The origins of the modern club are unclear, with several potential claims;
Barking Institute was either formed around 1896 as Barking Working Lads' Institute (or possibly earlier as Barking Working Men's Institute) or was a renamed Barking Rovers, who had been established in 1880 and later renamed by the Church Institute when they took over running it. They won the
Essex Senior Cup in 1893–94 and 1895–96, before becoming champions of Division One of the
South Essex League in 1898–99, the Leyton & District League in 1899–1900, Division Two of the South Essex League in 1900–02 and Division Two A in 1901–01, before changing its name to
Barking in 1902. They also played in the
London League, winning Division One A in 1909–10, before winning the South Essex League again in 1911–12, a season in which they also won the
London Senior Cup for the first time. In 1912 Barking became founder members of the
Athenian League, but withdrew after only two matches and their record was expunged. In 1919 the club changed its name to
Barking Town, going on to win the Essex Senior Cup in the 1919–20 season. The following season they won the Premier Division of the London League and the London Senior Cup, before rejoining the Athenian League in 1923. The
1926–27 season saw them reach the first round of the
FA Cup, eventually losing to
Gillingham in a replay. They also reached the final of the
FA Amateur Cup, where they lost 3–1 to
Leyton, but did win the London Senior Cup for a third time. They reached the first round of the FA Cup again in
1928–29, but lost 6–0 at
Exeter City. In 1932 they reverted to the name
Barking, and in 1934–35 won the Athenian League title. Following
World War II, Barking won the 1945–46 Essex Senior Cup. In 1952 they switched to the
Isthmian League, but had to wait until
1978–79 before winning the league again; during that period they won further Essex Senior Cup titles in 1962–63 and 1969–70. The 1978–79 season also saw them reach the second round of the
FA Cup, defeating
Yeovil Town in the first round, before losing 2–1 at home to
Aldershot, as well as winning the London Senior Cup for a fourth time. The
following season they reached the second round again, defeating
Third Division Oxford United before losing 3–1 to
Reading. In
1981–82 they took Gillingham to a replay in the second round, losing 3–1. Their last appearance in the second round came in
1983–84, when they lost 2–1 at
Plymouth Argyle. The
2023–24 season saw Barking finish fourth in the Essex Senior League, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. They went on to lose 1–0 to
Romford in the semi-finals. ==Ground==