Sittingbourne
Encyclopedia
Sittingbourne is an industrial town about eight miles (12.9 km) east of Gillingham in England
, beside the Roman
Watling Street
off a creek in the Swale
, a channel separating the Isle of Sheppey
from mainland Kent
. The town is growing rapidly due to a number of large residential developments, and its train line links to London Victoria and HS1 to St Pancras International, the journey taking about an hour from Sittingbourne railway station
.
The Kent Hundred Rolls of 1274-5, preserved in the National Archives, record Sittingbourne as Sydingeburn in the following entries "
Item dicunt quod Johannes Maresescall de Synele tenet unam parvam purpresturam in villa de Sydingeburn et solvit domino regi per annum 1d et dominus rex nichil perdit et quod Petrus de London tenet unam parvam purpresturam in villa de Sydingeburn et solvit inde per annum domino regi 1d et rex nichil perdit." Translated as, "Then they say John Marshall de Synele holds one small encroachment in the vill of Sittingbourne and he pays the lord king 1d. each year and the lord king loses nothing and that Peter of London holds one small encroachment in the vill of Sittingbourne and he pays 1d. each year to the lord king and the king loses nothing."
and Dover
, built Watling Street
, which passed straight through Sittingbourne. As a point where sea access met road access, Milton Regis
as a port became the Roman Administrative Centre for the area with some 20 villas so far discovered, but Sittingbourne remained a minor hamlet during their 400 year reign. Most modern Roman history of this area of Kent was found thanks to the efforts of 19th century brick makers who used topsoil to make bricks, and uncovered the finds; and preserved thanks to the efforts of banker George Payne, who preserved or bought materials and published his works in 1893 in Collectanca Cantiana.
, merely a note attached to Milton with a population of 309. However, after the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury
, Thomas Becket
in 1170, pilgrims began to make the journey to Canterbury Cathedral
and Sittingbourne became a useful hostelry for many travellers. Sittingbourne is mentioned as a stopping point in The Canterbury Tales
, with the Summoner in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue says:
At this time, the 13th century Parish of St Michael church was constructed, and the High Street contained 13 pubs and hostels. The Lyon - now the Red Lion - played host to King Henry V of England
on his way back from the Battle of Agincourt
, and Henry VIII
visited Sittingbourne in 1522 and 1532. In 1708 the Rose Inn was built, described by a noted traveller as one of the best in England, where Queen Victoria later stayed overnight.
s and aeroplanes during the First World War. The Germans used the town as a reference point for bearings on the way to London.
The first visit by a German
aeroplane happened on Christmas Day 1914. Guns at Sheerness
fired at the lone invader but still one shell dropped into a field at Iwade. The next event was to occur on 16 January 1915 when another solitary pilot from a German aerodrome in Belgium
bombed Sittingbourne. This aircraft, a Taube
, was pursued by two local airmen, but managed to escape after dropping a couple of bombs.
About 100 air raid warnings were sounded in Sittingbourne during the First World War and anti-aircraft batteries were strengthened in 1917. The last big raid to pass over the town on Whit Sunday (19 May 1918), carried out by a number of Gothas, eliciting perhaps the most ferocious barrage from the ground defences the town had ever seen.
The local newspaper, the East Kent Gazette, reported:
The second Gotha was surrounded by British fighters shortly after, returning from a successful raid on London.
Paper manufacture at Kemsley Paper Mill
is still the areas largest employer. Much of the surrounding Kentish countryside is good farming land, and being southerly in the UK many varieties of fruit are grown nearby, with this part of Kent being particularly famous for apples and cherries. Fruit preserving and packing are hence large employers, while new industrial and retail parks provide additional employment and services.
The current MP
, is Conservative Party (UK)
Gordon Henderson. The town is twinned with Ypres
in Belgium
.
, which is not found in many other places in Europe in such abundance. This led to the development associated industries: water transport, paper, and cement; all of which continue today in the area.
were all made at Sittingbourne and transported to the site by barge.
Sittingbourne developed into a port during the industrial revolution
, from which Kentish produce was transported to the London markets. During this era over 500 types of barges are believed to have been built, centred around Conyer
, a Roman
hamlet of the village of Teynham
, found at the head of a small creek between Sittingbourne and Faversham
.
After World War II
, these activities began to fall into a decline, so that only the Burley yard continued with the repair of barges until about 1965.
Charles Burley (was a brick maker and barge owner). He occupied the yard in Crown Quay Lane. Now occupied by a builders' merchant.
This lack of barge repairs led the creek to become silted and derelict. In 1968, the site was owned by Bourncrete Limited, manufacturers of concrete
products.
