Last week Sean Fitzgerald – town manager of Plaistow, New Hampshire – paid tribute to Plaistow, Newham on the eve of his state’s presidential primary elections.

Newham Recorder: Memorial Community Church in Plaistow, NewhamMemorial Community Church in Plaistow, Newham (Image: Archant)

Readers may have been surprised to learn of the existence of our American namesake – but as one new arrival to the borough pointed out, there are even more Plaistows out there.

“I have just moved from Plaistow, West Sussex to Plaistow, East London,” Pauline Wynnward said.

Pauline explained that her previous Plaistow is an “old small village with a church, village shop and Ye Olde Sun Inn” – a pub that dates back to the 11th century.

“There is also a thriving football team,” she added. “But cricket had to stop due to lack of players.”

In 2013 Stuart East, Plaistow and Ifold Parish Council chairman, told the Midhurst and Petworth Observer about the bucolic area.

“The most commonly identified good thing about the parish was the ‘country feel’,” he said. “Closely followed by the ‘peacefulness’ and ‘community spirit’.”

Other Plaistows in the UK can be found in Derbyshire, Bromley and the House of Lords (the Rt Hon the Lord Sterling of Plaistow).