Stratford is a town and district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Newham. Part of the Lower Lea Valley, it is six miles (ten kilometres) northeast of Charing Cross, and includes Maryland and East Village.
Historically, part of the ancient parish of West Ham in the hundred of Becontree in Essex. Stratford later became part of the County Borough of West Ham and the location of its Town Hall. Following reform of local government in London in 1965 it became part of the borough of Newham in the newly formed Greater London.
Stratford grew rapidly in the 19th century after the railway came to the area in 1839, forming part of the conurbation of London, similar to much of south-west Essex. The late 20th century was a period of severe economic decline in the area, eventually reversed by ongoing regeneration associated with the 2012 Summer Olympics, for which Stratford's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, part of the large, multi-purpose Stratford City development, was the principal venue. The Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, one of the largest urban shopping centres in Europe, opened in 2011. Stratford is east London's primary retail, cultural and leisure centre, and has also become the second most significant business location in east London after Canary Wharf.