The yard was then leased to the newly established Dolphin Sailing Barge Museum Trust.
The inlet alongside the Museum usually contains at least one vessel brought to the yard for restoration
, including the famous sailing barge .
The towns links with water transport survive today, through a bronze statue of a bargeman in the town centre.
The Dolphin Sailing Barge Museum was destroyed by arson in 2008.
The museum is now awaiting relocation to a new site
It will be moving to Whitstable
Harbour
Paper manufacture started in Sittingbourne in 1708, when Peter Archer was recorded as a Paper Maker. Sittingbourne Mill existed from circa 1769, which by 1820 had grown and was owned by Edward Smith. The Daily Chronicle
owner Edward Lloyd
bought the site in 1863. Using pulped straw from the local farmers and esparto
(imported from Algeria
and Southern Spain
) as a replacement for expensive cotton rag which was becoming more expensive; the output supplied newsprint his mills in Bow.
To speed production, in 1904 Lloyd built a wharf on the tidal inlet at Milton Creek, and a horse-drawn tramway to carry materials to the mill. On what is now known as the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, in 1906 the first of three steam locomotives, Premier, came into service, all 0-4-2 Brazil type tank engines sourced from Kerr Stuart
. In 1913 the railway was extended to the new dock built at Ridham. In 1912, Sittingbourne Paper Mill was the largest producer of newsprint in the world, with its 1,200 employees using 17 machines to make over 2000 tonnes per week, supplying the demands of Fleet Street
.
In 1924, Lloyd's son built a new factory at Kemsley
, together with a model village for employees. He died in 1936, when the Lloyd group was taken over by Sir William Berry
, who in 1936 formed the Bowater-Lloyd Group
. After both plants were acquired by Metsa Serla in 1998, the decision was made to close the Sittingbourne Mill in October 2006, with the last reel produced on the 23rd January, 2007.
, Sittingbourne Community College
, The Westlands School and two single sex Grammar Schools, Borden Grammar School
(Boys) and Highsted Grammar School
(Girls). The grammar schools select chldren at age 11 using the Kent Test, an eleven-plus exam.
Sittingbourne Adult Education Centre provides some post-16 and adult training in the town and there is an Adult Skills centre located in the town centre.
Roads came early to Sittingbourne, with the Roman construction of Watling Street
. The equally straight A2 main road
and M2 motorway now follow a similar route, and provide access to the town. The A249 passes the town on the west, heading between Maidstone and Sheerness.
In Kemsley
, a new road is being constructed (Sittingbourne Northern Relief road) to link with the Eurolink Business Estate and East Hall Farm residential development (on the north-east of the town).
Bus services are provided mainly by Arriva Southern Counties
.
From 1853, after the agreement to connect Strood
to Canterbury via the East Kent Railway
of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
, Sittingbourne has had a railway station
. Today the three platform station is served by both the Chatham Main Line
and the Sheerness Line
, and is located 44 miles 1260 yards from London Victoria according to the mileage sign on the footbridge. Train services are provided by Southeastern
.
Since 2010, Southeastern have opened up a service from Faversham
involving the HS1 line, this service runs from Faversham all the way to London St Pancras. It also links with the Eurotunnel
service (to France
) from Ebbsfleet International.
The preserved former paper mill railway the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway
still exists today. In 1965 it was decided that the railway was uneconomic, with the significant progress made in the use of the car, and so lorries were more commonly used for transporting produce. Consequently by 1969 the Bowater
Light Railway, much loved as it was by the firm (and with assistance of Capt Peter Manisty) was handed over to the Locomotive Club of Great Britain to be preserved and operated as the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway. It has since become a significant feature in the town's tourist industry, and provides the only method of transport to the annual Sittingbourne Beer Festival. However, it has been under threat of closure since 2008 when M-real
sold the site to a property developer.
Recently, the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway, has reopened for the time being. for more information please look at the website. the light railway looks like it has a future under the new owners of Sittingbourne mill, Essential Land, who have stated that they wanted to keep the light railway for the future of the history of Sittingbourne.
On 24 February 2010, Ofcom
announced that Sittingbourne would get its own local community radio station. SFM plans to launch in early 2012 to provide a full local radio service for the Sittingbourne area. http://www.sfmradio.com
(nicknamed "The Brickies"), currently play their games at Bourne Park, a former training pitch behind the main Central Park Stadium, which is currently used for greyhound racing. The club play in the Ryman League Division One South.
