How old is dagenham

Between these two bridges, and about yds. Until the 19th century the parish depended for communications with the outside world mainly on coaches using the London-Colchester Road. The first railway through Dagenham was the Eastern Counties line from London to Romford, opened in , extended to Brentwood in and to Colchester in This was greatly enlarged in The second railway through the parish was the London, Tilbury and Southend line, opened from Forest Gate to Tilbury in and extended to Southend in Dagenham Dock station was opened in fn.

In the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway built the first part of a new line between Barking and Pitsea, to provide a shorter route to Southend. This line was electrified from London to Barking in —8, and from Barking to Upminster in , when a new station, Dagenham Heathway, was built to serve the Becontree estate, and the old station near the village was enlarged. In there was a sub-post office, under Romford, in Dagenham village. Dagenham village in consisted of a single street — Crown Street — with buildings along most of the north side, some on the south side, including the church, and a few others at the junction of the road to Rainham.

The oldest surviving building, apart from the church, fn. This is the Cross Keys Inn, a timber-framed hall house with gabled and formerly jettied cross wings, probably dating from the 15th century. It became an inn, the Queen's Head, about , and received its present name before One of the rooms has 17th-century panelling. Farther east, the small houses and cottages on both sides of the narrow street leading to Rainham Road are mostly brick buildings of the 18th and early 19th centuries; a few are of timberframed construction.

Nearly all are in poor repair and several, including two 18th-century brick houses of some architectural character Nos. Many old buildings in the village have been demolished during the past 80 years, fn. Becontree Heath, which was probably the ancient meeting-place of the hundred of Becontree, fn. These were men of independent spirit. In the early 19th century some were frequently in trouble with the parish constable, and in provoked the vicar to buy a pair of stocks at his own expense.

The small Methodist church , the junior school , and a few 19th-century houses survive from its village days. The name Chadwell 'cold spring' , first recorded in , was applied to a hamlet along the London-Colchester road, on the boundary between Barking later Ilford and Dagenham parishes. East of the street lay Blackheath Common , which in the 17th century became known as Chadwell Heath. As late as the only building at the heath seems to have been Wangey House.

On the north-east side of the common was a mill, the first of the three for which Chadwell Heath was later well known. North of the railway, and especially between the High Road and Eastern Avenue, the new houses were erected mainly by private builders. To the south was the first part of the Becontree estate.

No preth-century buildings survive at Chadwell Heath. Some of the last of the commoners' cottages were demolished in It had an 18th-century front, but parts of the building are said to have dated from the early 17th century.

In the 18th century Marks Gate was a hamlet on the edge of the forest, beside the large manor house of Marks, fn. Marks was demolished in , and most of the forest was destroyed in but there were no other important changes until , when Eastern Avenue was opened immediately to the south. The new road, and the hamlet, are shown in an air photograph of North and east of the estate farming continues.

Padnalls, a 16th-century building in Rose Lane, was demolished by a speculative builder in Its name was first recorded in Of the old manor houses of Dagenham only Valence fn.

Parsloes fn. The few other old houses still surviving in the borough are widely scattered and surrounded by later development. Hooks, recorded in , fn. Raydons House, in Raydons Road, is probably a lateth-century rebuilding of a farmhouse recorded in Paulatim Lodge in Whalebone Lane North, is a brown house of c.

In the garden is an octagonal stone well-house, in use until c. Surviving houses of the later 19th century include Pettits Farm, in Heathway. The Becontree housing estate was by far the largest of the various London County Council estates, being almost three times the size of St.

Helier Surr. Post-war slumps made progress much slower than had been at first expected. Between and 3, houses were built. Most of these were on the Ilford part of the estate and on the adjoining part of Dagenham, south of Chadwell Heath, but there were also a few in south Dagenham. It had been intended that the whole estate should become a new local government area, but this did not happen.

The L. Other local government services are provided by the Essex County Council, and by the borough councils of Dagenham, Barking, and Ilford, each within its own boundaries.

The Becontree estate — often loosely termed Dagenham — has been much discussed by architects, sociologists, and journalists. One of its main characteristics, which has often attracted attention, is the social structure. In 89 per cent. A community of such a narrow social composition has disadvantages, but it has recently been argued that its population is much more stable than that of Woodford, where a similar survey was made.

The design and layout were the work of G. Topham Forrest, architect to the L. The style is neo-Georgian and, although there is considerable variation in grouping and detail, the general effect is one of uniformity. A few shopping centres are provided at road junctions. There is no town centre — though one was originally planned — and there are few public buildings.

