It was originally a ward in the parish of West Ham, hundred of Becontree, and part of the historic county of Essex.

[5] However, in his book What's in a Name?, first published in 1977, author Cyril M. Harris states that c. 1200 Plaistow was recorded as Plagestoue, derived from the Old English pleg, meaning 'sport' or 'playing', and stowe 'place'.

[8] The book Fifty Years a Borough, 1886-1936, The Story of West Ham, compiled by Donald McDougall on behalf of West Ham County Borough Council, leans towards the derivation from Hugh de Plaiz, as Lord of the Manor, and that Plaistow was the Stow or village of the de Plaiz family.

[10][11] Known as Balostret in the 1371 Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous, Balaam /ˈbeɪləm/ Street is one of the oldest roads in Plaistow and is probably named after de Balun, though some argue its namesake is in fact a Walter Balame.

Several stories state that among Turpin’s first crimes was the theft of two oxen from his employer, a Mr Giles of Plaistow,[14][15][16] in 1730.

[14] In Aaron Hill's time there (1738–1750) Plaistow was a rural village described as a day's coach journey from Westminster,[18] despite it being a distance of only some 8 miles (13 km).

The Black Lion public house in the High Street is one of the oldest landmarks in Plaistow and is reputed to date back to at least 1742.

[22] In the 1870s, John Marius Wilson described it in his Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales as a village, a chapelry and a ward in the Parish of West Ham in Essex.

[23] James Thorne, in his 1876 work "Handbook to the Environs of London", mentions Plaistow, Essex, as a village and ecclesiastical district of West Ham parish with a population of 6,699.

Now a grade II listed building, it was once used as an Art college by the University of East London and students included Jake and Dinos Chapman.

[38] The Plaistow North area is largely made up of a local authority housing estate constructed in the 1960s on a bomb-damaged site.

[40] Just before the end of the 1990s a £92 million regeneration programme known as the Forest Gate and Plaistow SRB5 got under way, with the aim of renewing and revitalising neighbourhoods, creating jobs, building new homes and improving many existing ones.

[46] On 10 December 2012, Plaistow South was named as one of fifty areas of England to share in a Big Lottery Scheme grant of £200 million.

[53] The West Ham Boys' Amateur Boxing Club is located at the rear of the Black Lion public house in High Street.

[62] It was the first licensed African radio station in the UK but had its licence revoked by Ofcom on 4 March 2016 for persistent failure to broadcast.

A number of grime MCs and DJs have origins in Plaistow, including Ghetts, Durrty Goodz and Crazy Titch.

England international footballers Sol Campbell, Tony Cottee, Rob Lee and Martin Peters were born in Plaistow.

He managed England and Great Britain national teams, and was also Chairman of the British Speedway Promoters' Association.

[66] Edward Temme, born in Plaistow, was a member of the British Olympic Water Polo teams of 1928 and 1936 and was the first man to swim the English Channel in both directions.

Stratford station is also nearby, to the north of the district, which is served by the Central and Jubilee lines, DLR, and National Rail trains.

[80] Since 2022, the area has also been linked directly to London Heathrow Airport and Reading via the Elizabeth line from the nearby Custom House station.

The route runs unbroken from Hackney Wick to Plaistow via the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, and West Ham.

Eastbound, the route runs towards Newham University Hospital, East Ham, Beckton, and Cycle Superhighway 3 towards Barking.

The road runs westbound towards the City of London, passing Canning Town, Poplar, and Canary Wharf en route.