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Castle Green, London facts for kids

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Castle Green
Castle Green 1.jpg
Castle Green is located in Greater London
Castle Green
Castle Green
OS grid reference TQ472837
London borough
Ceremonial county Greater London
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DAGENHAM
Postcode district RM9
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
EU Parliament London
UK Parliament
  • Barking
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London
51°32′00″N 0°07′21″E / 51.533328°N 0.122395°E / 51.533328; 0.122395

Castle Green is a cool park and a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, United Kingdom. It's located close to Creekmouth and is part of the huge Becontree housing estate.

Castle Green is home to Jo Richardson Community School, which is a secondary school. You can also find a library, a theatre, and spaces for art and conferences here. It has great sports facilities too, where Barking RFC plays. There's also a community centre for everyone to use.

History of Castle Green

Castle Green 2
Castle Green Recreation Ground

For a long time, until the 1700s, this area was mostly countryside. It had large estates owned by wealthy families since the Middle Ages. As the city grew, some of these estates were taken down to make room for farms that grew food for the market.

In the 1920s, two of these old estates, Parsloes and Valence, were bought to create the Becontree housing estate. Parts of these old estates are still around today as parks. For example, Valence House is now a museum called Valence House Museum.

Over the 1800s, more factories and businesses moved into the area. Even today, this part of London has the most industries. As more people moved in, the area needed to grow. It became an important place for new ideas about how to improve society. With more people, there was also a need for public parks. In the 1890s, the centre of Barking was planned out, and Barking Park opened in 1898.

The Becontree estate was built between 1919 and 1935. It was created to provide homes for soldiers returning from war and to help with overcrowding in central London. This estate covered the last of the countryside in the borough. It became home to over 167,000 people. The estate also included parks like Valence and Parsloes parks, Mayesbrook Park, Castle Green, and Goresbrook Sports Ground.

The name "Castle Green" is over 200 years old. It comes from a time when the area was still rural. The "castle" that gave the place its name was actually a house that looked like a castle. It was built around 1800 and stood until 1938.

Getting Around Castle Green

You can get to Castle Green using London Buses routes 173 and 287.

The closest underground station is Becontree. The Barking & Dagenham Borough Council has also suggested building a new London Overground train station in the future.

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