Barking Town Heritage Project
With help from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we are putting local heritage at the heart of changes to Barking town centre, with a focus on East Street and the surrounding Abbey & Barking Town Centre Conservation Area.
Our aim is to conserve and commemorate historic buildings in and around East Street and to research and inform residents and visitors, about the stories behind the high-street stores and town-centre heritage.
Our heritage volunteers are developing a historic legacy by contributing to the creation of town trails and tours, learning resources, a heritage exhibition, a permanent mural in East Street and Barking's new heritage art trail.
We hope that you can join us in ensuring that our local heritage continues to be a positive and relevant part of Barking’s evolving cultural identity.
Please provide contact details in the Join The Heritage Volunteers section below, if you are interested in becoming a Heritage Volunteer or if you have any heritage questions .
With special thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for funding this project and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Archives and Local Studies Library, at Valence House who have provided support, training and access to their archives and photograph collection, including the heritage photos on this webpage and throughout our Heritage Hub.
Contact localstudies@lbbd.gov.uk for further information on our local archives.
Stories behind the stores
These Stories behind the stores aim to reveal the historical origins of the buildings and locations of East Street and Barking Town Centre, and remind us of the local heritage which has often been lost to Barking residents.
With the help of the Council's Archives and Local Studies Library we aim to research the stores and residences in our project area. Some of the buildings still exist but many have been moderated, demolished, rebuilt, or redeveloped, often more than once. We hope to rediscover past uses and the people who lived or worked there and re-tell their stories to new audiences.
If you have any personal or family memories or knowledge from other residents about any of the buildings or locations mentioned here you are welcome to share them with us...
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Share Not barking up the wrong tree! By Eric Feasey on Facebook Share Not barking up the wrong tree! By Eric Feasey on Twitter Share Not barking up the wrong tree! By Eric Feasey on Linkedin Email Not barking up the wrong tree! By Eric Feasey link
Not barking up the wrong tree! By Eric Feasey
I first become interested in the history of Barking when I found out about the Wellington Mill, and join my local Barking History Society. To my surprise Barking was looking for volunteers to help with a National Lottery project. So, with a small group of volunteers, one of them turned out to be the young daughter of my best mate’s from childhood. She too was interested in the Wellington Mill because it is very near where we lived in East Ham. Through our research we have found out about the first windmills in Barking in the days of the Abbey... Continue reading
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Barbara's Barking
My maternal grandfather Edward Charles Hewett, a brush-maker by trade, had originally bought the newsagent at 97 East Street, Barking (now 15 Station Parade) in the early 1930’s, when he moved his family there from Tottenham.
I was born Barbara Ann Key in 1952, in the flat above the shop, to Albert and Claire Key (née Hewett) who had married at St Margaret’s Church in the grounds of Barking Abbey during the war, in 1944. I lived there till I was 7, when we moved to Ilford, in 1959.
We didn’t have a garden, just a small backyard, where we... Continue reading
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Barking's Trams by Felicity Hawksley
One of Barking’s Heritage Volunteers, Felicity Hawksley, has been researching Barking Trams, one of which is featured at the apex of Jake’s mural, along with the Bascule Bridge.
The lifting bridge took one Barking tram route over the River Roding to Beckton, so Barking workers could get to the Gas Works there.
For almost thirty years, electric trams were a common sight on the streets of Barking, from the 1900’s until their disappearance in the 1930s.
Tram on East Street with Capitol Cinema and M&S store behind it, taken between 1935-1938
Originally, the Council submitted plans in 1898/9 for ten... Continue reading
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Barking's First Power Station by Eric Feasey
I am an older member of the Barking Heritage group and I find working with the younger members extremely interesting - I have not had the time to get worried about the lockdown and viruses.
It is nice to see Valence Local Studies Library is open again, so you too can research into your family tree with the help of very nice people there. I first became interested in local history when I visited Valence House many years ago. One of my main interests is Barking's earliest power station, which can be seen behind a couple of the churches in... Continue reading
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The Winds of Change by Simone Panayi
North Street is an ancient road which like East street, has played a remarkable role in the history of Barking and before the railway arrived it was the main street in the town. We have previously reviewed the history of the Workhouse and Northbury House (Fulke’s Manor), distinctive buildings once situated on the east side of North Street, close to London Road. There are several other significant stories to tell about this street which ran from the Broadway intersection with Church Path, passing the Abbey (and later its ruins) in the direction of Uphall and Ilford.
