Marks Gate Explained

Marks Gate is an area of London, England in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Part of East London, it is immediately north of Chadwell Heath and to the west of Romford.

The name originally referred to an entrance or gate into Hainault Forest at the northern end of the current Whalebone Lane North, the name being derived from the proximity of the gate to the manor of Marks (later Marks Hall) which stood on what is now Warren Hall Farm.^[1] As with many old houses the name was derived from the de Merk family who built the original manor in the 14th Century.^[2]

The oldest evidence for a settlement in this location is of a fortified village on the hilltop around 600 BC, and by 1777 Marks Gate was shown on maps as a hamlet on the southern edge of Hainault Forest.^[3] Subsequent development in the 1950s has overtaken two other gates to the forest, at Roselane Gate at the northern end of Rose Lane, and a further gate at Padnall Corner.

Scenes for the 2009 film Harry Brown were filmed on the Marks Gate Estate.^[4] Famous ex-residents include David Essex who lived in Padnall Road.

Nearest stations

• Newbury Park tube station
• Chadwell Heath railway station

Notes and References

1. Web site: Marks Gate . Hidden London . 2015-04-19.
2. Book: Mills, A.D.. Dictionary of London Place Names. 2001. Oxford.
3. Web site: Dagenham: Introduction and manors . Institute of Historical Research . 2015-04-19.
4. Web site: A new dawn for blighted estate . Sahin . Sukran . 2 November 2010 . Barking and Dagenham Post . Early last year, the subway was the scene setter for Harry Brown.