Motorcycle speedway racing has been staged near Sittingbourne for a number of years. The track was originally used for training alone but since 1994 the Sittingbourne Crusaders
took part in the Conference League and other competitions. The track remains today as a popular speedway
training facility open to riders all over the country. Sittingbourne Speedway Website
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, beside the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
off a creek in the Swale
The Swale
The name The Swale refers to the strip of sea separating North Kent from the Isle of Sheppey.- History :The name "Swale" is Old English in origin, and is believed to mean "swirling, rushing river", or "rushing water"....
, a channel separating the Isle of Sheppey
Isle of Sheppey
The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England in the Thames Estuary, some to the east of London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale...
from mainland Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. The town is growing rapidly due to a number of large residential developments, and its train line links to London Victoria and HS1 to St Pancras International, the journey taking about an hour from Sittingbourne railway station
Sittingbourne railway station
Sittingbourne railway station is on the Chatham Main Line and the Sheerness Line in north Kent. The station is 44 miles 1260 yards from London Victoria according to the mileage sign on the footbridge. Train services are provided by Southeastern...
.
History
Sittingbourne owes its name to a modernised version of an observation on its location. The town's name came from the fact that there is a small stream or "bourne" running underground in part of the town. Hasted writing in the 1790s in his History of Kent states that:The Kent Hundred Rolls of 1274-5, preserved in the National Archives, record Sittingbourne as Sydingeburn in the following entries "
Item dicunt quod Johannes Maresescall de Synele tenet unam parvam purpresturam in villa de Sydingeburn et solvit domino regi per annum 1d et dominus rex nichil perdit et quod Petrus de London tenet unam parvam purpresturam in villa de Sydingeburn et solvit inde per annum domino regi 1d et rex nichil perdit." Translated as, "Then they say John Marshall de Synele holds one small encroachment in the vill of Sittingbourne and he pays the lord king 1d. each year and the lord king loses nothing and that Peter of London holds one small encroachment in the vill of Sittingbourne and he pays 1d. each year to the lord king and the king loses nothing."
Romans
There is evidence of settlement in the area before 2000BC, with farming and trading based Celtic tribes living inland to avoid attack, yet close enough to access the sea at Milton Creek. In 43AD, the Romans invaded Kent, and to make access quicker between LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, built Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
, which passed straight through Sittingbourne. As a point where sea access met road access, Milton Regis
Milton Regis
Milton Regis is a village in the district of Swale in Kent, England. It has a population of about 5,100. Today it is a suburb of Sittingbourne although this has not always been the case. Milton Regis has a much older and richer history...
as a port became the Roman Administrative Centre for the area with some 20 villas so far discovered, but Sittingbourne remained a minor hamlet during their 400 year reign. Most modern Roman history of this area of Kent was found thanks to the efforts of 19th century brick makers who used topsoil to make bricks, and uncovered the finds; and preserved thanks to the efforts of banker George Payne, who preserved or bought materials and published his works in 1893 in Collectanca Cantiana.
Middle Age Hostelry
By the time of the Norman invasion in 1086, Sittingbourne was not recorded as part of the Domesday bookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, merely a note attached to Milton with a population of 309. However, after the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
in 1170, pilgrims began to make the journey to Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
and Sittingbourne became a useful hostelry for many travellers. Sittingbourne is mentioned as a stopping point in The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at...
, with the Summoner in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue says:
At this time, the 13th century Parish of St Michael church was constructed, and the High Street contained 13 pubs and hostels. The Lyon - now the Red Lion - played host to King Henry V of England
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
on his way back from the Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
, and Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
visited Sittingbourne in 1522 and 1532. In 1708 the Rose Inn was built, described by a noted traveller as one of the best in England, where Queen Victoria later stayed overnight.
Railway and industrial revolution
After the railway came in 1858, Sittingbourne became less of a market trading and hostelry stop-off, and more of an 19th century centre of production to fuel the expansion of London, by producing bricks and paper from its clay substrata.Air raids during the First World War
The area around Sittingbourne was subject to constant air raids by ZeppelinZeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
s and aeroplanes during the First World War. The Germans used the town as a reference point for bearings on the way to London.
The first visit by a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
aeroplane happened on Christmas Day 1914. Guns at Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
fired at the lone invader but still one shell dropped into a field at Iwade. The next event was to occur on 16 January 1915 when another solitary pilot from a German aerodrome in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
bombed Sittingbourne. This aircraft, a Taube
Rumpler Taube
The Etrich Taube, also known by the names of the various manufacturers who build versions of the type, such as the Rumpler Taube, was a pre-World War I monoplane aircraft. It was the first mass-produced military plane in Germany...
, was pursued by two local airmen, but managed to escape after dropping a couple of bombs.
