Editing Dagenham (section)

===Whitebait Dinners===
Dagenham was formerly home to the famous annual whitebait feast. The custom appears to have been started by the King's Commissioner of Works to celebrate the closure of the breach in the seawall around 1714–20, and was held every subsequent spring, on or around [[Trinity Sunday]].

Many years later, [[Sir Robert Preston, 6th Baronet|Sir Robert Preston MP]], invited his friend [[George Rose (politician)|George Rose]] the Secretary of the Treasury and others to celebrate the feast, and on another occasion Rose invited the Prime Minister, [[William Pitt the Younger|William Pitt]]. Thereafter it became an obligatory ritual of government for the entire cabinet to come to Dagenham and celebrate the security of the Thames and over time this simple but hearty meal based on Whitebait and local Essex Ale grew more lavish, including turtle, grouse, champagne and a range of other luxury food and drink. Eventually the cabinet tired of the long trip to Dagenham and moved the event to [[Greenwich]].<ref>Simon Schama – Landscape and Memory p352-354</ref>