The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a

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

in East London. It lies around 9 miles (14.4 km) east of Central London. It is an

Outer London Outer London is the name for the group of London boroughs that form a ring around Inner London. Together, the inner and outer boroughs form London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. These were areas that were not part of the County of Londo ...

borough and the south is within the

London Riverside The London Riverside is a redevelopment area on the north side of the River Thames in East London, England and part of the larger Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The London Riverside area forms part of the Green Enterprise District, a project ...

section of the

Thames Gateway Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching east from ...

; an area designated as a national priority for urban regeneration. At the 2011 census it had a population of 187,000, the majority of which are within 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 borough's three main towns are

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

Chadwell Heath Chadwell Heath is an area in east London, England. It is situated on the boundary of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and the London Borough of Redbridge, around west of Romford and east of Ilford, and north-east of Charing Cross. ...

and Dagenham. The local authorities are the Barking and Dagenham London Borough Councils. Barking and Dagenham was one of six London boroughs to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.

History

The London Borough of Barking was formed in 1965 by 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 ...

. It covered almost all the area of the Municipal Borough of Barking and the greater part of the area of the Municipal Borough of Dagenham, both of which were abolished by the same act. At the time of its creation the combined population of Barking and Dagenham was around 180,000, the northern tip of Dagenham having been incorporated into Redbridge and a small area of Barking in

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 the ...

. The borough was renamed Barking and Dagenham in 1980. In 1994, the borough was expanded to cover the

estate that until then had been within the Borough of Redbridge. The area covered by Mayesbrook Park in the Borough was once part of the historic

Manor of Jenkins Jenkins was a Manorialism, manor under the Lord, overlordship of Barking manor. It was also known as 'Dagenham' manor, 'Dagenhams' and 'Dagenham Place' throughout the centuries. Today, the once open area has been consumed by suburbia. The Manor ...

, seat of the Fanshawe family. Historic records of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and predecessor bodies th
Borough of Barking
and th
Borough of Dagenham
are held at the Barking and Dagenham Archive Service, Valence House Museum. There are a total of 52

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

located within the borough's boundaries. The Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings in the borough include

Eastbury Manor House Eastbury Manor House is a Grade I listed building situated in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in Greater London, England. It dates to the Elizabethan period, although the land on which it was built was formerly part of the demesne ...

, the Church of Peter and Paul, Dagenham and Valence House.

Boundaries

The borough borders the

London Borough of Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. Th ...

to the east with the

River Rom The River Rom, also known as the River Beam below its confluence with the Ravensbourne, is a tributary of the River Thames in England that flows through east London suburbs surrounding the metropolitan centre of Romford, part of it forming a sec ...

forming part of the boundary. It borders the London Borough of Newham to the west with the

River Roding The River Roding () 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 group of eight ...

forming much of the border. To the south is the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

which forms the borough's boundary with the

London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley () is a London borough in south-east London, forming part of Outer London. It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup, Erith, Bexleyheath, Crayford, Welling and Old Bexley. The London Boro ...

and the

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. To the north the borough forms a thin protrusion between Havering and the London Borough of Redbridge in order to encompass

. 530 hectares within the borough are designated as part of the

Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

Geography

The borough's major districts include

and Dagenham. It borders five other London boroughs: Newham, Redbridge, Havering, and Greenwich and Bexley to the south of the Thames. Much of the housing of the borough was constructed by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

during the interwar period of 1921–1939.''Metropolitan Essex since 1919: Suburban growth'', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5 (1966), pp. 63-74
accessed: 16 October 2007 Major settlement of the area, mostly escaping slum conditions in the East End of London, occurred during this period when the new motor and chemical industries such as the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

plant at Dagenham were set up. Since the decline of these industries in the 1980s, employment has shifted towards service sector jobs. There are large areas of logistics and warehouse development around the A13 road. Much of the borough is within the

area of the

zone and is the site of considerable house building and other development, such as Beam Park. A £500 million budget has been earmarked for redevelopment of the borough's principal district of

Demographics

In 1801, the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

es that form the modern borough had a total population of 1,937; and the area was characterised by farming, woodland and the fishing fleet at

. This last industry employed 1,370 men and boys by 1850, but by the end of the century had ceased to exist; replaced by train deliveries of fresh fish from the East Coast ports. The population rose slowly through the 19th century, as the district became built up; and new industries developed around Barking. The population rose dramatically between 1921 and 1931, when the

developed the Becontree Estate. This

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

development of 27,000 homes housed over 100,000 people, split between the then urban district councils of Ilford, Dagenham and

. People were rehoused from the slums of the East End. In 1931, the

relocated to a site at Dagenham, and in 1932 the

District line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited serv ...

was extended to

Upminster Upminster is a suburban town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is one of the district centres identified for development in the London Plan. Historically a rural vill ...