At its northern end... Continue reading
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Share Northbury House by Lesley Gould & Simone Panayi - Part Two of a trilogy on North Street on Facebook Share Northbury House by Lesley Gould & Simone Panayi - Part Two of a trilogy on North Street on Twitter Share Northbury House by Lesley Gould & Simone Panayi - Part Two of a trilogy on North Street on Linkedin Email Northbury House by Lesley Gould & Simone Panayi - Part Two of a trilogy on North Street link
Northbury House by Lesley Gould & Simone Panayi - Part Two of a trilogy on North Street
Eastbury Manor House is well known in Barking, but Westbury and Northbury manors have left only their names behind – both are more widely known as schools today – two of the earliest council (Education Board) schools built in the borough - Westbury, built in 1904, is now a site of Ripple Primary. Northbury, built as North Street School in 1895, was later renamed, after Northbury House which was sadly demolished in 1936, to make way for the London Road extension. It left behind an interesting history…
Northbury School today as viewed from upper North Street...
The site of Northbury... Continue reading
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North Street Stories - The Workhouse by Sue Hamilton
A workhouse was opened in Barking in 1722 in four tenements in North Street.
An inspection report of March 1725 gives an impression of daily life for the inmates in the workhouse:-
“Their employment consists of picking Ockam (this was old rope and cable or Junk purchased from merchants and teased out into fibres to be resold to shipbuilders for mixing with tar to seal the lining of wooden craft. This could also be used to make matting or bandaging). The women knit and mend stockings for the whole family, make beds and keep the house clean, and sometimes pick... Continue reading
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Share The impact of Britain's colonial past on Barking's heritage by Simone Panayi on Facebook Share The impact of Britain's colonial past on Barking's heritage by Simone Panayi on Twitter Share The impact of Britain's colonial past on Barking's heritage by Simone Panayi on Linkedin Email The impact of Britain's colonial past on Barking's heritage by Simone Panayi link
The impact of Britain's colonial past on Barking's heritage by Simone Panayi
Tucked away in the tiny print of Victorian newspapers is a local story that should be shared this Black History Month and beyond – an incredible and inspirational story of transcending the suffering of slavery, to fight for freedom and equality. In October 1888, Revered W B Brown, and his wife, were on a lecture tour entitled, ‘Scenes in Slave Land’. They had travelled from Baltimore, in America, to speak out against slavery and addressed Barking Baptists at a temporary Baptist Chapel on Ripple Road (not the earlier chapel on Queen’s Road, sketched by Frogley, or the beautiful Tabernacle was... Continue reading
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Share When Barking's Public Offices became a Magistrate's Court by Sue Hamiliton (retired magistrate) on Facebook Share When Barking's Public Offices became a Magistrate's Court by Sue Hamiliton (retired magistrate) on Twitter Share When Barking's Public Offices became a Magistrate's Court by Sue Hamiliton (retired magistrate) on Linkedin Email When Barking's Public Offices became a Magistrate's Court by Sue Hamiliton (retired magistrate) link
When Barking's Public Offices became a Magistrate's Court by Sue Hamiliton (retired magistrate)
In 1893 Barking's Public Offices were built on land in East Street that was previously a market garden. When borough status was conferred on Barking in 1931 it was decided that a new Town Hall was needed, and plans were approved in 1936. Due to austerity, the building of the Town Hall was halted until after the war and it was not completed until 1957.
Meanwhile Barking Council fought to have a much needed Magistrates court in the old Public Offices and eventually received Home Office approval. Alterations were made to the building to make it suitable for use as... Continue reading
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Barking's Public Offices
Of the borough’s listed buildings, the grade II* Barking Public Offices, also known as ‘Barking Magistrate’s Court’, is the only one with Victorian origins and remains one of the most imposing buildings in Barking and Dagenham. The imminent borough architect, Charles James Dawson, submitted its plans in July 1891 and Thomas W Glenny laid the foundation stone in 1893, underneath which, were placed: copies of a national and local newspaper, The Essex Times periodical and three silver coins. It cost £15,085 to build and was opened in October 1894, by philanthropist Mr J. Passmore Edwards, who also donated a thousand... Continue reading
Photos
Relevant Documents
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Barking Quiz - test your knowledge of local history (469 KB) (pdf)
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Quiz Answers - find out more about the history of Barking (290 KB) (pdf)
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Not Barking up the wrong tree by Eric Feasey.docx (13.8 KB) (docx)
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User Guide for Business Owners and residents in Barking Town Centre and Abbey Conservation Area
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Barking Abbey and Town Centre: Conservation Area Appraisal & Management Guide - Introduction
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Abbey & Barking Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Guide - pages 25-48
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Abbey & Barking Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Guide - pages 49-61
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Abbey & Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal pages 62-76 - Section 7 Management Plan & Advice
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Abbey & Barking Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Guide - Appendices
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update 1.docx (442 KB) (docx)
Mural Magic videos
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Council Leaders Darren Rodwell and Saima Ashraf reflect on Mural Magic event and the role of Barking's heritage past, present and into the future of this diverse East London community...
Heritage Videos
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A short video on the 'Barking Stink' - a sensory heritage project about Barking's past, funded by the Thames Festival Trust and The National Lottery Heritage Fund
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We explore what the new conservation area guidelines mean for local residents and businesses.
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The second of our series looking at the implications of the new conservation area in Barking Town Centre.
This project is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund
