City Detail

Becontree or is an area of approximately 4 square miles (10 km2) in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It is located 11 miles (17.7 km) east-northeast of Charing Cross and was constructed in the interwar period as the largest public housing estate in the world. The Housing Act 1919 permitted the London County Council to build housing outside the County of London and Becontree was constructed between 1921 and 1935 to cottage estate principles in the parishes of Barking, Dagenham and Ilford, then in Essex. The official completion of the estate was celebrated in 1935, by which time the estate had a population of around 100,000 people in 26,000 homes. The building of the estate caused a huge increase in population density, which led to demands on services and reforms of local government. An additional 1,000 houses were added in later phases.