February Guided Heritage Walk: Barking

Name: February Guided Heritage Walk: Barking
Start: 2026-02-06T10:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-02-06T15:30:00+00:00
Location: Barking Station Booking Hall, Station Parade, Barking, IG11 8TU,

Schedule

Fri Feb 06 2026 at 10:00 am to 03:30 pm

UTC+00:00

Location

Barking Station Booking Hall, Station Parade, Barking, IG11 8TU, | Barking, EN

Barking is not just a residential area, halfway to Central London on the train! Join us to discover what was once Britain’s busiest fishing port, what remains of a wealthy medieval abbey, two contrasting and most unusual churches and a Grade one listed Elizabethan Manor House. This is an urban walk, full of unexpected history. Although it is only about two and a half miles, there is so much to see that this walk will take longer than usual, with a lunch break.
We start at Barking station booking hall (itself a listed building) at 10am prompt. We will walk through the town centre to St Margarets Church, which we will be shown round. It dates back to 1215 and is full of interesting memorabilia. There we will also see the grounds of the Abbey (which was founded in the seventh century) and the Curfew Tower, the one part of the Abbey still standing. We will then visit the Wharf which was the base for the fishing fleet and then commercial shipping. Returning to the station we will go then to Eastbury Manor, an Elizabethan Manor House with a history spanning 450 years and now in the care of the National Trust. They will provide lunch (vegetarian soup and a roll) after which one of their volunteers will give a guided tour. Finally we will visit nearby St Patricks Church which is also listed due to its very unusual Streamline Moderne style. We then walk back to Upney station (one stop from Barking on the District Line).
Walkers are recommended to travel by public transport. Barking station is on the c2c, Overground Suffragette Line, District and Hammersmith & City Underground lines; it is also well served by local buses. If travelling by car, it would be necessary to park in one of the town centre car parks for which there are significant charges. To get from central Barking to Eastbury Manor we will probably walk through the residential streets (about 20 mins) but an option will be to take the underground to Upney and a shorter walk from there; we will decide on the day. We finish at Upney station on the District Line from which it is one stop back to Barking.
The cost, £15 per person, includes the soup & roll lunch and the cost of entry to Eastbury Manor. In order to assist with catering you are requested to book by 30 January if possible. If you have any allergies please email separately on [email protected] when booking. Please have with you an Oyster card or debit card for the train fare.
Please wear appropriate footwear and clothing. Please note this walk is suitable for ages 18 years and over.