Abbey Green — Attraction in London

Abbey Green is the Parklands on the historic grounds of Barking Abbey that has been repurposed to be a beautiful parklands for local residents and a great attraction for everyone! Barking Abbey was one of the most historic & influential religious institutions of the whole country. Barking Abbey Ruins is the ruins of the former royal monastery established in 666 AD and it was demolished in 1541 AD.

The Barking Abbey - it is now known as Abbey Ruins - has become one of the most beautiful and blissful green places to visit, play, explore, contemplate, gather, chat, walk, exercise, picnic and rest! It is much loved by both local residents and visitors from outside! Thanks to the authority for keeping the Barking Abbey Ruins, Abbey Green Parklands and surroundings nice & tidy and continuous ground maintenance! It is always busy with people having leisurely stroll around the park or crossing the park reaching Barking Town or Market Place or historic Town Quay by the River Roding!

Abbey Green is part of the Abbey and Barking Town Centre Conservation Area focusing the Abbey Ruins! Abbey Green is very strategically located right next to the busy Barking Town Centre, beautiful Town Quay, and picturesque River Roding!

Barking Abbey Church, Open Space, Parklands, Abbey Ruins, St. Margaret’s Centre are fully accessible! However, please be mindful of the surface, different areas because of the centuries-old landscape and follow the Signages for accessible entrances to the church and Abbey Ruins!

Other key features of the Abbey Green include:

• Abbey Green Play Area

• Curfew Tower - also known as the Fire Bell Gate - is the only surviving building of Barking Abbey

• St Margaret's Parish Church - Centuries-old parish church of St. Margaret of Antioch Virgin and Martyr - a Grade I Listed Building dating back to 1215 - is still actively serving the community. Some of the key facilities of the church are St Margaret’s Café, St Margaret’s Centre and St Margaret’s Church! St Margaret’s Café is open to public from 11am to 2pm every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday serving a variety of reasonably priced meals, snacks and homemade cakes. St Margaret’s Centre and St Margaret’s Church also provide facilities for weddings, baptism, and funerals!

• Three Lamps Broadway Square - Beautiful artworks at the base of the Three Lamps talk about different aspects of protests throughout the centuries - both past and present! It is very educational, fun and entertaining! The artwork panels were inspired by the pupils at the St Margaret’s Primary School and designed by artist Tamara Froud.

• Sculpture: Blocks of London Bridge by Joost Van Santen - Who knew that there is a sculpture called "Blocks of London Bridge" by Dutch artist and sculptor Joost Van Santen located in plain sight - sitting around "in significantly"! It was commissioned and installed here in 2006! These two granite blocks were part of the foundation of the demolished old London Bridge - the one sold to & reconstructed at Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA.

• A Circle of Stones Garden - A beautiful calm nice place between Abbey Green and River Roding. At times, it is quite noisy due to the roads at both sides. Nearby car parking bays make it more attractive to visit and enjoy the green and...

This area has deteriorated badly over the past few years. It is a haven for rough sleepers & drinkers. And it's also their toilet. There's broken glass, empty bottles & cans everywhere. Many of the benches are broken or missing. And in the churchyard itself, due to the fact that, as a burial ground, it is no longer in use, most of the graves have collapsed in on themselves. Crushing the skeletal remains buried there. Subsequently, many of the gravestones have broken up and fallen away from the graves. It's a real shame. This is supposed to be a heritage site. But no one seems to care about it anymore. Up until about 20 or so years ago, the churchyard wrapped right around the church. In order for the church centre to be built, about a dozen or so graves were destroyed. They were completely broken up. There are many gravestones in the churchyard today that do not have any graves under them. There are also planned high-rise blocks of flats going up all around this area. This will not enhance any feeling of peace and tranquility that you may have been hoping for whilst you sit and take in any...

Years back the place was excellent, if you were walking pass it's ok, now flats have been around the area, you can actually see dog poo in most area.

Even though the council office is right across and they not seeing the benches needs repainting and re-wooden is beyond me.

The area needs regular maintenance even though there sign board says they do but I don't see it, there are cigarette butt everywhere. It's ok to walk across to shops but no-no to...