London | For centuries, the parish of Dagenham, 20 kilometres east of central London along the northern bank of the River Thames, was a thinly populated marshland. Even in 1921, it was home to just 9000 souls.

Ten years later, after a building frenzy at which today’s property developers can only marvel, the largely terrace-housed population had soared to 90,000. And between these townsfolk and the river arose a hulking and iconic Ford manufacturing plant, which opened its doors in 1931.