Barking is a town and district inside the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It's 14.2 km east of Charing Cross and is one of the 35 main centres named in the London Plan. Historically, it had been a fishing settlement in Essex and an ancient parish. Then it shifted to market gardening and industrial development to the south, alongside the River Thames.
Barking quickly evolved into a bigger town and its rail station opened in 1854. It's been served by the London Underground since 1908. For the duration of the 20th century, when there was significant suburban development of London, Barking expanded and increased in population. This was primarily resulting from the building of the London County Council estate at Becontree inside the 1920s. Barking became a municipal borough in 1931 and part of Greater London in 1965.
The town centre is a substantial retail and commercial district which is currently in plans for regeneration. You'll find former industrial lands towards the south which are being redeveloped as Barking Riverside, which aims to regenerate the Thames riverside location of East London through new houses, jobs and services. It includes 350 acres of brownfield land, and improvement began in 2008. It's expected to be completed by around 2025. 10,000 houses will be constructed, which are expected to house 25,000 individuals. The developers will also provide new transport links, such as East London Transit and an extension of the Docklands Light Railway at Barking Riverside DLR station.