Becontree is an area located within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in England. It is situated approximately 11 miles (17.7 km) northeast of Charing Cross.
Constructed between 1921 and 1935, Becontree was established as the largest public housing estate in the world at the time of its completion. The project was made possible by the Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act 1919, which authorized the London County Council to build housing outside the County of London. The development followed cottage estate principles and spanned across Barking, Dagenham, and Ilford in the administrative county of Essex.
The official completion of the estate was celebrated in 1935. By that time, the development housed a population of approximately 100,000 people across 26,000 homes.