Barking

This is where I live. So many people scoff at the 'East End' of London that I thought that it was time to redress the balance a little.

Barking is now part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and is one of the largest Boroughs in London, however Barking (and Dagenham) is very very old.

Barking, Berecingum (Berica's people)

Dagenham, Daeccanham (Daecca's village)

Rainham, Roegingaham (settlement of the ruling people)

These are the old names for the area, and all are Saxon, and are some of the earliest Saxon settlements in the country. The history of Barking undoubtedly goes back much further, as there are indications that the Abbey site was used for pagan worship. Stone age tools have been found in Barking Creek, indicating a much earlier era of human occupation.

Barking emerged as one of the most important towns in the country with the founding of the Abbey in A.D.666. The Abbey was one of two monasteries founded by Erkenwald, one for himself in Chertsey (Ceortesei), and one for his sister Ethelburga in Barking.

The history of the abbey is very rich, a few highlights are:

William the Conqueror made the Abbey his headquarters after his coronation while the tower of London was being built.

The Abbess of Barking takes precedence over all other abbesses, ranking as a Baron. Abbesses included Maud, Queen of Henry I, Maud, Queen of Stephen, Maud, daughter of Henry II and there is more.

There is a series of books published by Phillimore and Co. Ltd that describes many towns local history. Normally they are titled 'Bygone Townname'. Bygone Barking, ISBN 0-85033-795-X contains many pictures of Barking, and gives a very easy to read account of the area. The author is Brian Evans.

Here are a few photographs of Barking Town - click on image for larger image - note that the images are approx 1.5Mb each.

Three views of St. Margaret's parish church, founded c.1300 by Abbess Anne de Vere, from what was probably a chapel.

The left image is a general view of the West side of the church The large building with tiled roof is a very recent construction. The centre image is a close-up of the tower, and the right image is of the East doors.

These views show the only remaining parts of the Abbey. The first is the curfew tower, which was one of the gates into the Abbey grounds, and the other two images are of the remains of the actual Abbey walls.

A few views of Barking Mill. In common with most designs of Essex Mills, the waterwheel is internal to the building. If you look carefully at the waterline in the center imagre, you can see the blocked in remains of the millrace where the water would exit into the Quay basin.

Barking Creek is in fact the mouth of the River Roding, the River Roding starting after the lock (now demolished) just to the left of the mill.. Fishing was a very important industry for Barking, and was the home for one of the largest fishing fleets in the country, if not the largest. (The Short Blue Fleet) The town Quay became very developed, and eventually very run down. A great deal of work has been done over the past few years, and the Quay area has been cleaned up and redeveloped and is a great deal more attractive than it once was. The left image is a view of the Quay, and the other two views are looking south from the basin, down Barking Creek - as you can see there is still a fair amount of marine activity there.

Three views of Eastbury House, built by Clement Sysley c.1550. Like many buildings it fell into disrepair. It was eventually bought by the National Trust in 1920, and has been extensively restored.