Barking Abbey
Former Monastery and Nunnery
Founded 666
Dissolved 1539
The plaque inscriptions read:
Barking Abbey
Was founded by St Erkenwald in the year 666. Destroyed by the Danes it was rebuilt in the 10th century. William the Conqueror stayed here after his coronation in 1066. It was dissolved in 1539 and demolished within three years.
Saint Margarets Church
Founded about 1215 was altered and enlarged in the 15th and 16th centuries. Captain Cook was married here in 1762.
Curfew Tower
A gateway to the abbey built in the 14th century and reconstructed in 1460. The 12th century stone head now in the chapel over the gateway was the object of pilgrimage in medieval times.
This stone was set up on 4th December 1960 to mark the fifth centenary of the Curfew Tower.
