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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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 20th
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.
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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
20th 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
