**Remembering Barking’s Asbestos Legacy**
*Monday, October 20, 2025*
A monument recently appeared in the middle of Barking, and at first, I thought it was very new. It turns out, it was actually unveiled back in April 2022—I just hadn’t been very observant. The inscription reads:
*“In Memory of those who lost their lives because of exposure to asbestos.”*
This memorial stands here for a reason: Barking has one of the highest rates of asbestos-related deaths in the country.
### The Cape Asbestos Factory in Barking
In 1913, the Cape Asbestos Company established a huge asbestos factory beside the River Roding in Barking. The company mined asbestos-bearing rock from several sites in South Africa, shipping the material in sacks to a private quay in Barking for processing. Hundreds of people were employed to mill the ore into usable fibres before manufacturing them into lagging, packaging, pipes, resins, boards, and various insulation products widely used in the building trade.
Workers operated without masks or any form of protection. At the time, the dangers of asbestos were either unknown or simply ignored. Tragically, hundreds of workers later died from insidious chronic respiratory diseases linked to asbestos exposure.
I came across a 32-page booklet published by Cape Asbestos from before blue asbestos was recognized as dangerous and banned (which didn’t happen until 1985). The booklet shows workers with rolled-up sleeves and women leaning over unshielded machines—all potentially inhaling deadly fibres.
### A Community Affected
Reports revealed that the local school playground, just 100 metres from the factory, was often covered in fine dust. Children treated it like snow, rolling it up and playing with it. Mesothelioma became so common in the area that it earned the nickname the “Barking Cough.”
Those were different times, but their legacy still lingers. The Cape Asbestos plant eventually closed in 1968. The site was later occupied by the Harts Lane council estate—still not the loveliest corner of Barking. Two tall tower blocks there, Colne House and Mersey House, are now earmarked for demolition by Barking & Dagenham council.
This plan is mainly because the buildings are old and covered in combustible cladding, but the complicated issue of contaminated land has made remediation financially unviable. When it comes to asbestos, it’s always the insulation you have to watch out for.
### The Memorial in Barking Town Square
The memorial itself comprises a polished chunk of blue pearl granite. It was unveiled on Workers’ Memorial Day 2022 during a ceremony attended by trade unionists and representatives of the London Asbestos Support Awareness Group. The memorial serves two purposes: remembrance of those lost and a call to stand up for workers’ rights to improve conditions for all.
As the inscription poignantly says:
*“Remember the Dead and Fight for the Living.”*
### Personal Connections
My own grandfather worked at another Cape Asbestos plant on Tolpits Lane in Watford. Originally run by Universal Asbestos Manufacturing, the factory was acquired by Cape in 1967 as part of a diversification into cement-based products. They produced corrugated roofing, flat and decorated sheets, slates, soil pipes, decking, and reinforced troughing—various asbestos-containing building materials.
To my grandfather, Cape Universal was simply a convenient place to work—a short walk across the moor for a day’s shift, then home for tea. He worked there for many years—from the 1930s through to the 1960s—rising from labourer to machine operator on the factory floor.
On his death certificate, his occupation was listed as ‘Asbestos Moulder’. His death was premature—an early consequence of asbestos exposure.
I remember little about my grandfather; he died when I was just eight years old. I do recall him being present when I took my first steps in his back garden and sitting at his dining room table, hoping nobody would make me eat the celery. My final memory is being led up to his bedroom, likely shortly before he passed, to see an ailing old man struggling to breathe in a bare room with drawn curtains.
He was gone by the age of 67.
### The Fight for Recognition
My family fought to have asbestosis recognized as his cause of death but weren’t successful. More recently, I’ve read that fellow workers from the Tolpits Lane factory have been awarded six-figure compensation payouts. It’s difficult to research asbestos topics without being directed to legal websites pushing claims.
Even four decades after the factory closed, many former employees are still suffering severely. Many more have already passed away—asbestos’s toxic legacy endures.
The factory site is now a cleaner industrial estate and business park—home to the National Lottery for the past 30 years. Risk and loss are, metaphorically, still very much in play.
### Reflecting on Progress
Today, my dad turns 87—a full twenty years older than his father lived. Science, education, and workers’ rights have all advanced significantly since the 1970s. Health and safety can often be derided as costly or cumbersome, but it genuinely saves and extends lives.
If someone had shouted earlier and louder about asbestos dangers, I might have known my grandfather better. My grandmother could have enjoyed many more years of marriage, and my father might have had his dad with him for much longer.
My dad lost his father at 34—a tragically young age in life’s grand scheme. By contrast, I still have my dad at 60, which has given me an extra twenty-five years of guidance, support, advice, love, and presence.
How lucky am I?
Every day we share with our parents is a blessing. I’m grateful for the approximately 22,000 days I’ve had with my dad—and I cherish each one.
We’re off later to celebrate with a slap-up dinner—or as slap-up as an 87-year-old’s stomach requires—which the wider family is greatly looking forward to.
What Barking’s memorial reminded me is that many families have not been so fortunate. Sometimes, that loss hits very close to home.
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*Posted at 07:00*
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**Related Links:**
– [London Asbestos Support Awareness Group](#)
– [Workers’ Memorial Day](#)
*For more stories and reflections from London, follow the Life viewed from London E3 blog.*
https://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/2025/10/asbestosis.html