Barking was a local government district, and later civil parish and borough, in southwest

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England from 1882 to 1965. It was known as Barking Town from 1882 to 1931. The district included the town of Barking, eastern

Beckton Beckton is a suburb in east London, England, located east of Charing Cross and part of the London Borough of Newham. Adjacent to the River Thames, the area consisted of unpopulated marshland known as the East Ham Levels in the parishes of Bark ...

and the southwestern part of the

Becontree Becontree ( or Both pronunciations are given as Received Pronunciation in the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, but the form is prioritised (). The dialectologist Peter Wright wrote in 1981 that is the traditional pronunciation in the cockney ...

estate. The district was within the

Metropolitan Police District The Metropolitan Police District (MPD) is the police area which is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service in London. It currently consists of the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, which excludes the City of ...

and experienced a steady increase in population during its existence. The area was suburban to London's

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

region and was part of the

. It now forms the western part of the

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London boroughs, London borough in East London. The borough was created in 1965 as the London Borough of Barking; the name was changed in 1980. It is an Outer London borough and the south is wi ...

and the eastern extremity of the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

Background

The ancient parish of Barking covered an area of in the

hundred. The parish was the largest in Essex in terms of area and was divided into the four wards of

Town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

, Ripple, Great Ilford and Chadwell.The ancient parish of Barking: Local government and poor relief
, A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5, (1966) The Town ward covered land immediately to the east and west of the

River Roding The River Roding () is a river that rises at Molehill Green, Essex, England, then flows south through Essex and London and forms Barking Creek as it reaches the River Thames. Course The river leaves Molehill Green and passes through or near a ...

and the Ripple ward stretched from Longbridge Road in the north to the River Thames in the south taking in Creekmouth and the western part of the modern estate of

. Chadwell ward was immediately to the northeast including Goodmayes, part of Chadwell Heath and Little Heath. Great Ilford was to the northwest and included the modern areas of Barkingside, Clayhall, Gants Hill, Ilford, Redbridge and Seven Kings.

Formation

local board A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...

was formed for Town ward in 1882 and was extended to cover Ripple ward in 1885. In 1888 Barking parish was reduced in size, to match the area of the local board, as the Chadwell and Great Ilford wards formed a new parish of Ilford. In 1894 the area of the local board became the Barking Town

urban district An urban district is a division generally managed by a local government. It may also refer to a city district, district, urban area or quarter Specific urban districts in some countries include: * Urban districts of Denmark * Districts of Germa ...

of Essex, as part of the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...

, and the Ilford parish became the

Ilford Urban District Ilford is a large town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a population of 168,168 in 2011, compared to 303,858 for the ...

District and borough

The district gained the status of

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

in 1931 and was renamed Barking. The borough ran its own

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

services,

Barking Town Urban District Council Light Railways Barking Town Urban District Council Light Railways operated a passenger tramway service in Barking between 1903 and 1929.The Golden Age of Tramways. Published by Taylor and Francis. History Barking Town Urban District Council opened services ...

, until they became the responsibility of the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Londo ...

in 1933.Reed, J., ''London Tramways'', (1997) The borough bordered

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Essex, East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a ...

to the west,

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

to the north and

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

to the east. In the south the borough bordered the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, with the

Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich The Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965. It was formed from the civil parishes of Eltham, Plumstead and Woolwich (parish), Woolwich. ...

in the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

to the south. There was also a land boundary as the eastern part of the

North Woolwich North Woolwich is an area in the London Borough of Newham in East London, England, on the northern bank of the River Thames, across the river from Woolwich. It is connected to Woolwich by the Woolwich Ferry and Woolwich foot tunnel. Despite ...

exclave was surrounded by Barking on three sides. Barking MB wards

Abolition

Since the building of the Becontree estate in the 1920s across the three districts of Ilford, Barking and Dagenham, there had been periodic discussion and review of the local government arrangements in the area.The borough of Barking
, A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5, (1966) The districts were all considered to form part of the Greater London conurbation and in 1957 formed part of the review area of the

Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London, also known as the Herbert Commission, was established in 1957 and published its report in 1960. The report made recommendations for the overhaul of the administration of the capital. They ...

. The 1960 report of the commission recommended the union of Barking and Dagenham as a single

London borough The London boroughs are the current 32 districts of England, local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present ...

. Following the review, in 1965 the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

abolished the municipal boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, and transferred their former area from Essex to

, to form the

London Borough of Barking The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London borough in East London. The borough was created in 1965 as the London Borough of Barking; the name was changed in 1980. It is an Outer London borough and the south is within the Lond ...

. The section of Barking west of the

around

became part of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barking History of local government in London (1889–1965) History of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham History of the London Borough of Newham Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963 Municipal boroughs of England Barking, London