Greatfields School

Eastbury Manor House

Thames View · 0.6 miles

A substantial Elizabethan residence survives in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, where Eastbury Manor House stands as a Grade I listed museum. The building occupies land that once formed part of the demesne of Barking Abbey and lies close to the Thames View area of Greater London. Ownership rests with the National Trust while day-to-day management is provided by the borough council; the house welcomes visitors for ten months each year. Construction began in the 1570s after merchant Clement Sisley acquired the former abbey lands. Contemporary records note brickwork bearing the dates 1572 and 1573, and dendrochronology places the timber roof in 1566, indicating a rapid build-up. The house was probably the first brick structure locally, featuring glass windows that may have been imported from Italy and unusually high chimneys, both signs of its original wealth. A later tradition links the house to the Gunpowder Plot, although no documentary evidence supports the claim. Following a period of decline from the late eighteenth century—during which the Great Tower Staircase was removed by 1814 and original flooring and fireplaces disappeared in the 1830s—only the west wing remained habitable by the nineteenth century’s end. The National Trust purchased the property in 1918, restored it, and opened it as the Museum of Barking in 1931. After being listed in 1954, the house benefited from Heritage Lottery Fund-backed restorations, the most recent completed in 2010, which added a permanent exhibition detailing the building’s architectural evolution and succession of owners.

Barking Park War Memorial

Loxford · 0.6 miles

Wall dedicated to those from Barking who lost their lives during the First and Second World War.

Valence House

Becontree · 2.5 miles

A timber-framed building surrounded partly by a historic moat now serves as a museum in Valence Park, off Becontree Avenue in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. The structure, the sole survivor of five manor houses that once stood in Dagenham, dates back to the 13th century and has accommodated a manor, a family residence, a town hall and the borough’s library headquarters before its current role. Listed at Grade II* since 1954, the house lies within a 27.8-acre park that was created from the former estate after its purchase by the local council in 1926. The museum presents permanent displays focused on the history and everyday life of Barking and Dagenham, including material from the 1945 Becontree Estate, and it regularly hosts special events and school visits. A 2018 exhibition showcased restored film-making models from the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation, a project inspired by local resident Alan Friswell and funded by the borough council. Following extensive refurbishment funded partly by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the venue reopened in June 2010 with a new archive and local studies centre. Admission is free; wheelchair access is limited, and opening hours are listed on the museum’s website. The site is managed by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, and work on the moat received National Lottery Heritage Fund support in February 2026.

Crossness Pumping Station

Belvedere · 3.1 miles

A rare example of Victorian engineering, the former Crossness Pumping Station stands at the eastern terminus of the Southern Outfall Sewer within the Crossness Sewage Treatment Works, alongside the Ridgeway path in the London Borough of Bexley, close to Belvedere. Designed by architect Charles Henry Driver for the Metropolitan Board of Works under chief engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, the complex was built between 1859 and 1865 by William Webster. Its ornamental cast-ironwork attracted the description of Nikolaus Pevsner as a “masterpiece of engineering – a Victorian cathedral of ironwork”. The station was decommissioned in 1956, later listed at Grade I and placed on the Heritage at Risk Register. Visitors can view the four massive steam-driven beam engines—Victoria, Prince Consort, Albert Edward and Alexandra—originally supplied by James Watt & Co. The engines, each equipped with 52-ton flywheels and 47-ton beams, are among the largest surviving rotative beam engines worldwide. The Crossness Engines Trust, which operates the site as a museum, runs the restored Prince Consort engine on open days, allowing a glimpse of the 11-revolution-per-minute operation that once lifted 6 tons of sewage per stroke. Adjacent Erith Marshes and the northern Crossness Nature Reserve provide a habitat for moths, small amphibians and water voles, adding an ecological dimension to the industrial heritage. Admission is subject to a charge and opening times are published by the Crossness Engines Trust. The museum is managed by the Crossness Engines Trust, a registered charity responsible for the ongoing restoration and public presentation of the historic complex.

Boer War Memorial

Woolwich · 3.7 miles

The Boer War Memorial in Woolwich is opposite the Royal Artillery Barracks on Grand Depot Road in Woolwich. The memorial marks the deaths of the 18 soldiers of the 61st Battery Royal Field Artillery who died in the Second Boer War. The memorial is a tall thin pink granite obelisk on a square plinth with a three-step base.

Maryon Park

Charlton Riverside · 3.7 miles

Set on the south-east bank of the Thames, the green space lies within Charlton, part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and is managed by Greenwich London Borough Council. It can be reached from the A206, with entry points on Woolwich Road, Charlton Lane and Thorntree Road, and the nearest settlement is Charlton Riverside. The park forms a component of the Maryon Wilson Park and Gilbert’s Pit Local Nature Reserve. The area was originally known as Hanging Wood, a steeply sloping woodland that later supplied sandpits. In 1891 the Maryon-Wilson family presented the sandpits to the London County Council; one of the former pits was laid out as a public park and opened the same year. The layout, featuring winding paths that follow the hill’s contours, was drawn up by J. J. Sexby, then chief surveyor to the council’s parks department. Within the park, Cox’s Mount marks the site of a Roman hill-fort discovered in 1915 and, in the 1850s, served as a compass-adjustment point for ships navigating the Thames. Grassland supports species such as hawkweed, gorse and broom, while the Capital Ring and Green Chain long-distance footpaths cross the grounds. Recreational facilities include hard tennis courts, a basketball court and a children’s play area. To the south, the Site of Special Scientific Interest known as Gilbert’s Pit lies adjacent, and Maryon Wilson Park continues beyond it. The park also features in the 1966 film *Blowup*, where several scenes were shot on location.