Barking
The suburban town of Barking in east London is home to approximately 100,000. It is 14.2 km east of Charing Cross and is one of the 35 important centres named in the London Plan. Historically, it had been a fishing settlement in Essex and an ancient parish. It then moved to market gardening and industrial development to the south, close to the River Thames.
Barking quickly evolved into a bigger town and its rail station opened in 1854. It has been served by the London Underground since 1908. For the duration of the twentieth century, when there was considerable suburban development of London, Barking expanded and increased in population. This was mostly because of the building of the London County Council estate at Becontree in the 1920s. Barking became a municipal borough in 1931 and part of Greater London in 1965.
Improvement blueprints were revealed in 2007, aiming to change the town square included in the Mayor of London's 100 Public Places.
