Newham Heritage Month 2025 Presents 60 Dynamic Free Events

Newham Heritage Month 2025 will present over 60 exciting free events and activities this September in celebration of the borough’s 60^th birthday.

Marking the 60^th anniversary of the creation of the London Borough of Newham in 2025, this year’s theme is ‘Newham at 60: A Borough Like No Other’,celebrating the people and places that have made Newham the unique borough that it is.

The London Borough of Newham was created in 1965, prior to that the area was two separate county boroughs of East and West Ham, originally part of Essex, whose  millennia of history encompassed Stone Age settlements, Roman roads, Domesday Book recognition, one of Britain’s greatest medieval monasteries, Anne Boleyn’s legendary home, hosting the first FA Cup match, industrial expansion on a world-leading scale, the founding of influential Bow Porcelain and the radical Theatre Royal Stratford East, the inception of Trade Unionism, the creation of West Ham United, voting in one of the UK’s first female MPs, the establishment of pioneering Black cultural centres, the lives of stars including Vera Lynn, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Madge Gill, Honor Blackman, Linda Lewis, Steve Marriott, and David Bailey, and the Beatles’ first London gig.

Over the last five years, Newham Heritage Month has focused on many of the pivotal moments in the borough’s 60 year history, including the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the lives of famous residents such as Alexander McQueen, Sonia Boyce, Christine Ohuruogu, Ade Adepitan, and Benjamin Zephaniah, and pivotal moments in the borough’s history including Jimi Hendrix writing Purple Haze in Forest Gate in 1966, the story of radical soul club Bentleys of Canning Town in the ‘80s, the creation of films including Full Metal Jacket in Beckton in the ‘80s, the birth of the UK hardcore, jungle and drum and bass scene at De Underground Records in the ‘90s, the seminal role of Stratford skaters in international rollerskating culture in the ‘90s and ‘00s, the influential pirate radio station DeJaVu FM that launched the careers of local Grime stars including Kano and Ghetts, and more.

The popular festival will return for its sixth year in September, celebrating everything that has contributed to the borough’s development over time, from outstanding individual members of the community to special places across the borough, activist movements, creative minds and iconic moments.  

The selected projects will research both the borough’s period of change from the Essex county boroughs of East Ham and West Ham to Newham and stories from further back in the area’s history, drawing links to Newham in the present. 

Selina Papa, Head of Engagement for England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “The National Lottery Heritage Fund has long recognised the power of heritage to create a sense of renewed history, pride and togetherness across generations and places. In this special year for the borough, we are delighted to see so many local organisations using money raised by National Lottery players to celebrate the people and moments that have shaped Newham over the last 60 years. These are the heritage treasures that people want to pass on to future generations, and we’re proud to continue to support the programme.”

The 2025 festival program of dynamic free events and activities throughout September includes:

60 years of Newham in Motion, celebrating Newham’s skateboarding past with an exhibition and free skate workshops.

Bells and Whistles, connecting the dockland community in Newham today with that at the time the borough was created with art workshops on the theme of ‘arrivals and departures’.

Between Two Worlds: Tamil lives in Newham preserving and disseminating the rich history of Newham’s Tamil community through film, storytelling workshops and creative activities

Building Community through Food: Wentworth Newland “Watch and Learn”, which tells the story of Wenty’s Tropical Foods in Upton Lane and captures oral histories that inform an exhibition and podcast celebrating the shop’s history.

The Desi Legacy of Green Street creates a documentary film on how Green Street became the heart of the South Asian community in East London. 

Drawing on Heritage explores Newham’s art and design heritage through postcards, inspired by the work of Madge Gill and the Arts and Crafts movement, with four artists commissioned to create a set of risograph-printed postcards that respond to different aspects of the borough’s past.

Green Street, Newham, 90’s & noughties Bollywood, music & memoriescaptures the importance that Green Street played as a destination for Bollywood culture in the 1990s and 00s through singing and art workshops that will lead up to a spectacular closing performance.

Inspector of Nuisances explores the story of Alice Billing, West Ham’s first woman sanitation inspector, with public workshops and an exhibition.

It Takes a Village; how Caribbean community spaces helped to raise & shape us shares how the community has carved out spaces for itself across the borough, delivering workshops, recording oral histories and creating an exhibition and film showcasing their findings.

Ruminations from Newham City Farm will capture the history of the much-loved farm, which opened in 1977, sharing the site’s history through oral histories and an exhibition.

The Lesbians of Forest Gate collects the lived experience of the wider lesbian community of Forest Gate, using these first-person stories as the inspiration for a brand-new play. 

The Story of Newham Academy of Music documents the impact of the Newham Academy of Music on the borough’s creative landscape, creating a public archive and exhibition, alongside a short film focusing on composer Shirley Thompson OBE.

The Workers United researches the borough’s history of activism to create a new play focusing on the 1889 strike at Silver’s factory in Silvertown. The ultimately unsuccessful strike, involving figures such as Eleanor Marx and Will Thorne, would go on to influence the development of the hugely influential new unionism movement.

Turtles of Newham: A sonic & visual journey through time, combining film, music, oral histories, art and photography to explore Newham’s impact on musical subcultures, culminating in a digital exhibition and documentary film.

Charabancs & Cadillacs Travelling Trunk presenting a mobile, interactive exhibition, full of stories and memorabilia from the residents of Newham relating to transportation.

Custom House, Our House sharing stories and photos of people shaping community-led regeneration in Custom House. 

Discover the full programme and book free tickets at newhamheritagemonth.org