My Secret Dartford

 

Mick  aged 3, 1946 Age 9, 1951 The legend and bad boy of rock Mick Jagger was born in Dartford on 26th July 1943. He was the son of a hairdresser/housewife and a PE teacher.  Mick lived in Denver Road and attended Wentworth Primary School with Keith Richards who at this time was round the corner in Chastillion Road.  After passing the 11+ he went on to attend Dartford Grammar School leaving with seven 'O' levels and 2 'A' levels.  The school has a performing arts centre named after him having opened in March 2000. Mick and Keith formed the band 'The Rolling Stones' after a chance meeting at Dartford Train Station.  Mick was studying at the London School of Economics but quit to pursue music.  The band was propelled to fame with hits like 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction' and 'Angie'. “If anyone asks me where The Rolling Stones come from, I am always pleased to be able to say ‘Dartford’ and tell them all about it. Dartford is probably more famous

Everard Hesketh was educated at Marlborough College and subsequently the engineering department at King's College London. He won the Easton Scholarship permitting him to undertake a three year apprenticeship at Easton and Anderson of Erith. Source: Dartford Town Archive Everard came to Dartford in 1878 to work as a draughtsman for J&E Hall and by 1880 was the manager. He turned the failing company around having successfully introduced the production of refrigeration equipment and later pioneering the use of carbon dioxide. Hesketh was a prominent local politician who was elected to the Local Board and in 1889 became Dartford's first representative on Kent County Council. On 20th April 1904 Hesketh Park was opened  'To provide a retreat wherein Youth may gambol, Middle Age seek recreation and old Age reflect and find peace.' as a donation from him to the people of Dartford.  Hesketh Park in Autumn Sources: Grace's Guide- Everard Hesketh Dartford Town Archive -Eve

Bluewater is an out of town shopping centre located in Greenhithe just outside of Dartford.  In May 1996 building of the Shopping Centre began at the site of a former chalk quarry.  Tunnels were excavated under Bean Road to join the Eastern and Western Quarries allowing sand to be transported to the site.  Its  lakes were partially drained in preparation for construction of the basement levels and the cliffs were remodelled to permit vehicular access to the site.  It is  built across 20 hectares of lakes and parkland.   Bluewater opened on 16th March 1999. The layout is a triangular design with a flagship store at each corner; Marks&Spencer, John Lewis and House of Fraser.  This layout is considered easier for navigation.  To reflect the surrounding lakes swathes of glass are incorporated into the architecture.  The ventilation system is based on the traditional oast house with fresh air brought through rotating aluminium vents on the roof.  There are 13,000 free parking spaces and

A parish church is believed to have been in existence in Stone as early as 970 AD. In the Domesday Monachorum one name recorded is that of St Mary the Virgin, Stone. Internally, much of the interior of St Mary’s has remained unchanged since its construction in the 13th Century although there have been major periods of additional building work. How impressive must it be to go up into the bell tower! Source: Facebook Source: Facebook At the entrance to the churchyard  is a small garden created as a representation of the tomb and stone rolled away after Jesus' resurrection. Sources:   A brief history of St Mary's stmarystone.org Stone Church, St Mary the Virgin

  fireworks.co.uk In 1732 the former Dartford paper mills on Powdermill Lane were converted into gunpowder mills by Pyke and Edsall.   During the 18th Century Dartford played a significant role in gun powder production.  The ingredients were imported by ship to the Thames estuary.  Local woodlands provided the charcoal required and the river Darent was a source of water needed in the manufacturing process but also to drive the machinery.   Gunpowder manufacture was extremely dangerous and there were explosions at the site on a regular basis resulting in loss of life on occasion. Sources: darentvalley.org.uk-   Dartford Powder Mills and archeology Project Dartford Town Archive- Gunpowder 

