Heritage and History

Old Dagenham Village

Dagenham is first mentioned in a charter of Barking Abbey from the year 687. It was then almost certainly just a small farmstead, the 'ham' or farm of a man named Daecca.

Dagenham is not mentioned by name in the Domesday Book as it was part of the Manor of Barking.

By 1205 Dagenham was large enough to have a chaplain and the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul was probably built around that time.

From the Medieval period until the early 20th century the basic layout of Dagenham Village hardly altered. The main road, Crown Street (named after the Rose and Crown public house), ran east-west passing the church and crossing the Wantz stream. To the east the road met Bull Lane, which ran north-south and was named after the Bull public house.

The construction of the huge Becontree Estate after World War One led to the village losing its rural character. By the 1950s and 1960s many buildings that had been important landmarks in the village were in decay, and by the early 1970s the majority had been demolished.

Of the old village buildings, today only the Parish Church, the refurbished Minor Hall next to the church, the Cross Keys public house and the Old Vicarage remain.

The End of the Village|

Mapping the history of Dagenham Village|