History of Dagenham in 1894 Kellys Directory
Dagenham & Becontree Heath 1894
Dagenham is a parish and village, bounded by the Thames, the Rom (or Bourne brook), and the Ingerbury brook, witha station on the direct line of the London, Tilbury and Southend railway, 3 miles south west from Romford, 2 north west from Rainham station and 12 from Whitechapel church, in the Southern division of the county, Becontree hundred and petty sessional division, Romford union and county court district, Metropolitan police jurisdiction, rural deanery of Chafford, archdeaconry of Essex, and diocese of St Albans. The church of SS Peter and Paul is an ancient edifice of brick and stone in the Early English and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave of two bays, north aisle, north porch and an embattled tower on the north side, with a slated spire, and containing a clock and 6 bells, dated 1768; the chancel and aisle date from the 11th century: the nave was rebuilt in 1800: there is a fine old tomb with brasses to Sir Thomas Urswyk kt, appointed common serjeant of the city of London, and subsequently in 1455, made recorder; he also represented the city in Parliament in 1461 and 1467, and was chief baron of the Exchequer from 1471 to 1479, in which year he died: the brass also commemorates his wife, 4 sons and 9 daughters; there is also a marble monument with effigies to Sir Richard Alibon kt, a justice of the King's Bench from 1687 in the reign of James II, ob April 22, 1688: the stained east window is a memorial to Mrs T L Fanshawe, and was erected by the parishioners in 1878, when the church was thoroughly restored, the floor lowered and the interior reseated; during the course of this work an ancient piscine and a cross-marked altar slab were discovered; two helmets and fragments of other armour also remain.
The register dates from the year 1546. The living is a vicarage, tithe rent charge £900, average £649, yearly value £563, with 8 acres of glebe and residence, in the gift of T C Stevenson Moore esq, and held since 1876 by the Rev John James Stevenson Moore LLD of Trinity College, Dublin. There are Wesleyan and Wesleyan Reform chapels, and Congregational chapel at Mark’s Gate. A cemetery of 2 ½ acres was formed in 1864, at a cost of £800, but there is no mortuary chapel; it is under the control of the burial board of 5 members, of which the vicar is chairman.
Uphill's charity of £150 yearly, left by Jacob Uphill of Dagenham, standard bearer to William and Mary, Queen Anne and George I, who died Feb 26, 1717, at 59, formerly expended in clothing children, and in gratuities to them, is now administered under a trust, the greater portion of the income being devoted to scholarships in technical education; other charities, including a bread charity left by John White, gent, who died February 2, 1673, are distributed yearly.
Dagenham has much marsh land, and on December 17th, 1707, a very high tide blew up the sluice, broke through the dyke, flooded 1,000 acres and swept 160 acres into the river; after much difficulty, and a lapse of fifteen years, the breach was stopped by the famous Captain Perry, at a cost of £40,000. To the left of the road leading to Dagenham reach is Dagenham Lake Subscription Water, a lake formed by a portion of the unreclaimed land 40 acres in extant; being well stocked with fish it is much frequented by anglers.
Sir Edward Hulse, bart, of Breamore, Salisbury, who is lord of the manor, the Crown, the Marquess of Salisbury KG, PC, DCL, the Dean and Canons of Windsor, J G Fanshawe esq of 13 St Georges Road, London SW and William Vigo Williams esq, are the principal landowners. The soil is shingly; subsoil, gravel. The chief crops are wheat, potatoes and market garden produce.. The area is 6,489 acres, excluding 241 acres water area; rateable value £23,818; and the population in 1891 was 4,324.
Becontree Heath is a large hamlet of this parish, 2 ½ miles north, it gives its name to the hundred and to a petty sessional division; meetings held at Stratford, which see. There is a Church of England Mission room served by the clergy of the parish churchand a lay reader: there is also a Free Methodist chapel.
Parish clerk and Sexton, James Walter Palmer
Post & Money Order & Telegraph Office & Savings Bank Annuity, Insurance & Express Delivery Office – Mrs Elizabeth Howgego, postmistress. Letters through Romford, arrive at 7.0 am & 3.15 am; dispatched at 210.55 am, 6.55 & 9.30 pm. Sunday delivery commences at 7 am & dispatched at 6.30 pm.
Wall Letter Boxes – Ripple Road, cleared 10.30 am & 8.30 pm; & Station, cleared 11.0 am & 9.0 pm
Post Office, Becontree Heath – William Bentley, sub-postmaster, Letters via Romford, arrive at 7.0 am & 3.15 pm; dispatched at 11.20 am & 7.20 pm. The nearest money order office & telegraph office are at Chadwell. Postal orders are issued here, but not paid. Pillar Box, Marks Gate, cleared at 7.15 am & 3.15 pm.
Schools:-
A School board of 5 members was formed 7th December, 1874; C Smith, North Street, Romford, clerk to the board; John William Freshwater, Chadwell Heath, attendance officer.
Board (boys, girls & infants), Becontree Heath, built about 1877 & enlarged 1893 to accommodate 400 children; average attendance, 230; George William Patmore, master; Mrs Harriet Patmore, mistress; Miss Cudby, infants mistress
Board (infants), built in 1874, for 150 children; average attendance about 120; Mrs Sarah Howes, mistress
Ford's Endowed, founded in 1828 by William Ford, of Dagenham; the buildings include a master's residence & will hold 120 boys & as many girls; in Whalebone lane, Chadwell Heath, is a branch school connected with this charity, built in 1857 & available for 100 children; these schools have an annual endowment of £300, arising from money left for educational purposes by William Ford, who died March 6th, 1756; (boys & girls), John Doubleday, master; Mrs Emma Doubleday, mistress
Metropolitan Police station, 3 sergeants & 12 constables
Railway Station, Edward Foreman, station master
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