Dagenham
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Dagenham is a town within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It is a suburban development situated 12 miles (19.3 km) east north-east of Charing Cross.
History
Dagenham was still a village in the mid-1920s when building of the vast Becontree Estate began. All Saints School Dagenham is located in Dagenham. On the corner of Whalebone Lane and the Eastern Avenue, diagonally opposite the Moby Dick pub, is the site of a Saxon moot hall. The adjoining fields were used during World War 2 by the Royal Artillery as an "Ak-Ak" (army slang for anti-aircraft, as opposed to "Ack" - Royal Signals jargon for the letter "A") battery before being converted into a Prisoner of War camp for Germans. Further South down Whalebone Lane on the corner of the High Road is the Tollgate pub. This stands on the site of the milestone which marked the ten mile limit from the City of London and the turnpike toll-gate.
Industry and commerce
Dagenham is the home of an assembly plant owned by the Ford Motor Company. Originally an automobile body constructor named "Briggs Bodies" the plant was reorganised in 1931 for the purpose of producing Ford cars. On February 20, 2002, full production was discontinued due to the expense of manual labour in the United Kingdom, and the factory was downsized to produce engines and gearboxes.Dagenham Dock was once a large coaling port and the Chequers pub (now closed but Chequers Lane still exists) gained world wide fame due to the many merchant seamen of all nationalities who stopped off there for a last drink before regaining ship.
Other industrial names once known world wide were Ever Ready whose batteries could be found in shops throughout the Commonwealth, Bergers Paint and the chemical firm of May and Baker who in 1935 revolutionised the production of antibiotics with their synthetic sulfa-drug known as M&B693.
Local government and politics
In 1926 Dagenham was created an urban district and in further recognition of its development in 1938 it became a municipal borough. In 1965 the Municipal Borough of Dagenham was abolished and its former area became part of the present-day London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Current MP for Dagenham constituency is Jon Cruddas.Sport and recreation
Dagenham has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V. The park, which has been in existence for over a century, was renamed in 1953 by The Queen.
Transport
In 1885 a station was opened at Dagenham on the London Tilbury & Southend Railway. In 1932 the electrified District Line of the London Underground was extended to Upminster through Dagenham with stations opened as Dagenham and Heathway and today called Dagenham East and Dagenham Heathway. Dagenham was the location of the Dagenham East rail crash in 1858. Services on the London Tilbury & Southend line were withdrawn in 1962. Dagenham is served by the following Transport for London contracted London Bus routes: 103, 145, 173, 174, 175 and 364.Nearest places
Nearest stations
- Becontree tube station, west
- Dagenham East tube station, east
- Dagenham Heathway tube station
- Dagenham Dock railway station, south
- Chadwell Heath railway station, north
Natives
Famous Dagenham natives include Dr George Carey 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury, England's World Cup winning football coach Sir Alf Ramsey, England footballers Jimmy Greaves and Terry Venables, singer Sandie Shaw, actor/musician/comedian Dudley Moore, 1952 Olympic games marathon hero and martyr Jim Peters, and Titanic survivor Eva Hart. Local business man, Tony McPartland also hailed from Dagenham and is well on his way to being the richest man in the UK by 2010.External links
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