About 100 air raid warnings were sounded in Sittingbourne during the First World War and anti-aircraft batteries were strengthened in 1917. The last big raid to pass over the town on Whit Sunday (19 May 1918), carried out by a number of Gothas, eliciting perhaps the most ferocious barrage from the ground defences the town had ever seen.
The local newspaper, the East Kent Gazette, reported:
- "The first of these duels occurred about an hour after the raid had been in progress, and probably this machine was caught while on its way to London. It was engaged by a daring aviation officer while at a great height. The British airman attacked his opponent so fiercely that the German was forced down to a lower height, and ultimately, to the joy of the onlookers, the Gotha burst into flames, seemed to break in two and came down piecemeal, all aflame. The wrecked machine and the three occupants fell by a farm. Two of the Germans fell into marshy ground and their bodies were deeply embedded in the mud. The third man's head struck a wall and was shattered like an eggshell. All three bodies were removed to a local aviation establishment. The fall of the burning Gotha was seen for miles around."
The second Gotha was surrounded by British fighters shortly after, returning from a successful raid on London.
Present day
Sittingbourne and its consumed suburb of Milton today is a thriving town, with much recent expansion by way of house-building in the former chalk and brick clay works digs. Expansion is powered greatly by the fact that London is just one hour away by train.Paper manufacture at Kemsley Paper Mill
Kemsley
Kemsley today is a suburb of Sittingbourne in Kent, England. At the end of the 19th century it was simply a row of cottages beside a brickworks until, in 1924 when Frank Lloyd built the new Paper mill. The site was served by the creek which allowed the transport of raw materials to the site...
is still the areas largest employer. Much of the surrounding Kentish countryside is good farming land, and being southerly in the UK many varieties of fruit are grown nearby, with this part of Kent being particularly famous for apples and cherries. Fruit preserving and packing are hence large employers, while new industrial and retail parks provide additional employment and services.
The current MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, is Conservative Party (UK)
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Gordon Henderson. The town is twinned with Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Economy
The local clay was suitable for making bricks, and North Kent is geologically rich in chalkChalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
, which is not found in many other places in Europe in such abundance. This led to the development associated industries: water transport, paper, and cement; all of which continue today in the area.
Brickmaking
Brickmaking continued in the town well into the nineteenth century. The bricks for the 3.45 miles (5,552.2 m) London Bridge – Greenwich Railway ViaductLondon Bridge – Greenwich Railway Viaduct
The London Bridge – Greenwich Railway Viaduct consists of a series of nineteen brick railway viaducts linked by road bridges between London Bridge railway station and Deptford Creek, which together make a single structure in length. The structure carries the former London and Greenwich Railway...
were all made at Sittingbourne and transported to the site by barge.
Bargebuilding & water transport
Barges were needed to move many other raw materials and finished goods into the Thames and to London and beyond. Sittingbourne was ideally suited for this purpose and a successful barge-building industry developed at Milton Creek.Sittingbourne developed into a port during the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, from which Kentish produce was transported to the London markets. During this era over 500 types of barges are believed to have been built, centred around Conyer
Conyer
Conyer is a riverside hamlet of Teynham in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. Located at the apex of Conyer Creek, near the junction with The Swale...
, a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
hamlet of the village of Teynham
Teynham
Teynham is a large village, and civil parish in Kent, England, in the district of Swale. The parish lies to the north of the A2 some three miles west of Faversham, and includes the hamlet of Conyer, on an inlet of the Swale, a channel that separates the mainland of Kent from the Isle of Sheppey...
, found at the head of a small creek between Sittingbourne and Faversham
Faversham
Faversham is a market town and civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The parish of Faversham grew up around an ancient sea port on Faversham Creek and was the birthplace of the explosives industry in England.-History:...
.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, these activities began to fall into a decline, so that only the Burley yard continued with the repair of barges until about 1965.
Charles Burley (was a brick maker and barge owner). He occupied the yard in Crown Quay Lane. Now occupied by a builders' merchant.
This lack of barge repairs led the creek to become silted and derelict. In 1968, the site was owned by Bourncrete Limited, manufacturers of concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
products.
The yard was then leased to the newly established Dolphin Sailing Barge Museum Trust.
The inlet alongside the Museum usually contains at least one vessel brought to the yard for restoration
Vehicle restoration
Vehicle restoration is the process of restoring a vehicle that is either partially scrapped or otherwise life expired back to its original working condition. Automotive restoration can be applied to many different eras of automobile. Heritage railways and railway museums aim to restore and operate...
, including the famous sailing barge .
