BARKING & ROMFORD

BARKING ESSEX & ROMFORD

Barking Essex is a familiar place to me.

It was the first ever place I stayed in, on my first trip to London.

My brother was then working with the original Shanghai Village Chinese Restaurant, here.

Subsequently, I do visit this little town, when I am in London in 2007 and 2010.

I find the place very simple – with lots of sculptures – especially feature of the 'dog' is everywhere – be it restaurant or the park.

A one-day tour is sufficient to visit places like – St Margaret of Antioch, St Patrick's Barking, Town Hall, Eastbury Manor House, Market Place and the Abbey.

BARKING ESSEX

Barking Essex is a suburban town in East London, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

It was an ancient parish in the country of Essex. The town stands on a rich flat tract, on the River Roding, two miles north of the River Thames.

Some commented – Barking is a very unexciting suburb of east London which sprung up as an overspill after the Second War World.

BARKING ESSEX - LOGO OF FISHERY TOWN

Barking's name is a corruption of the Burging, signifying the “fortification on the meadow”, and seems to allude to an ancient entrenchment upwards of 48 acres, and still traceable.

The town rose to importance in 670, by the founding at it of an extensive abbey for Benedictine nuns, and it was the residence of William the conqueror during the erection of the Tower London, and the place where the Earls of Mercia and Northumberland and many other nobles swore fealty to him on the restoration of their estates.

MARKET PLACE, BARKING

Its economic history is characterised by a shift from fishing and farming to market gardening and industrial development south of the River Thames. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20^th century, Barking significantly expanded and increased in population, due to the development of the London County Council estate at Becontree in the 1920s, and became a municipal borough in 1931, and part of Greater London in 1965.

In addition to an extensive and fairly low-density residential area, the town centre forms a large retail and commercial district, currently a focus for regeneration. The former industrial lands to the south are being developed as Barking Riverside.

ST MARGARET'S CHURCH AND THE BARKING ABBEY

In earlier years, the inhabitants are market-gardeners, gas workers at Beckton, artisans whose work is in London, laborers at the chemical manure works in the neighborhood. Today, the community saw a mixture of the locals, the Muslim and the Indians.

The singer cum songwriter and activist Billy Brag was born in Barking. Neil Young recorded two tracks for his classic album Harvest, “A Man Needs a Maid”, and “There's a World” with the London Sympony Orchestra at Barking Assembly Hall (Broadway theatre) in 1972.

Electronic band Underworld named their 2010 album Barking after the town. The bank are associated with nearby Romford.

The artist Ramz wrote a song called “Barking” in 2017.

TOWN HALL, BARKING

Barking Town Centre has a number of recently commissioned sculptures and public art works. In 2007, two small stones from remains of the medieval London Bridge were joined together in a scuplture, found in front of St Margaret's Church facing the Barking Abbey ruins as part of several artworks placed in Barking Town centre buy artist Joost Van Santen

ROMFORD

Romford is the next door of Barking – is a large town in East London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering.

It was historically a market town within Essex and formed the administrative centre of the liberty of Havering, until it was dissolved in 1892. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20^th century, Romford expanded and increased in population in 1937, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965. It now forms one of the largest commercial, retail, entertainment and leisure districts outside Central London, and has a developed night-time economy.

JULY – AUGUST 2003/JULY 22, 2007/2010