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| Northfleet | |
  Northfleet shown within Kent |
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| Population | 13,300 (2005)1 |
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| OS grid reference | |
| District | Gravesham |
| Shire county | Kent |
| Region | South East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Gravesend |
| Postcode district | DA11 |
| Dialling code | 01474 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| European Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Gravesham |
| List of places: UK • England • Kent | |
Northfleet is a town in Kent, England. Its name is derived from North creek (or inlet), and the settlement on the shore of the River Thames adjacent to Gravesend was known as Norfluet in the Domesday Book, and Northflet in 1201. By 1610 the name of Northfleet had become established.
Contents |
History
Rosherville Gardens
- Further information: Rosherville Gardens
In 1815 the first steamboat started plying between Gravesend and London: an event which was to bring much prosperity to the area. The number of visitors steadily increased, and in the course of the next ten years several new and rival steam packets were started.. With the regular service given by the steam packets, amenities for the entertainment of visitors began to spring up. One of those amenities was Rosherville Gardens.
The gardens were laid out in 1837 by George Jones in one of the disused chalk pits, covering an area of 17 acres (69,000 m²). Their full title was the 'Kent Zoological and Botanical Gardens Institution’. They occupied an area in what was to become Rosherville New Town (see below).
Robert Hiscock, in his A History of Gravesend (Phillimore, 1976) describes them thus:
They were a place of surpassing beauty and a favourite resort of Londoners. Adorned with small Greek temples and statuary set in the cliffs, there were terraces, and archery lawn, Bijou theatre, and Baronial Hall for refreshments, and at one time a lake. At night the gardens were illuminated with thousands of coloured lights and there were fireworks displays and dancing. Famous bands such as the American Sousa were engaged during the season. Blondin, the trapeze artist, performed … In 1857 as many as 20,000 visitors passed through the turnstiles in one week. By 1880 the gardens had reached the peak of their popularity … in 1901 they were closed. During a brief revival 1903-1911, they were used in the making of early films.
A pier was built to carry these crowds ashore, and a railway station opened on the Gravesend West branch railway. It was one of the steamboats from Rosherville Gardens that was involved in a horrific accident in 1878. The Princess Alice passenger steamer, after leaving Rosherville pier, was in a collision with the collier Bywell Castle, from Woolwich. 640 people died from the collision, 240 being children. An inquest was held at Woolwich, but no conclusive reason was ever established as to the cause of the disaster at the Devils Elbow on the Thames.
Rosherville New Town
Joseph Rosher gave his name to a building scheme which began with the building of new houses in 1830. A prospectus states that ‘ this spot will ultimate become to Gravesend what St Leonards is to Hastings and Broadstairs to Margate’. That grandiose scheme did not materialise in quite that way, but the area of Northfleet still bears that name.
Northfleet during the Second World War
On Friday, 16 August 1941 150 German aircraft flew through the Kent skies, to deal the worst blow to civilian life the county had experienced to that point in the war. With the formation splitting into groups to be variously challenged from Manston, Kenley, Hornchurch, Biggin Hill and Hawkinge airfields, a group of Dorniers made it to Northfleet a little after midday.
It was reported that about 106 high explosive bombs ranging from 50-250 kilos were dropped over the town and its industrial complex. A total of 29 people were killed, and 27 injured with two schools badly damaged.
Governance
Northfleet Urban District Council was set up under the Local Government Act of 1894. Within its boundaries were the hamlets of Northfleet Green and Nash Street, as well as the now built-up Perry Street; and the later estates at Shears Green, Istead Rise and Downs Road. Northfleet was merged, inter alia, with Gravesend to become Gravesham District Council on 1 April 1974.
Industry and Commerce
With its situation on a busy waterway such as the River Thames, at a point where higher land came close to the river, it was an obvious place for industry to be located. The river provided water supplies and the means whereby raw materials and products could be transported. The forests of the area provided timber for various aspects of most industries.
Cement
The Romans first began to dig chalk from the area, but the making of cement came later. The industry requires plentiful water supplies, and chalk as its main ingredient, both of which were to hand. When in 1796, James Parker set up kilns on Northfleet creek to make his Roman cement, it was the beginning of a large complex of cement works along this stretch of the river2. The manufacture of Portland cement began in April 1846 when William Aspdin, son of Joseph Aspdin, its inventor, acquired Parker's works and built new kilns.
Aspdin's works became Robins & Co in 1853, sold on to the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers (APCM) in 1900, which was taken over by the Lafarge Group in 2001. By 1900, there were nine cement works operating on the Thames between Swanscombe and Gravesend. The last remaining cement plant in Northfleet will cease operation by end of 2008.
Northfleet Dockyard
Northfleet was by 1800 the home of numerous shipyards which had produced many fine vessels, but the docks were in decline by 1843. One such yard was owned by Thomas Pitcher, a shipwright, laid out in 1788. A list of merchant vessels built at his yard included at least 25 ships for the East Indies and West Indies services, and about the same number for the Navy. In 1839 the company was in the hands of Pitcher's sons William and Henry. The yard finally closed in 1860. There is a fine model of such a ship in St. Botolph's Church
Cable works
Another large employee of labour in Northfleet is the cable works. Originally Henley’s, now AEI, they occupy the land originally once used by the Rosherville Gardens.
