Stratford

Stratford, a thriving town of Essex, on the Lea, 4 miles ENE. of London. It had a Cistercian abbey (1134) and the Empress Matilda's three-arched, bow-shaped bridge (removed in 1839); now it has a handsome town-hall (1869), and is the seat of various and extensive manufactures. Pop. (1851) 10,586; (1871) 23,286; (1881) 38,606; (1891) 42,982. On the opposite side of the Lea is the parish of Bow, or Stratford-le-Bow. Pop. (1851) 4626; (1871) 26,055; (1891) 40,378.