For anyone who wonders if there is anything left of old Dagenham village
Go right out of station and after a few minutes turn down Crown Street. Continue past Ibscott Close, keeping the concrete fence on your right. As you turn the corner you will come upon the Church and the Vicarage. The 16th century Cross Keys public house is a few yards ahead.
The church of St Peter and St Paul is a bit of a collectors item. The chancel dates from the early 13th century with a 15th century chapel. The rest of the church was rebuilt. This is all that is left of old Dagenham, the rest having been demolished in the 1960’s and ‘70’s to make way for social housing.
The Vicarage is a weird building, very rambling and originally dating from 1665, as can be seen from the date on the porch. about 1800 when the tower collapsed, which explains the curved, vaguely classical porch, peculiar wavy battlements and other unusual features. There’s something rather endearing about the ‘wrongness’ of it all. Now, no longer in use as a vicarage, it does lack the kind of attention it would receive in a more affluent borough. The Cross Keys, on the other hand, is in excellent condition and has been extended in a sympathetic manner. 
The churchyard is a bit overgrown, but, as you can seen from the photo, is not neglected.It contains one memorial of particular interest, concerning a policeman who was ‘inhumanly and barbarously murdered’ in 1846. His story ‘The Dagenham Murder’ –with a suitably lurid cover - has been published by a local writer. (View as pdf and go to p2)
Another, more peaceful, reminder of the past is to be found on many of the small semi's in this area – pargetting. This plasterwork continues an East Anglian tradition dating back to the 16th century when pargetting frequently adorned timber- framed houses of rural Essex.
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This is just one walk from the many to be found at London Tube Rambles. There are architectural gems, beautiful country views, historic places and whacky buildings to be found, even in the most unpromising areas covered by the Greater London Underground stations. Usually the places listed are within a mile of the Tube - often only five minutes walk away. If you reached this as an individual page via a search engine, you might like to go to www.londontuberambles.co.uk to see the other destinations explored . You'll be amazed at what's out there!
© DR2006