West Ham is an area in East London, located 6.1 mi (9.8 km) east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham.

The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, and it later became a County Borough. The district, part of the historic county of Essex, was an administrative unit, with largely consistent boundaries, from the 12th century to 1965, when it merged with neighbouring areas to become the western part of the new London Borough of Newham. The area of the parish and borough included not just central West Ham area, just south of Stratford; but also the sub-districts of Stratford, Canning Town, Plaistow, Custom House, Silvertown, Forest Gate and the western parts of Upton Park, which is shared with East Ham.

The district was historically dependent on its docks and other maritime trades, while the inland industrial concentrations led to its byname as the Factory centre of the south of England. These sources of employment have largely been lost, though there has been a degree of regeneration, in part associated with the 2012 Olympic Games.