Barking Market has run on East Street since the 13th century, when monks at the abbey were granted a royal charter to hold a market here. The trading has been continuous ever since — making it one of the longest-running street markets in London.
The modern incarnation runs Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Around 70 stalls cluster along East Street: cheap fruit and veg, household goods, fabrics, halal butchers, West African plantains and yams, and a handful of hot-food traders. It is loud, busy, and explicitly a market for locals doing their weekly shop rather than a tourist destination — which is exactly the reason to come.