Barking

Barking is a suburban town in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, in East London, England. A retail and commercial centre situated in the west of the borough, it lies 9.1 miles (14.6 km) east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Barking is an area of regeneration with two main centres of activity, Barking Town Centre and Barking Riverside. Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Berecingas, meaning either "the settlement of the followers or descendants of a man called Bereca" or "the settlement by the birch trees". "Barking", in English slang, is short for "barking mad". Barking is sometimes cited as the origin of the phrase. This is attributed to the alleged existence...