; bringing further development to the area. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, further public housing projects were built to rehouse the many Londoners made homeless in

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. As industry declined during the 1960s, the population entered a long decline, but has now begun to rise again with new housing developments on brownfield sites. In 2013 Barking and Dagenham has England's highest fertility rate: 2.58. At the time of the 2011 census, 49.5% of the borough's community identified themselves as white British. Barking and Dagenham has been strongly affected by immigration, with the white British population having dropped 30.6% from 2001 to 2011 - the second largest decrease in the country, behind neighbouring

. The population of non-UK born residents increasing by 205%. The largest decrease of White British occurred in the Longbridge ward (79.8% in 2001 to 35% in 2011), and the Abbey ward, which contains the main

area (from 46.2% to 15.8%). The smallest decrease was in the Eastbrook ward. The largest minority communities were of Black and Asian heritage. Barking and Dagenham had by far the largest decrease of the 65+ population, having dropped almost 20% between 2001 and 2011. There were 69,700 households in the borough in 2011, up 3.6% from 2001. The borough also had the largest proportion of school-age (5-19) population of all the local authorities in England and Wales, 21.4%, at the 2011 census. The borough's pre-school (0-4) population rose by 49.1% from 2001 to 2011, by far the largest increase in London. The following table shows the ethnic group of respondents in the 2001 and 2011 census in Barking and Dagenham.

Ethnicity
2011 Census: Ethnic group, local authorities in England and Wales
',
Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for t ...
(2012). See
Classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom A number of different systems of classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom exist. These schemata have been the subject of debate, including about the nature of ethnicity, how or whether it can be categorised, and the relationship betwe ...
for the full descriptions used in the 2011 Census.

Governance

Barking_and_Dagenham_London_UK_labelled_ward_map_2002

The borough is covered by two parliamentary constituencies:

and Dagenham and Rainham (first contested in 2010). The borough is within the City and East London Assembly constituency, returning

Unmesh Desai Unmesh Desai is a British politician. A member of the Labour Party, he has represented City and East in the London Assembly since 2016. He served as Councillor on the London Borough of Newham from 1998 until 2016, representing East Ham Central ...

as the directly elected Assembly Member. Prior to

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...

in 2020, Barking and Dagenham was part of the London constituency in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

. Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council has a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

, who is elected at the council annual general meeting by councillors. The officeholder must be a serving councillor, although the role of mayor is non-political. The mayor chairs council meetings and performs ceremonial duties in the borough. There are 17 wards in the borough, each returning 3 councillors, making 51 in total. As of the Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council election in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, all 51 council seats are held by the Labour Party.

Twin cities

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is twinned with: *

Witten Witten () is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area. Bordering municipalities * Bochum * Dortmun ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

, Germany *

Tczew Tczew (, csb, Dërszewò; formerly ) is a city on the Vistula River in Eastern Pomerania, Kociewie, northern Poland with 59,111 inhabitants (December 2021). The city is known for its Old Town and the Vistula Bridge, or Bridge of Tczew, which pl ...

, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland

Education

There are many schools and further education facilities in the borough. Situated near the Town Hall, the Barking Learning Centre is a learning facility providing a range of courses leading to recognised qualifications. It also includes a library with free public internet access, the council's first One Stop Shop, conference and meeting space, a gallery and a café. A study in 2017 found that nearly half of Barking & Dagenham's 19 year olds lack Level 3 qualifications (A Level equivalent) which was the highest figure in London. CU London, a Higher Education institute owned and governed by Coventry University, started offering courses to students in September 2017. Situated in the former Dagenham Civic Centre, they offer a range of subjects across Foundation, HNC, HND and degree level. The

University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

formerly had a campus in the borough, however this has now closed with all campuses now being located in the neighbouring borough of

Transport

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: driving a car or van, 22.5% of all residents aged 16–74; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 7.5%; bus, minibus or coach, 7.5%; train, 7.3%; on foot, 3.7%; passenger in a car or van, 1.7%; work mainly at or from home, 1.3%.

Rail

Barking and Dagenham is served by both the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

and

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...

networks. On the London Underground, the Borough is served by both the Hammersmith & City Line, which terminates at

Barking railway station Barking is an interchange station serving the town of Barking, east London. It is served by London Underground, London Overground and National Rail main line services. It is located on Station Parade, in the town centre. On the Underground it ...

, and the

District Line The District line is a London Underground line running from in the east and Edgware Road in the west to in west London, where it splits into multiple branches. One branch runs to in south-west London and a short branch, with a limited serv ...

