Infant and child welfare centres
BARKING
Population of Borough in 1938: 76,790
BARKING
Population of Borough in 1938: 76,790
(Mother and Child Welfare Centre)
St Paul's Road
The Centre closed in 1938. The whole area was comprehensively developed and nothing pre-war remains.
Town Yard
In the early 1930s the Centre moved to new premises in Vicarage Field. (Vicarage Field was a football ground between Ripple Road and the railway. The site is now a shopping centre.)
Town Yard was probably the Corporation Yard east of the Town Hall and next to the Baths - both 1930s developments. The area was completely redeveloped in the 2000s and nothing remains of the Clinic.
Central Clinic
Vicarage Drive, off Ripple Road, IG11 7NR
The Central Clinic opened in 1934 to provide Mother and Child Welfare Clinics, ante-natal and gynaecological clinics.
Vicarage Drive, off Ripple Road, IG11 7NR
The Central Clinic opened in 1934 to provide Mother and Child Welfare Clinics, ante-natal and gynaecological clinics.
February 2015: The building is now the Vicarage Fields Health Centre.
Original signage in stone above the entrance bears the legend Central Clinic, Erected AD 1934.
Woodward Road, Dagenham, RM9 4SR
The Woodward Clinic opened on 12th October 1935. Mother and Child Welfare Clinics were held here, as well as antenatal clinics.
The building was just of sufficient size to meet the requirements of the population on the Becontree Estate, living south of the railway line. However, while it was being built there was talk of making it larger so it would also cope with the population of the Estate north of the railway line. In the event, it was decided to built a similar clinic on the northern section (see below).
The main entrance to the Clinic was at the right-hand side of the building. The large windows of the waiting hall ensured that the hall was well lit and cheerful. The clinic and dental rooms were positioned so that a measure of quiet and privacy was obtained, and doorways opening out from both wings out on to a garden at the back of the building enabled the staff from different departments to have access to one another and to the office without having to use the waiting hall.
Now the Julia Engwell Health Centre (above and below).
Greatfields Clinic
133 Movers Lane, IG11 7UG
The Clinic provided ante-natal and post-natal care, as well as mothercraft and relaxation classes. However, by the mid 1960s, antenatal care began to be centred on hospital and General Practioner services, and attendance at the Clinic was beginning to fall.
February 2015: The building, set distinctively on the diagonal, remains - though much adapted, with an entrance at the side. It is now the Barking Football Supporters' Club.
133 Movers Lane, IG11 7UG
The Clinic provided ante-natal and post-natal care, as well as mothercraft and relaxation classes. However, by the mid 1960s, antenatal care began to be centred on hospital and General Practioner services, and attendance at the Clinic was beginning to fall.
February 2015: The building, set distinctively on the diagonal, remains - though much adapted, with an entrance at the side. It is now the Barking Football Supporters' Club.
Porters Avenue Clinic
234 Porters Avenue, Dagenham, RM8 2EQ
The Clinic was built in the north part of the Becontree Estate.
February 2015: The sites of the Clinic and a neighbouring Methodist Church are now occupied by the Porters Avenue Health Centre, built in 2006. As well as GP surgeries and other healthcare facilities, the building contains a Walk-In Centre and a Mental Health Resource Centre.
The facade along Porters Avenue.
The main entrance is rather discreet.
234 Porters Avenue, Dagenham, RM8 2EQ
The Clinic was built in the north part of the Becontree Estate.
February 2015: The sites of the Clinic and a neighbouring Methodist Church are now occupied by the Porters Avenue Health Centre, built in 2006. As well as GP surgeries and other healthcare facilities, the building contains a Walk-In Centre and a Mental Health Resource Centre.
The facade along Porters Avenue.
The main entrance is rather discreet.
Williams CL 1935 Borough of Barking. Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health, p.22.
Williams CL 1938 Borough of Barking. Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health, p.43.
Gillet JA 1966 Borough of Barking. Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health, p. 22.
www.geograph.org
www.neflt.nhs.org
Return to alphabetical list
Return to home page