Forest Gate
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Forest Gate is a residential area in the London Borough of Newham.
Its name is derived from a southern gate of Epping Forest which once stretched continuously down from Epping. Fragments of the forest remain throughout north east London and the heathland of Wanstead Flats, which borders Forest Gate, is an example. Wanstead Flats is preserved in music by The Small Faces (Itchycoo Park) and more reccently rapper plan B. In December 1966 Jimi Hendrix wrote Purple Haze in the Upper Cut club, which later became the Ace of Clubs in Woodgrange Road.
Newham is quickly establishing itself as a centre of UK Urban Music and Grime Music within the UK. The borough is home to two of the top selling artists within the Grime scene who both hail from the Forest Gate district of Newham. The first is Kano, whose debut album 'Home Sweet Home' made number one in the urban charts and the second is rapper Plan B.
Forest Gate is home to the oldest public house in the borough, The Old Spotted Dog (now closed), and nearby Clapton Football Club; it is also home to the northern half of the famous and busy Green Street (which runs down towards Upton Park). To the west lies Stratford town centre. The Channel Tunnel Rail Link runs underneath Forest Gate on its way into Stratford and London. Forest Gate also houses West Ham Park, providing a place for sports to be played and a contrast to the otherwise urban environment.
The Woodgrange Estate is a residential conservation area in Forest Gate with predominantly double and triple fronted Victorian houses. The Woodgrange estate consists of four roads Windsor, Claremont, Osbourne and Hampton; all of which link to the Woodgrange road. Nearby Godwin Junior School in Forest Gate was recently honoured with the prestigious British Council’s International School Award. The school is among only 127 schools in the country to have received the three-year accreditation. The school's headteacher was named Teacher of the Year.
Forest Gate formed part of the County Borough of West Ham since its creation (initially as a municipal borough) in 1886. The county borough was abolished to form part of the present-day London Borough of Newham in 1965.
2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid
- Main article:2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (June 2007) |
- In December 1966 Jimi Hendrix wrote Purple Haze in the Upper Cut club, which later became the Ace of Clubs in Woodgrange Road. [1]
- In the 1960s Arnold Schwarzenegger lived in Forest Gate and regularly trained in Wag Bennett's Gym, on Romford Road.
- In the Plan B song, Raking the Dead, reference is made to a friend of the rapper who discovered a body on the Wanstead Flats flats Forest Gate.
- The Newham Generals, who were signed by Dizzee Rascal personally for his record label 'Dirtee Stank', hail from Forest Gate. In the song 'Frontline' the video is shot at Forest Gate station, on Woodgrange road.
Education
- For details of education in Forest Gate see the London Borough of Newham article
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