Barkingside is a district and suburban town in north Ilford, in the London Borough of Redbridge, England. It is situated approximately three miles north of Ilford Town Centre. Barkingside is chiefly known for the children's charity Barnardo's, which was founded there in 1866, and still has its headquarters there. Some of the oldest buildings in Barkingside include the Barnardo's chapel, the underground station, which was originally an Edwardianrailway station, and Holy Trinity Church, which dates from 1840. Barkingside is an ethnically and religiously diverse district notable for an unusually high concentration of London's Jewish population.
History
Barkingside was historically part of Essex until the creation of the London Borough of Redbridge in 1965. Fullwell Cross takes its name from a medieval preaching cross that once stood there. Long before there was a church, monks from Barking Abbey would go there to conduct outdoor services for the farmers of Barkingside.
Many of the buildings along the A123 High Street Barkingside are owned by entrepreneur Alan Sugar. At the northern end of the High Street is Fullwell Cross roundabout, which gives its name to the adjacent leisure centre and distinctive circular Grade II listed library building as well as the council neighbourhood bordering the north west of Barkingside proper. Ken Aston Square, located between the leisure centre and library, was officially opened on 27 September 2014. Ken Aston had been a local headteacher and the football referee thought to have introduced red and yellow cards. His name was chosen from a shortlist by residents. The square is bordered on one side by a long arched colonnade designed in the style of the library building and providing a covered, lit space. A small turfed space at the High Street end of Virginia Gardens known as the pocket park was also completed in 2014, partly funded by the GLA Pocket Parks Programme. Its informal landscaping references Frederick Gibberd's garden and consists of trees, mixed shrubs and a Christmas tree. Both square and park are outcomes of the Better Barkingside regeneration project. Barkingside has two public houses. The New Fairlop Oak pub is located on the Fullwell Cross roundabout, named after a giant tree under which an annual fair took place for over a century. At the other end of the High Street is the Chequers pub.
