Marks Gate, Barking & Dagenham
A northern outpost of the borough, situated a mile north of Chadwell Heath, still surrounded by the fields of wheat, oats, barley that were once its raison d’être
Sign at the entrance to the leisure complex
Around 600bc a fortified hilltop village was established here, of which almost nothing remains but the hill itself. The medieval manor of Marks was one of Barking’s oldest free tenements (an estate held for life or longer), with its own manor court from the fourteenth century and special rights in Hainault Forest.
Marks Hall, the 20-bedroom moated manor house, was built in the mid-15th century and demolished in 1808. The estate, which was much reduced over the centuries, was sold to the Crown in 1855. It is now part of Warren Hall Farm, where part of the moat survives, as does a 17th-century brick barn, which is still in use.
Nearby were two other hamlets, now lost. Roselane Gate had its own entrance to the forest, at the northern end of Rose Lane near the Harrow public house. Padnall Corner was virtually wiped out when the Eastern Avenue was constructed. It was located at the bend in Padnall Road and Padnall Hall stood to its west.
Dagenham council built an estate at Marks Gate in the late 1950s. Much of Marks Gate’s housing remains in municipal ownership and the area suffers from high unemployment.
The City Pavilion (formerly City Limits) is a popular local leisure facility, with function rooms, bars, restaurants and a bowling centre.
