in a house in Upton
Lane, on the confines of her brother's park. In 1762 the number of
houses in West Ham parish was stated to be 700, of which "455 are
mansions and 245 cottages." Now few large houses remain, but
the smaller houses have greatly increased. There are numerous
chemical and other manufactures which have been removed
from London itself; and the large population can also be traced
in part to the foundation of the Victoria and Albert docks
at Plaistow. Included within the borough are the extensive
railway works of the Great Eastern railway at Stratford. This
industrial centre is continued eastward in the urban district of
East Ham (pop. 96,018), where the old village church of St Mary
Magdalene retains Norman portions. West Ham is governed
by a mayor, 12 aldermen and 36 councillors. Area 4683 acres.
At the time of the Conquest West Ham belonged to Alestan and Leured, two freemen, and at Domesday to Ralph Gernon and Ralph Peverel. West Ham village was included in the part which descended to the Gernons, who took the name of Montfichet. The manor of West Ham was settled upon Stratford Langthorne Abbey, founded by William de Montfichet in 1135 for monks of the Cistercian order. The abbey stood in the marshes, on a branch of the Lea known as the Abbey Creek, about ½ m. south of Stratford Broadway. West Ham received the grant of a market and annual fair in 1253. The lordship was given to the abbey of Stratford, and, passing to the crown at the dissolution, formed part of the dowry of Catherine of Portugal, and was therefore called the Queen's Manor. In 1885 the urban sanitary district was erected into a parliamentary borough, returning two members for the northern and southern divisions respectively. It was incorporated in 1886.
WEST HAVEN, a borough of Orange township. New Haven
county, Connecticut, U.S.A., on New Haven Harbor and separated
from New Haven by the West river. Pop. (1900) 5247
(893 foreign-born); (1910) 8543. West Haven is served by the
New York, New Haven, & Hartford railway. It is mainly a
residential suburb of New Haven. There is a public park, and
Savin Rock, rising from Long Island Sound, is a summer resort.
West Haven was set apart from New Haven in 1822 and was
united with North Milford to form the township of Orange;
it was incorporated as a borough in 1873.
WEST HOBOKEN, a town of Hudson county. New Jersey,
U.S.A., in the N.E. part of the state,—adjoining Hoboken and
Jersey City. Pop. (1890) 11,665; (1900) 23,094, of whom 9119
were foreign-born; (1910, census) 35,403. For transportation
facilities the town depends upon the railways serving Hoboken
and Jersey City. West Hoboken lies about ¼ m. W. of the
Hudson river, occupies a pleasant site somewhat higher than
that of its neighbouring municipalities, and commands a fine
view of the surrounding country. Among the prominent buildings
are a Carnegie library, St Michael's Monastery (containing
a theological school), a Dominican Convent, and several fine
churches; and there are two Roman Catholic orphanages.
The town is an important centre for the manufacture of silk
and silk goods; in 1905 the value of these products was
$4,211,018. West Hoboken was created a separate township
in 1861, from a part of the township of North Bergen, and in
1884 was incorporated as a town.
WESTHOUGHTON, an urban district in the Westhoughton
parliamentary division of Lancashire, England, 5 m. W.S.W.
of Bolton on the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway. Pop.
(1901) 14,377. There are coal mines in the neighbourhood, and
the towa possesses silk factories, print-works and cotton mills.
Westhoughton before the time of Richard II. was a manor
belonging to the abbey of Cockersand. It was confiscated
at the Reformation, and since then has been vested in the crown.
The army of Prince Rupert assembled on Westhoughton moor
before the attack on Bolton.
WEST INDIES, THE, sometimes called the Antilles (q.v.), an archipelago stretching in the shape of a rude arc or parabola from Florida in North America and Yucatan in Central America to Venezuela in South America, and enclosing the Caribbean Sea (615,000 sq. m.) and the Gulf of Mexico (750,000 sq. m. in area). The land area of all the islands is nearly 100,000 sq. m., with an estimated population of about 612 millions; that of the British islands about 12,000 sq. m. The islands differ widely one from another in area, population, geographical position, and physical characteristics. They are divided into the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and Porto Rico), and the Lesser Antilles (comprising the remainder). The Lesser Antilles are again divided into the Windward Islands and Leeward Islands. Geographically, the Leeward Islands are those to the north of St Lucia, and the Windward, St Lucia and those to the south of it; but for administrative purposes the British islands in the Lesser Antilles are grouped as is shown in the table given later.
