Barking is a suburban town in east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It is located 8.8 miles (14.2 km) east of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a fishing and agrarian settlement in the county of Essex and formed an ancient parish. The economic history of Barking is characterised by a shift to market gardening, and industrial development to the south adjacent to the River Thames. The railway station opened in 1854 and was served by electric London Underground services from 1908. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century, Barking significantly expanded and increased in population, primarily due to the development of the London County Council estate at Becontree in the 1920s, and became a municipal borough in 1931. It has formed part of Greater London since 1965. In addition to an extensive and fairly low density residential area, the town centre forms a large retail and commercial district, which is currently a focus for regeneration. The former industrial lands to the south are also being redeveloped as Barking Riverside.
Famous quotes containing the word barking:
“A leaky faucet, a barking dog—those are things you tolerate.”
—Candace Gingrich (b. c. 1967)
“His life itself passes deeper in nature than the studies of the naturalist penetrate; himself a subject for the naturalist. The latter raises the moss and bark gently with his knife in search of insects; the former lays open logs to their core with his axe, and moss and bark fly far and wide. He gets his living by barking trees. Such a man has some right to fish, and I love to see nature carried out in him.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Her voice is thin and her moan is high,
And her cackling laugh or her barking cold
Bring terror to the young and old.
O Molly, Molly, Molly Means
Lean is the ghost of Molly Means.”
—Margaret Abigail Walker (b. 1915)