The Romans brought roads to Britain including one from Londinium to Durovernum (London to Canterbury).  This was later named Watling Street.  It was a principal road during their rule. A map of Watling Street In 1897, the paved surface of the old Roman road was found towards the base of East Hill below the present roadway. It was constructed from large round pebbles set on end.  Roman stone coffins were discovered on East Hill in 1792 and 1882. In 2006 excavation of a Roman cemetery uncovered further remains but also prehistoric archeological evidence. Sources: Dartford Town archive- Archeology and Early History Kent Archeology - Excavation of later prehistoric remains and a Roman cemetery at East Hill, Dartford, 2006 Wikipedia : A map of Watling Street

Founded in 1957 by Thomas Walter Jennings, Vox is a musical instrument manufacturer. The Beetles and The Rolling Stones both used Vox amplifiers. The VOX AC30 was first made at 119 Dartford Road. It is world famous and catapulted the sound of British music into the global arena. Source: Kent Online Jennings worked for the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during World War II. In 1942 he was discharged on medical grounds and went to work at the Vickers munition plant in Crayford. Here he met amateur guitarist Dick Denny. Jennings started repairing accordions and trading in musical instruments in 1944. Two years later he set up his first shop in Dartford importing accordions and other musical instruments. Jennings invented the then popular Univox electric accordion. In 1957 he collaborated with Denny and they formed a partnership Jennings Musical Instruments (JMI) developing the AC15. The valves were prone to distortion due to their low headroom. This distortion was seen as a fau

Dartford Creek is one of the last remaining natural tidal creeks in London. It was built in 1981 to minimise flood risk from the Thames Estuary to Crayford and Dartford. There are two gates that travel vertically and are driven by a chain system. The gates are balanced by two water-filled counterweights. When they close, the barrier is able to withstand up to 7 metres of water above average sea level. Most of the time the gates are raised but when flooding is predicted by the Met Office both are closed. Raised embankments along the lower reaches of the Thames estuary also act as flood defences. Before the barrier was built Dartford flooded significantly  in 1953 and 1968. In the face of global warming should we be worried about Dartford flooding once more?  There is certainly a lot of new housing on floodplain and reclaimed marshland.  Take a look at this map and judge for yourself.  It shows the land projected to be below annual flood level in 2030.   Climate Central: Coastal Risk Scr

  Presumably they didn't want the riff raff of Marriott Road mixing with the more posh side on Brandon Road when they built the fence between the two.  The two roads are still separated today.  How bizarre!

Situated directly next to the library, Dartford town war memorial is a monument to the First World War.  It was erected in 1922 and commissioned by Dartford War Memorial Committee. Created by the sculptor Arthur Walker it has a further  dedication to the fallen of the Second World War (1939-45) and the Korean War (1950-53).  The model for the statue was a soldier recently returned from Flanders who survived to see photographs of it finished.  The statue is cast from bronze with a granite pedestal and inscribed bronze plaques. In March 2015 two war memorial benches behind the statue were unveiled by council leader Jeremy Kite and the Mayor of Dartford Avtar Sandhu. Sources:  Kent Online-  Dartford memorial benches: Two commemorative benches honouring those who have died at war installed in Central Park, Dartford Historic England- Dartford War Memorial Wikipedia: Arthur George Walker

Source: Highways England  What's the deal with Dartford Traffic?  Just ask anybody from Dartford and they will have plenty to say on the matter! Routinely the M25 experiences traffic delays which can be exacerbated by trouble on the A2 snarling up road junctions in the surrounding areas.  Before long local roads inevitably back up and the whole of Dartford routinely grinds to a stand still, a hostage to the traffic.  Fun fact (ready irony here),  the detrimental impact to local air quality is significant 'For much of a typical day in many areas close to the crossing does not meet current air quality standards.'  The proposed solution is to build a Lower Thames Crossing to release pressure on Dartford/Thurrock crossing point.  The road will be 23km long including a 4km twin tunnel.  It will be the second longest road in the country connecting Gravesham, Kent with Turrock.  The project is expected to be completed in 2027.  Traffic capacity will increase across the Thames from

