My Secret Dartford

'Dirty Dartford, peculiar people, Bury their dead above the steeple.' As a result of overcrowding at Holy Trinity Church, in the 1690's burials began at St Edmunds Pleasance. Since it is much higher and in fact looks down upon the church, it led to this bizarre rhyme. It was Dartford's main burial ground until 1857. Originally the location was the site of a chapel built after the death of St Edmund the martyr in 870 AD. It was one of three local chapels mentioned in the Doomsday book of 1086. In its grounds is the Martyrs' Memorial which commemorates Christopher Wade, a Dartford linen weaver who refused to renounce his protestant faith and was publicly burnt to the stake in July 1555. Margaret Polley who burned in Tunbridge and Nicholas Hall who burned in Rochester are also commemorated. Their deaths were brought about because Mary I (daughter of Henry VIII), made efforts to return England to Catholicism and resurrected laws against heresy. During this time, 280 peo

Sylvia undata or the Dartford Warbler is a small, dark brown long-tailed bird with a distinctive red ring around it's eye. It is found in lowland heaths south of the Thames among other locations in the UK. The Dartford warbler was first recognised in 1773 by John Latham an ornithologist who was given a pair that had been shot on Bexleyheath.  In 1783 he included the warbler in his 'A general Synopsis of Birds'. Available as a mug at Amazon and other retailers! Just in case you really love birds there is a t-shirt too!  (Who knew this little bird was so popular to have its own range of merchandise!) Amazon- Dartford Warbler Half Pint Mug Ninebarrow- Navy Dartford Warbler Navy T-shirt alderneywildlife.org Habitat preferences of the Dartford Warbler on Aldeney Wikipedia- Dartford warbler

Lt-Col Charles Newman Kidd J.P   In 1903 Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Newman Kidd offered five acres of land to be developed by the town into recreational grounds with the condition that it be used 'in perpetuity as a public recreation ground and for no other purpose whatsoever'. Dartford Council  consequently  opened the area as  'Central Recreational Ground' to the public in June 1905. Ceremonially, there was a procession from outside the council offices to the park entrance at Lowfield street  and Kidd was presented with a silver key to unlock the gates. Dartford Volunteer Silver Band performed on the original bandstand in celebration. In 1910 the park grew when Bank House on the high street was converted into council offices.  A large part of its garden was added to the park.  In 1915 the council expanded the grounds further purchasing 16 acres of meadows bordering the river Darent.  It opened to the public in May 1916 but closed shortly after due to a lack of staff r

BBC Essex Kent Live Thurrock Gazette Highways England It is hard to imagine a time before the M25 sliced though Dartford and the bridge linked it up.  Before the QE2 Bridge construction there was originally just the tunnels linking Kent and Essex.  Work on the first tunnel began in 1936 and was paused by the Second World War.  It resumed in the 1950s opening in 1963 allowing for single lane traffic in both directions.  The second tunnel opened in 1980.

Famed for the iconic QE2 bridge joining Kent and Essex and Mick Jagger of course…… there has go to be more to Dartford than this! I thought I would do my own research project to find out more about the place I live, the history (which dates back to Saxon times apparently) and its people. This is my learning journey. Dartford is commuter belt for London. It is currently experiencing a period of regeneration at the heart of the town centre. The housing stock is a walk through history which I always find fascinating and I guess the abundance of pubs is part of its past too. The earliest pub in Dartford dates back to 1703 but I digress.  With easy access to London and only a stones throw away from the Kent countryside Dartford has the best of both worlds. Bluewater Shopping Centre is on its doorstep which some may see as a blessing others a curse! The under belly of the QE2 Bridge