Transport
Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) construction
With the opening in 2003 of the first section of the CTRL which, in part, utilised a long-closed branch railway between Longfield and Gravesend West stations, Section Two was begun. It leaves the first section at Pepper Hill and immediately turns north-westwards; passing under the River Thames downstream of the existing Dartford crossings & heading towards St Pancras station in north London where a new terminus is being built. There will be an intermediate station at Stratford, east London. Another new station, Ebbsfleet International railway station, in the Ebbsfleet Valley near Northfleet, has been built. This will also be served by domestic trains running to or from Gravesend, Ashford or towns in east Kent. Eurostar began running over the more direct line in 2007, from which date they ceased to serve Waterloo Station.
With the opening in 2003 of the first section of the CTRL which, in part, utilised a long-closed branch railway between Longfield and Gravesend West stations, Section Two was begun. It leaves the first section at Pepper Hill and immediately turns north-westwards; passing under the River Thames downstream of the existing Dartford crossings & heading towards St Pancras station in north London where a new terminus is being built. There will be an intermediate station at Stratford, east London. Another new station, Ebbsfleet International railway station, in the Ebbsfleet Valley near Northfleet, has been built. This will also be served by domestic trains running to or from Gravesend, Ashford or towns in east Kent. Eurostar began running over the more direct line in 2007, from which date they ceased to serve Waterloo Station.
Northfleet churches
The ancient parish church of Northfleet(dating from the 14th century, but with work from earlier periods) is dedicated to St Botolph. Its tower was built in 1717, after the original had fallen. The church contains a C14th carved oak screen, which is thought to be the oldest in Kent. Rosherville St Mark's Church is now part of the Team ministry with St. Botolph's church. The other active church in Northfleet is at Perry Street (All Saints' Church Perry Street), which is an Anglo catholic church. All Saints Perry Street is the largest Anglican parish in Gravesham Borough with a quarter of the Gravesham population living within its boundaries.
The Roman Catholic church, designed by Giles Gilbert Scott and with its tower foreshadowing his Liverpool Cathedral, is built entirely of brown brick. It was constructed in 1914. There is also a United Reformed Church on Dover Road in Northfleet.
Culture and Community
Rotary Club in Northfleet
The Rotary Club of Northfleet was founded in 1954 and chartered as the Rotary Club of Northfleet - Club No 793 in R.I.B.I. District 1120. click here for Northfleet Rotary Club website
The club's name was changed in 2005 to Northfleet with Ebbsfleet Rotary Club, to reflect the emerging growth of nearby Ebbsfleet area, with its developing infrastructure of Bluewater shopping complex, new High Speed Rail terminal at Ebbsfleet Station, and commercial and residential properties being developed as part of the wider development the Thames Gateway project.
History of Northfleet Rotary Club: In 1954 a group of local people set up a Rotary club in Northfleet. The club originally had members from many local industries (cement, engineering, paper making etc), but as these industries declined along the river front, so membership changed. The club used to meet at lunchtime for many years, but this changed to evening meetings a few years ago. Northfleet Rotary Club, like most Rotary clubs also voted to accept women into Rotary membership, which is by invitation.
Current members represent many diverse backgrounds - eg, accountancy, banking, dentistry, education, funeral service, industrial, law, manufacturing, medicine, religion, retailing, transportation, etc.
Rotary club members are a diverse group of business and professional people who meet regularly for fellowship, to share ideas and plan projects to address various local community and international service needs and to promote peace and understanding throughout the world. The Rotary Motto is: "Service above Self"
Sports
Gravesend and Northfleet football club
Although one would suppose Gravesend to be the main influence in the history of this club, as it was listed first when the towns' clubs merged, it was in fact Northfleet that was to be responsible for the early significant accomplishment of the association football club now known as Ebbsfleet United F.C. Ebbsfleet is currently in the Conference National under manager Liam Daish and his assistant, Alan Kimble. Star players are Charlie MacDonald and the local legend Jimmy Jackson. The 2004/05 squad contained the Northern Ireland national team reserve player Roy Essandoh, a player once purchased off of TeleText by Wycombe Wanderers and who later went on to secure a FA Cup Semi-Final appearance at the hands of Leicester City.
References
- ^ "2005 Ward Level Population Estimates" (PDF). Kent County Council (September 2006). Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
- ^ A J Francis, The Cement Industry 1796-1914: a History, David & Charles, 1977, ISBN 0-7153-7386-2
External links
- Details of the Northfleet cement works
- Dartford Archive - includes details of William Aspdin’s work
- Rosherville gardens
- All Saints' Church Perry Street
- Shears Green Community Infant School web site
- Northfleet Technology College High school website
- Northfleet with Ebbsfleet Rotary Club (chartered 1954)
- Robert H Hiscock, A History of Gravesend, Phillimore, 1976, ISBN 0-85033-242-7
- Frank W Jessup, Kent History Illustrated, Kent County Council, 1966, ISBN 0-900947-06-3
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