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 reopening on 1921 with a lake added. In 1927 it was closed again during which time the ground was levelled and new grass sown from seed. Finally in May 1931 it opened permanently.
The war memorial at the main entrance to the park was unveiled in May 1922. In 1933 the Dartford Harriers began using the park whereupon the council agreed to mark out a grass track at the southern end. In 1937 a bowling green and children's paddling pool were created. The paddling pool was used until 1970 and later replaced by one nearer to the library. In 1979 it was no longer considered safe so was demolished.
An annual fundraising carnival at the park began from 1936 in aid of the Livingstone Cottage Hospital this went on to become the Dartford Festival as we know its now.
In April 1984 the South African born athlete Zola Budd ran her first competitive race in the UK on the cinder path athletics track at Central Park setting the woman's track record of 9 minutes and 2.6 seconds in the 3000m.
Nowadays the park boasts a skate park, children's water play area, playground, cafe, outdoor fitness area, bandstand and ornamental gardens. The Henry Wellcome Bandstand bears the symbolic unicorn trademark of Burroughs Wellcome (used as their logo from 1908 to 1955). This is a salute to the town's pharmaceutical past. The bandstand was opened on 20th June 2010. Normally over the Summer the council host a range of music events including the Dartford Festival in July.
Near to the tunnel leading to Brooklands Lake is a tribute statue to Mick Jagger striking his iconic pose with a Vox amplifier and four small Dartford Warblers. All three are emblematic of the town. It was designed by Ben Pimenta who was a pupil at Dartford Grammar.
The River Darent at Central Park is currently part of a restoration project between the South East Rivers Trust, the Environment Agency and Dartford Borough Council. This will hopefully have a positive impact by increasing the area's wildlife diversity for the future.
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 ...
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 a...
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