Creekmouth

Creekmouth
Barking Creek tidal barrier from the Creekmouth industrial estate
Creekmouth  Creekmouth shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ457448
– Charing Cross	10 mi (16 km)  W
London borough	Barking & Dagenham
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BARKING
Postcode district	IG11
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Barking
London Assembly	City and East
List of places UK England London

Coordinates: 51°31′01″N 0°05′57″E / 51.5169°N 0.0991°E

Creekmouth is an area in east London, England. It is best known for its large industrial estate. The industrial area around River Road and Thames Road is one of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham's largest employment areas. Creekmouth has a wide range of businesses from small local manufacturers to major multi-national companies.^[1]

History

The Creekmouth Village as it was known, was built just below the Thames riverbank in the 1850s by Mr John Bennett Lawes, primarily for workers at his factory, Lawes Chemical and Fertiliser Company.^[2] The village consisted of two rows of small houses, approximately 50 in total and had its own school, Mission Hall, shop and a public house called The Crooked Billet which is mentioned in records going back to 1719. The village community was very isolated. Most people who lived there worked for the chemical factory, or on the river, on the barges or as Lightermen. The area was surrounded by marshes and fields full of grazing cows and horses.^[2] For much of the 20th Century Creekmouth was the location of the former Barking Power Station;^[3] the current station is further east near Dagenham Dock.

Governance

The local authority is Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council. The area is within the Thames ward, which returns three councillors. For elections to the London Assembly it is part of the City and East constituency. For elections to the UK Parliament it is within the Barking constituency.

Geography

The regeneration project, costing £290,000 was started in 2005 and has seen the Environment Agency work in partnership with local charity the Creekmouth Preservation Society to transform disused land at the Barking Barrier into a green space.

Billy Bragg, poet and musician, originally from nearby Barking, helped local children from Thames View Junior School plant over 500 wild flower bulbs at the "Creekmouth Open Space" at the Barking Barrier on 28 November 2007.^[4]

Transport

Creekmouth is not served by the tube, DLR or National Rail, although it is on the route of the proposed DLR extension to Dagenham Dock (see below).

Creekmouth's bus service comprises two Monday - Friday peak time extended journeys on London Buses route 387, which runs between Little Heath and Barking Reach and the East London Transit to the north of Creekmouth in Thames View with routes to Barking, Ilford, Barking Riverside and Dagenham Dock

A station Creekmouth DLR station is proposed on the Dagenham Dock extension of the Docklands Light Railway.

References

1. Creekmouth to Castle Green Study
2. Creekmouth Preservation Society
3. "'The borough of Barking',". A History of the County of Essex: Volume 5 (1966), pp. 235-248. Victoria County History. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
4. Bard of Barking Billy Bragg to join Stone Walk ceremony

External links

• Creekmouth Preservation Society - History of an isolated village
• Government Environment Agency