Maps and a History Lesson

I spent a few hours last week at the Archives and Local Studies Centre at Valence House Museum exploring the history of Marks Gate.  It was both interesting and insightful,  I now have lots of tidbits of info and facts about the estate that I can share during my residency!

For example, the official opening of Marks Gate estate was Saturday 2nd April, 1960 by Mayor, Councillor L.W Todd. At it’s time it was the largest Council estate in the borough, built on 163 acres of land.

Or did you know that Whalebone Lane gets its name from the huge whale bones that were located on Chadwell Heath High Road? These bones are now on display at Valence House Museum. Oddly, no one quite knows where they came from.

I also found some interesting maps of the estate development, including this one, which is a General Layout Plan from 1954:

I’m putting together a booklet of all of the press cuttings that mention Marks Gate, most of these are local newspapers. If anyone has any information they would like to share, then please do get in touch.

Looking forward to mapping the area during my time on Marks Gate.