Did you know that...
The town of Barking was once an agrarian and fishing village in Essex County and established an ancient parish. Their economic past is characterized by a change to industrial development to the south near the River Thames and market gardening.
Barking is where Billy Bragg, a singer-songwriter and activist, was born. Underworld, a famous electronic band, released an album in 2010 and named it after the town.
The plan to redesign and revamp the Barking IG11 town square won the European Prize for Urban Public Space award. The works took one year to complete.
The town center houses The Broadway. This is a performance venue where singer Neil Diamond recorded two of the songs from his best-received album. The venue was known as Barking Assembly Hall at that time.