. National Rail c2c services call at

Dagenham Dock Dagenham Dock is a place in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in London, England. It is located to the south of Dagenham and on the River Thames. It was once the site of a large coaling port and continues to be the location of a small t ...

and

railway stations. Most c2c trains terminate at London Fenchurch Street, whilst to the east, trains serve Grays,

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

and Shoeburyness in Essex. Barking railway station is served by the

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

with frequent services to

Gospel Oak Gospel Oak is an inner urban area of north west London in the London Borough of Camden at the very south of Hampstead Heath. The neighbourhood is positioned between Hampstead to the north-west, Dartmouth Park to the north-east, Kentish Town to t ...

in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and ...

. The Gospel Oak to Barking Line will be extended to

Barking Riverside Barking Riverside is a mixed-use development in the area of Barking, east London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It is being built on land formerly occupied by Barking Power Station, adjacent to the River Thames, ...

with an expected completion date in 2022. The Elizabeth Line will serve Chadwell Heath railway station, which straddles the border between Redbridge and the borough, when works are completed. Whilst the Hammersmith & City Line terminates at Barking, the District Line calls at Barking, Upney,

, Dagenham Heathway and Dagenham East in the Borough. Both lines cross London's Zone 1 and the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

Bus

Several London Buses serve the Borough. Night buses N15 and N86 travel into Central London, Stratford,

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romfo ...

and

Harold Hill Harold Hill is a suburban area in the London Borough of Havering, East London. northeast of Charing Cross. It is a district centre in the London Plan. The name refers to King Harold II, who held the manor of Havering-atte-Bower, and who was k ...

every night.

Cycling

Cycle Superhighway 3 begins in

, to the south of Greatfields Park, linking the Borough to

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...

, the

and the City of Westminster via a

bike freeway A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bi ...

, most of which is segregated from other road traffic. TfL plan to extend the cycle network to

in the future, for which the first consultations closed in winter 2019.

Roads

Two major

A-roads A roads may be *motorways or freeways, usually where the local word for motorway begins with A (for example, ''Autobahn'' in German; ''Autostrada'' in Italian). * main roads or highways, in a system where roads are graded A, B and sometimes lower c ...

cross the Borough: the A12 and A13. The A12 has one junction in the Borough, to the north of

. To the west, the A12 carries traffic through Newbury Park towards the

North Circular The North Circular Road (officially the A406 and sometimes known as simply the North Circular) is a ring road around Central London in England. It runs from Chiswick in the west to Woolwich in the east via suburban North London, connecting ...

, Stratford and Central London. To the east, the A12 heads through

towards the M25 and south and east

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. The A13 is named Alfred's Way as it enters the Borough to the west. Crossing Barking and Dagenham, the dual carriageway can be accessed via several grade-separated junctions. Leaving the Borough to the west via the A13 will lead to the Docklands and the

. To the east, the A13 passes Rainham and the M25 before traffic heads into south Essex. Other A-roads cross the Borough, including the A118, A124, A1112 and A1306, although these roads are smaller and generally carry less traffic.

Local media

Time 107.5 FM broadcasts local news from nearby

. Bedrock is the local Hospital radio service available on-line and broadcasts a range of health related information focused around the local Hospitals; King George Hospital and

Queen's Hospital Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (Saara Aalto song), 2018 * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", a song by ...

. Barking & Dagenham News, a hyperlocal news service distributes news, weather, travel, sport and entertainment updates on Facebook Watch.

London Fire Brigade

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has two fire stations within its boundary: Barking and Dagenham. Barking fire station operates two pumping appliances, a bulk foam unit and a command unit. The support units that are operated here will cover a large selection of station grounds and areas. Dagenham fire station operates two pumping appliances and a hydraulic platform. Of the two stations; Dagenham is the busier, attending over 2,000 incidents in 2006/2007.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the borough displays the Curfew tower of

Barking Abbey Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as having been "one of the most important nunneries in the country". Originally established in the 7th century, f ...

in its crest.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

Individuals

* George Shaw: 1992. * Charles J. Fairbrass : 1992. *Stephen R Thompson MBE 2008 *

Sandie Shaw Sandie may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Sandie Clair (born 1988), French professional racing cyclist * Sandie Fitzgibbon, Irish former camogie player * Sandie Jones (1950/1951–2019), Irish singer * Sandie Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker (187 ...

: 28 April 2021. * Claire Symonds : 28 April 2021. *

Paul Ince Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince (; born 21 October 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship side Reading. A former midfielder, Ince played professionally from 1982 to 2007, st ...

: 23 September 2021. * Trevor Lock: 23 September 2021. * Dora Challingsworth: 23 September 2021.

Military Units

* The

Royal Anglian Regiment The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...

: February 2010.

References

External links

Barking and Dagenham CouncilNHS Barking and Dagenham
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Borough Of Barking And Dagenham

Barking and Dagenham The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London borough in East London. It lies around 9 miles (14.4 km) east of Central London. It is an Outer London borough and the south is within the London Riverside section of the Thames Ga ...

1965 establishments in the United Kingdom