Dagenham Heathway

The station was opened in 1932 and was called Heathway. It changed to its present name in 1949. You can still see the original name outside the station.





















The station has one central island with trains travelling Eastbound on one side and Westbound on the other. platforms.  



















The long sloping walkway to the exit making it an accessible station. Some of you were surprised that not all underground stations are accessible. Of the 270 tube stations, there are only 78 that are step free. Transport for London  is planning to make another 22 stations step-free by 2024. All new stations will be step free including those of the Elizabeth Line, part of which should open next year.  As a number of stations were built over 150 years ago I am not sure it is possible for all stations to be step free. The tube map clearly shows which stations are accessible.

The station exits onto the High Street and it is obvious from the shops that this is not an upmarket shopping area.  The  loss of job opportunities with the closure of  the Ford vehicle assembly factory must have had a huge impact on this area.

Directly opposite the station is an adult only video store and within 30m of the station were 3 betting shops and a couple of pawnbrokers. An indication of the lack of wealth in an area.

Across the road in the shopping mall, many of the shops had closed. Pound shops and charity shops were more in evidence than the usual retail chains. Next to the small shopping mall is the library.

A bright, welcoming building that not only loans books but has a range of other activities and services.

I walked in all directions from the station but found only residential streets. Many are ex-council houses now privately owned, bought under the Right to Buy scheme. The scheme was introduced by the Thatcher government and gave council house residents the opportunity to own their own home by buying their home at greatly discounted prices. Those against the scheme said it was selling public assets and depleting the stock of council owned homes. The scheme began in 1980 and to date 1.8 million houses have been sold at a discount. It would have been OK if the money had been used to build more council properties but for whatever reason that didn't happen and now we are in a dire situation with little affordable social housing in our cities and towns.

This is the London Riverside Church, a pentecostal church. Don't know why is is called 'riverside' as it is nowhere near a river. The building does stand out though.

Further along the road is Parsloes park. One half of the park has a large open space with a lake surrounded by trees and bushes. I stood for a few moments listening to the bird life  and saw rats darting in and out of the undergrowth. I saw five whilst standing there for a few moments so the area must be overrun with them! To be fair I have seen rats many times beside lakes where food is plentiful from the public feeding the ducks, but I still don't like them.

Parsloes Park was the centre of the estate which surrounded Parsloes Manor. From the 17th to the 20th century it was owned by the Fanshawes who lived there for most of that period and were one of the leading families of the district. The history of the manor and estate can be traced back to the 13th century. Over the centuries parts of the land were sold off and in 1913 Essex County Council bought part of it. From 1901 - 1923 the park was used for pony trotting competitions. The whole estate was subsequently bought by the London County Council and 107 acres became a public park. The rest was used for housing. The manor house became derelict in the late 19th century and was demolished in 1925.

The park was empty. It is not often you see a children's playground with no children but then the weather is not great today.

I left the park and just followed my nose. More housing and then a bridge over the railway.

I crossed over the bridge. What a pity that people think it acceptable to just dump their rubbish anywhere.

I walked down an alley which led me to another park - Goresbrook Park. At the other side of the park I could see the tower of a church. It seemed the oldest building I had come across today.

This is St Albans Church. Originally there was just a 'wooden hut' here which was used as a temporary place of worship for all the new residents moving into this new estate. A new church was funded by Miss Wills. She was born into a family whose wealth had come from the manufacture of tobacco. She wanted to do something charitable with her wealth so she gave the bishop £14,000 to build a brand new church.

I came across a well used group of allotments as I made my way back to the High Street  via more rows of terraced houses with well kept gardens. Back on the High Street I found a small cafe near the station. Very friendly in there and a decent enough sandwich and cup of tea at a very cheap price.

I had expected Dagenham to be a much bigger town with more shops and amenities. However, although it is a very large housing estate it is punctuated with a number of green areas.