Stratford is a district that is located in the East End of London, in the London Borough of Newham, England. It is 6 miles (10 km) east-northeast of Charing Cross and is in East London. Stratford is part of the Lower Lea Valley and includes the localities of Maryland, East Village, Mill Meads, Stratford City and Forest Gate. Historically part of the ancient parish and subsequent County Borough of West Ham, which became the western half of the modern borough within a Greater London in 1965. Historically an agrarian settlement in the county of Essex, Stratford was transformed into an industrial suburb following the introduction of the railway in 1839. Once, Bow on the west bank of the River Lea formed apart of Stratford but was never in Essex but was in Middlesex instead.