Burroughs Wellcome & Co at Dartford was founded in 1889 by Silas Burroughs and Henry Wellcome who were business partners originally from America. They refurbished the former paper mills and using the latest technology created a factory renowned for manufacturing pharmaceutical products. There was a small lake in front of the mills which was drained and cleaned, and the brick mill was converted to laboratories. An analytical department was added to the complex by 1897 to test raw materials. Often plants were grown on the company’s farm including deadly nightshade, foxglove, henbane, thorn apple and aconite . (Source: Wayback Laboratories) Burroughs Wellcome & Co. Factory, Dartford Photograph c1890-1900.    Source: The Victorian Web One range of products manufactured at Burroughs Wellcome Dartford were their medicine chests which were supplied to explorers, expeditions, and royalty. The medicine chests were tailored to the needs in the part of the world that they would be used.

Electricity was historically generated at Littlebrook since 1939 when the first Power Station at the site was constructed. Littlebrook 'A' and B were coal powered. Although C was at first coal powered it was later converted to burn oil fuel from 1958. Littlebrook ‘D’ began generating electricity in 1981, and was the fourth power station to be built at the location. After storm force winds in October 1987 Littlebrook D had a significant role in restoring power to the South East of England due to its back-start capabilities i.e. it did not require an external source of power. Littlebrook Power Station closed in 2015 as it was believed unprofitable to bring it up to necessary environmental standards and subsequently demolished by explosion on Friday 30 August 2019. Source: Wikipedia- Littlebrook Power Station Powerstations UK

Wat Tyler or Walter Tyler was the leader of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. This was a protest against the poll tax of the time and a push for social reform and greater equality. As a result of the revolt Wat Tyler became a local hero. There is a pub in Dartford named after him where it is suggested he spent time. The Peasants' Revolt began 35 years after the Black Death had decimated Europe resulting in labour shortages. Peasants realised that there was a shortage of people to work the land and wanted better pay and conditions.  The government passed a law to stop wage rises and to make matters worse a poll tax was introduced to support the war with France.  Three times in four years the tax was demanded so that everybody over the age of 15 irrespective of their earnings had to pay 4 pence.  This   disproportionately affected the poor and peasants encouraged by the teaching of John Ball a radical priest were led to take action.   When a tax collector arrived in an Essex village

Trivia quiz 1  Trivia quiz 2 How well do you know Dartford?  Try these two quizzes to find out! 

The concept of workhouses was a developing part of the welfare system back in Elizabethan times when parishes collected money from residents. In the 1723 parliament passed an act called ' The Workhouse Test Act ' which was a legal framework for running workhouses. The workhouse was a place for people whom handouts were not enough. If people were able to work they could earn their board and lodging. The cost of handouts was increasing so a new standard national system was introduced in 1834. It's aim was to bring down costs and if you were destitute but able bodied this is where you went and were expected to work.  Families were not kept together.  Men, women and children were separated accordingly.  In order to be allowed into the workhouse you would have to live in the catchment. There was an official called the Relieving Officer who was able to offer people a place at the workhouse. Once in, those in its care were provided with clothing and their own clothes were placed

This is a little sanctuary hidden under our noses along Princes Road that can be accessed at various places including a tunnel from Dartford Park. Here is a taste of the very beautiful Brooklands Lake and its wildlife. If you find a nice spot to sit and pause without requiring much patience you will see some wonderful wildlife. Bringing frozen peas is recommended to feed the birds and coming early in the morning since it gets very busy. The coots make their nests in hard to reach places! The swans are especially lovely because they are quite at home in the presence of people. They are very docile as long as you treat them with respect. If you look carefully you might find the terrapins. They are a little bit further round from the old Home Base side. The lake is popular for carpe fishing which looks a wonderful way to enjoy the lake tranquility. DDAPS Brooklands lake map