The most important public building erected in Dagenham between the wars was the first part of the Civic Centre , designed by E.

Berry Webber. This stands on the east side of Becontree Heath and is a long, rectangular structure of red brick, having a higher central block faced with a tall stone portico of three bays. The former, by Norman and Dawbarn, received a Festival of Britain design award. The Hainault housing estate, built by the L. In east Dagenham, as well as the north, there is still some farmland, and in the borough as a whole, from the river to Hainault Forest, there is a considerable variety of landscape.

Among notable persons connected with Dagenham have been the Fanshawes of Parsloes, fn. William Hope — , one of the first winners of the Victoria Cross. The social life of the Becontree estate has been treated in books published in and All the manors in Dagenham parish originated as free tenements of the manor of Barking.

The manor of Dagenham or Dagenhams or Jenkins, was a free tenement lying mainly in Barking parish. It was a free tenement held of Barking Abbey until , when John of Cockermouth, from whom it was named, granted it to the abbey in demesne. After the Dissolution the lords of Cockermouth held separate courts baron for the manor. In Thomas of Dagenham conveyed an estate in Barking, Dagenham and Little Ilford, consisting of a messuage, 1 carucate of land, 4 a.

Thomas of Dagenham is the first holder of Cockermouth who can be certainly identified; but several earlier members of his family occur in 13th-century records and some of these may have held the manor. They include Gilbert of Dagenham fl. In Thomas of Dagenham made a further settlement of his estate, involving his wife Maud, his sons John and William, and John's wife Margaret.

The abbey retained Cockermouth until the Dissolution. Simon Simeon, who in released to the abbey his claims to the estate, fn. Later tenancies may have been held by the Sparrow family, several of whom certainly had close connexions with Cockermouth. In the Crown granted to Sir Anthony Browne a year lease of Cockermouth, Purlevants, and Dagenham rectory, to run from the expiration of Howe's lease. Before Browne evidently bought the unexpired portion of Howe's lease, since a survey of the manor made in that year describes him as the lord.

Purlevants, consisting of 35 a. Another survey of the manor was made by the Crown in It was the prelude to the sale of the manor and of the rectory of Dagenham to Sir Anthony Browne, in the same year. After Swinnerton's death in Cockermouth probably passed, like Stanway, to his eldest son Henry d.

Sir Thomas Darcy sold part of the demesne land of the manor, comprising 67 a. The remainder of the demesne, along with the manorial rights, was sold by Sir Thomas Darcy in to William Clarke. Anne Tipping outlived her son and died before without surviving issue. The estate then passed to Mary formerly Clarke , grand niece of William Clarke the testator, and wife of Richard Page.

In —2 the estate comprised about a. Richard Page survived his wife and died in leaving Cockermouth to his daughter Mary, later wife of Thomas Chippingale. The lordship of Cockermouth remained in the Evans family until or later. It is clear from the above account that the demesne lands of Cockermouth, already reduced in size, were finally severed from the manorial rights between and Exactly when this took place is not clear, but it was probably soon after Part of the demesne, including the site of the manor house, became known as Pound House Farm.

In this comprised 68 a. The manor house of Cockermouth stood at the junction of Ripple Road and Chequers Lane, immediately south of what is now the Chequers Inn.

The survey states that the house was 60 ft. Some yds. This was previously called America Farm. It is just possible, though unlikely, that it was so named because of the connexion with Rowland Stephenson, who fled to America, fn. In it comprised a. Ann Laurie, fn. John of East Hall occurs in fn.

In the 14th and early 15th centuries East Hall may have formed part of the manor of Dagenhams in Barking. The 'old timber manor house at East Hall' was demolished in The family of Firstling or Fristling, from which the manor was named, came from Fristling in Margaretting. In —5 these four persons conveyed Fristlings to Bartholomew de Fristling, then described as a corder of London. Pound later added to the estate two other small properties, Newmans and Alberds.

Newmans, the location of which is unknown, had belonged to Henry Newman, who conveyed it in to Thomas atte Crouche. It belonged about to Henry, son of William Alberd, who conveyed part of it to his brother Thomas. Alberds subsequently descended to John Alberd's sisters, Joan and Amy. Frizlands was leased with Valence until , when it was detached from the rest of the estate and leased for 10 years to Thomas Hutton, husbandman, fn. Hutton's lease was renewed in In the Dean and Chapter of Windsor, to whom ownership had passed in , surveyed the manor, fn.

