Barking
Barking was once a major fishing port. Fishing was a very important industry for Barking, and was the home for one of the largest fishing fleets in the country, if not the largest. (The Short Blue Fleet)
The town Quay became very developed, and eventually very run down. A great deal of work has been done over the past few years, and the Quay area has been cleaned up and redeveloped and is a great deal more attractive than it once was.
Barking Creek is in fact the mouth of the River Roding, the River Roding starting after the lock (now demolished) just to the left of the mill.
As you can see in the images, there is still a fair amount of marine activity in the basin and along the Creek.
Barking Mill, in common with most designs of Essex Mills, the waterwheel is internal to the building. If you look carefully at the waterline in the images you can see the blocked in remains of the millrace where the water would exit into the Quay basin.
Below are some views of the Quay and Mill area
