Historic Barking

The two words in this title might be strange bedfellows to many who have a rather different perception of Barking.

I acquired a copy of Billy Bragg's book The Progressive Patriot on recommendation and saved it for the trip to England, believing that to be a fitting place in which to peruse its contents. Thanks Billy for an intelligent analysis of what it means to be patriotic in England (not Scotland, Ireland or Wales) today.

Attempts by the xenophobic minority British National Party (BNP) may have been most prominent in the news of recent years. Interestingly enough, this happened at pretty much the same time as the Pauline Hanson phase swept across parts of Australia and other unreasonably close to the chest exclusive players tried to grab a share of the political agenda. Thankfully this ugly face of the nation didn't gain firm footing, and a more reasonable / less paranoid understanding of what it means to be English in this day and age seems to be winning through. Bragg's historical perspective was a welcome spot of education for me. I've reading a fair bit about Scottish history in recent years but that puts England in the role of 'enemy' – or at least the opponent. Current situations always make more sense to me once I have explored the 'approach road.'

The book prompted me to use a free afternoon to travel east on the district line to Bragg's home territory of Barking in Essex. Not a place that attracts too many tourists, the town is purely functional now with little sense of being the site of possibly one the oldest settlements in the country. A major port sited at a bend in the Thames long before London appeared on the map and the settlement of Uphall Camp – which predates the Roman invasion - have left no trace. Even more recent history is all but gone. The oldest things I found on a wet autumn afternoon were the Brittania Hotel and a street named Fishermans Hill.


I didn't walk down as far as the river – a missed opportunity. I did eat fish and chips (with salad) in a friendly, down to earth cafe which was refreshingly 'English' after the continental style of the central London Museum cafes.