His sons sold the lease to Thomas Cowper of Dagenham, who was granted a new lease in In Windsor granted a lease to Timothy Truelove, and later leases, the last in , were made to his descendants.

Thomas Elton of Stepney Mdx. Parrish, whose family remained owners until , when the farm, then comprising 90 a. The lease to Thomas Cowper in bound him to rebuild the manor house of Frizlands with timber from the estate. He received permission to repair the building with timber from the manor, but during the work the house collapsed. He built a new one at his own expense between and The name, first recorded in , comes from 14th-century tenants.

During the 14th century the lord of Gallance was holding his own manor courts. Gallance House was described in as consisting of 'five low rooms and two lofts'. In the 15th century it was enlarged by the addition of lands in Havering, held of the royal manor of Havering.

The lord of Marks continued to pay quit-rents to the manors of Barking and Havering until the 18th century, but from the 14th century or earlier also had his own manor court, with many tenants doing suit there. He had the right of estovers in Hainault Forest and could exercise it even during the fence month, which may indicate the pre-Conquest origin of the tenement.

He was also entitled to fee deer from the forest. It has been suggested that Marks was associated with Simon de Merk, who occurs in a conveyance of In it was stated that Clyve was unjustly occupying a messuage and 90 a. Alice Kelet was probably daughter of Alice Yonge. In she and her husband made a settlement of their estates in Dagenham and neighbouring parishes, part of which were held by Alice Yonge.

Many of the tenants also owed labour services. The rental gives only tenants' names. In Katherine Otteley owed 3 s. Urswick was a prominent lawyer who became Recorder of London in , was M. He became Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Sir Thomas Urswick died in ; he was said to have held Marks of the queen as of her manor of Havering, in socage. Marks was then said to comprise a. In she and John instituted Chancery proceedings against John Pynchon, a trustee of Marks, for not rendering an account of the estate for the benefit of her and her daughters, as provided by Sir Thomas's will.

Marks did not remain long in the hands of Urswick's heirs. John, Viscount Bolingbroke. He kept a large household and entertained in great style. An old man who died in used to relate that he had often seen as many as half a dozen coaches bringing Carew Mildmay and his guests to Romford church on Sunday morning.

He stated that the rent to Barking was in respect of lands in Dagenham level, formerly held by his father, but forfeited in for failure to pay a share of the tax raised to repair Dagenham Breach. In spite of the forfeiture his father and he himself had maintained the rent payment. It was originally built in the 12thth century through the order of the abbess of Barking. Dagenham's St Peter and Paul Church today, visible through the trees.

It was extended in the 15th century and stands on the site where the original village of Dagenham stood, although very little of the old village remains.

The only other very old buildings are the Cross Keys Pub next to the church — which is the oldest secular building in Dagenham, dating to the 17th century — and the old Vicarage. Although the church stood on the site of the village of Dagenham, there were large settlements in other parts of the area such as Chadwell Heath. There were also a number of large houses and farms in the area so many of the congregation in the past had quite a long journey to get to the church, which was the only one in the town right up to the end of the 19th century.

The church has not been a very lucky building, as much of the original structure was destroyed in when the tower of the church collapsed, bringing down a large part of the rest of the church.

It happened on a Sunday morning and if the parson had not been late then the congregation would have been inside and the disaster could have been remembered for a more serious reason.

The church was rebuilt using much of the original material by Older images of the church show it with a spire on the tower, which was added after the church was rebuilt. Once again there was a problem and the spire only remained in place until it was declared unsafe, and removed in The names on these monuments have often been remembered in the names of parts of the modern town.

Perhaps the most imposing is that to Sir Richard Alibon dating from the 17th century. Sir Richard was made a judge in which was the same year that he bought a house in Dagenham. It is said that Sir Richard died of fright due to his appointment as he was a Roman Catholic, which he believed may have debarred him from becoming a judge. There is another, albeit smaller, memorial to a Dagenham man who is also remembered in the name of a school and a road in the town.

The original school stood in Church Elm Lane but this has now gone and a new school also called William Ford which replaced it now stands in Ford Road. William should not of course be confused with a local car manufacturer. The churchyard is now a wildlife sanctuary but it also contains the graves of many notable local people.

This includes George Clark a policeman who was murdered at Eastbrook End in , his murderer was never found. The churchyard has been in use for more than years and although it is not used for burials any longer, it has been estimated that it could contain the remains of more than 11, people.