Barking & Dagenham Archives and Local Studies Centre

Building Becontree was an 18-month project funded by the Wellcome Trust that catalogued the full range of historic records held at Valence House relating to the history of the Becontree Estate. These include maps, building plans, tenants’ handbooks, photographs, disease registers, films, rent books, and community publications. All the material will be available for research either in person at the archive centre or on this website. These resources will be essential in furthering research into what was at the time one of the country’s largest experiments in public health and improving our understanding of the requirements of public housing.

A series of public workshops both online and in-person collected the thoughts and memories of Becontree residents past and present, using material from the archive to stir people’s memories and get conversations flowing.