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Barking Football Club is a football club based in Barking, Greater London, England. They are currently members of the Essex Senior League and play at Mayesbrook Park in Dagenham.

History
The origins of the modern club are unclear, with several potential claims; Barking Institute was either formed around 1896 as Barking Working Lads' Institute (or possibly earlier as Barking Working Men's Institute) or was a renamed Barking Rovers, who had been established in 1880 and later renamed by the Church Institute when they took over running it.

They won the Essex Senior Cup in 1893–94 and 1895–96, before becoming champions of Division One of the South Essex League in 1898–99, the Leyton & District League in 1899–1900, Division Two of the South Essex League in 1900–02 and Division Two A in 1901–01, before changing its name to Barking in 1902. They also played in the London League, winning Division One A in 1909–10, before winning the South Essex League again in 1911–12, a season in which they also won the London Senior Cup for the first time. In 1912 Barking became founder members of the Athenian League but withdrew after only two matches and their record was expunged.

In 1919 the club changed its name to Barking Town, going on to win the Essex Senior Cup in the 1919–20 season. The following season they won the Premier Division of the London League and the London Senior Cup, before rejoining the Athenian League in 1923. The 1926–27 season saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup, eventually losing to Gillingham in a replay. They also reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup, where they lost 3–1 to Leyton, but did win the London Senior Cup for a third time. They reached the first round of the FA Cup again in 1928–29 but lost 6–0 at Exeter City. In 1932 they reverted to the name Barking, and in 1934–35 won the Athenian League title.

Following World War II, Barking won the 1945–46 Essex Senior Cup. In 1952 they switched to the Isthmian League but had to wait until 1978–79 before winning the league again; during that period, they won further Essex Senior Cup titles in 1962–63 and 1969–70. The 1978–79 season also saw them reach the second round of the FA Cup, defeating Yeovil Town in the first round, before losing 2–1 at home to Aldershot, as well as winning the London Senior Cup for a fourth time. The following season they reached the second round again, defeating Third Division Oxford United before losing 3–1 to Reading. In 1981–82 they took Gillingham to a replay in the second round, losing 3–1. Their last appearance in the second round came in 1983–84 when they lost 2–1 at Plymouth Argyle. A seventh Essex Senior Cup final win was achieved in 1989–90.

They remained in the Isthmian League Premier Division until relegation to Division One at the end of the 1990–91 season. After finishing bottom in 1995–96 the club was relegated to Division Two. In 2001 Barking ceased to exist when they merged with East Ham United to form Barking & East Ham United. However, when the new club folded in 2006, Barking were re-established and joined the Essex Senior League. In 2016–17 the club won the Essex Senior League, earning promotion to the North Division of the Isthmian League. At the end of the 2018–19 season, they were transferred to the South-Central Division. In 2021 the club was transferred back to the North Division. They finished second-from-bottom of the division in 2021–22 and were relegated to the Essex Senior League.

Ground
Barking Institute originally played at the Recreation Ground in Barking Park, before moving to Vicarage Field, which had been in use by Barking Rovers since 1884. Floodlights were installed in 1958 and they were the first Isthmian League club to play a league match under lights. In 1973 the club were forced to leave the ground by the council and moved to Mayesbrook Park. The club brought the floodlights from Vicarage Field and installed a temporary trailer stand on the northern side of the pitch. This was later replaced by a permanent stand with 210 seats and standing for 450. An uncovered terrace was installed behind the western end of the pitch, which had a roof added in 2001 when Barking merged with East Ham United.

07/10/23 Essex Senior League West Essex 2 Barking 0
30/09/23 Essex Senior League Barking 0 FC Clacton 5
26/09/23 BBC Essex Senior Cup Frenford 1 Barking 2
16/09/23 Essex Senior League Barking 3 Coggeshall Town 2
12/09/23 Essex Senior League Barking 2 Great Wakering Rovers 2
09/09/23 Essex Senior League Little Oakley 2 Barking 1

After 11 matches, Barking are currently in 15th place in the Essex Senior League Premier. They have 12 points from those 11 games – 3 wins, 3 draws, and 5 defeats. They have a -8 goal difference.

On many occasions, the latest of which was in the Isthmian League North on Saturday 11th December 2021. The Bridge won 2-1 in front of a crowd of 78, with two goals from Tony Stokes. Barking had opened the scoring with a goal from our current squad member, Jay Leader. Also, in the Barking team that day was another Hullbridge 23/24 team member, Charlie Heatley.

Christian Adu Gyamfi
Suaibo Balde
Harvey Brown
Ciaran Burke
Matthew Cambridge
Joseph Clark
Mitchell Cohen
Kenedi Dariri
Jack Dickinson
Godwin Fuma
Samraj Gill
Harry Girling
Kai Haysman
Luke Hirst
Ibrahim Kehinde
Gael Kileba
Henry Mabassa
Yasseir Nazor
Miraldie Ndunzi
Fahad Nyanja
George Okoye
Gabriel Oloko
Ehizojie Onoabhagbe
David Owiredu
Addae Paponette
Isioma Richard
Bradleigh Rowland
Arshak Sargsyan
Max Spence
Tom Troubridge
Martin Tuohy
Aundre Wholas-Spencer
Sherwin William

Barking top scorers so far this season:
Luke Hirst, Bradleigh Rowland, and ex-Bridge player, Martin Tuohy. All have two goals this season.
They’re probably all in this Barking huddle or maybe not…

Where are we located?
Take the exit road from the A13 at Beacontree Heath onto the A1153 Lodge Avenue turn off. We are approximately one mile down on the left. The 368 bus stops outside or opposite the ground – alternatively, buses 145,364 and number 5 are a short walk from the LIDL supermarket or from the A13 end get the 62 to the bottom of the hill and walk-up Lodge Avenue. To reach us by train go to Upney station, turn left, and at the bottom of the hill cross the road into The Drive. Go to the end of The Drive and enter Mayesbrook Park, go to the left and keep bearing left, the ground is about five minute’s walk and is past the Sporthouse.

Lawtech Stadium, Mayesbrook Park, Lodge Avenue, Dagenham RM8 2JR

When I Google Mapped the directions, there was a lot of heavy traffic, so 1 hour and 9 minutes was the best time for 30.4 miles. There is a shorter route mileage wise as shown in the directions. Without the red bits on the map, it should be possible to do it quicker than 1 hour 9 minutes but I’m not telling you how to drive, I’m not even in the back seat!

The Bridge go into this game looking for a 7th game unbeaten and are now up to 8th place in the table. Barking’s home form is won 3, drawn 1, and lost 3 so this is a winnable match to extend The Bridge run. The Gaffa returns to one of his former teams in search of those three points and the team would definitely appreciate any support they can get from the Hullbridge Massive, so…

There remains just one thing left to say….