The towns links with water transport survive today, through a bronze statue of a bargeman in the town centre.
The Dolphin Sailing Barge Museum was destroyed by arson in 2008.
The museum is now awaiting relocation to a new site
It will be moving to Whitstable
Whitstable
Whitstable is a seaside town in Northeast Kent, Southeast England. It is approximately north of the city of Canterbury and approximately west of the seaside town of Herne Bay. It is part of the City of Canterbury district and has a population of about 30,000.Whitstable is famous for its oysters,...
Harbour
Paper
Paper mills and brickfields were fed by barges that brought in sand, mud and household waste such as cinders for brick making, and took away the finished product on the return journey.Paper manufacture started in Sittingbourne in 1708, when Peter Archer was recorded as a Paper Maker. Sittingbourne Mill existed from circa 1769, which by 1820 had grown and was owned by Edward Smith. The Daily Chronicle
Daily Chronicle
The Daily Chronicle was a British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the Daily News to become the News Chronicle.-History:...
owner Edward Lloyd
Edward Lloyd (publisher)
Edward Lloyd was a British publisher.Born in Thornton Heath, Lloyd studied shorthand at the London Mechanics' Institution, then wrote a book on stenography. Before he was eighteen, he had opened shops in London to sell cheap books and valentines.From 1835, he began publishing cheap books, many...
bought the site in 1863. Using pulped straw from the local farmers and esparto
Esparto
Esparto, or esparto grass, also known as "halfah grass" or "needle grass", Macrochloa tenacissima and Stipa tenacissima, is a perennial grass grown in northwest Africa and the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula employed for crafts .-Esparto paper:It is also used for fiber production for paper...
(imported from Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and Southern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) as a replacement for expensive cotton rag which was becoming more expensive; the output supplied newsprint his mills in Bow.
To speed production, in 1904 Lloyd built a wharf on the tidal inlet at Milton Creek, and a horse-drawn tramway to carry materials to the mill. On what is now known as the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, in 1906 the first of three steam locomotives, Premier, came into service, all 0-4-2 Brazil type tank engines sourced from Kerr Stuart
Kerr Stuart
Kerr, Stuart and Company Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer from Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:It was founded in 1881 by James Kerr as James Kerr & Company, and became Kerr, Stuart & Company from 1883 when John Stuart was taken on as a partner...
. In 1913 the railway was extended to the new dock built at Ridham. In 1912, Sittingbourne Paper Mill was the largest producer of newsprint in the world, with its 1,200 employees using 17 machines to make over 2000 tonnes per week, supplying the demands of Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
.
In 1924, Lloyd's son built a new factory at Kemsley
Kemsley
Kemsley today is a suburb of Sittingbourne in Kent, England. At the end of the 19th century it was simply a row of cottages beside a brickworks until, in 1924 when Frank Lloyd built the new Paper mill. The site was served by the creek which allowed the transport of raw materials to the site...
, together with a model village for employees. He died in 1936, when the Lloyd group was taken over by Sir William Berry
William Berry
William Berry may refer to:* William Berry , First Settler of Hampton, New Hampshire* William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose , British newspaper publisher* William Berry...
, who in 1936 formed the Bowater-Lloyd Group
Bowater
Bowater was an American pulp and paper company based in Greenville, South Carolina. Bowater had 12 pulp and paper mills in the United States, Canada and South Korea and 13 North American sawmills. It had approximately 10,000 employees...
. After both plants were acquired by Metsa Serla in 1998, the decision was made to close the Sittingbourne Mill in October 2006, with the last reel produced on the 23rd January, 2007.
Education
Sittingbourne and the surrounding area have a number of primary schools. The main secondary schools in the town are Fulston Manor SchoolFulston Manor School
Fulston Manor School is a secondary School in Sittingbourne, Kent. The head teacher is Alan Brookes. It teaches years 7-13 ....
, Sittingbourne Community College
Sittingbourne Community College
The Sittingbourne Community College is an 11-18 school located in Sittingbourne, Kent, with just over 1100 students.The school offers a Post-16 unit, which offers a variety of courses....
, The Westlands School and two single sex Grammar Schools, Borden Grammar School
Borden Grammar School
Borden Grammar School is a selective boys grammar school situated in the centre of Sittingbourne, Kent, England which educates students aged 11–18. Whilst the school mainly admits boys, a small number girls have been educated at the school within the Sixth Form. The school holds specialist status...
(Boys) and Highsted Grammar School
Highsted Grammar School
Highsted Grammar School is a state-funded selective secondary school for girls in Sittingbourne, Kent.The school was established in 1904 in Brenchley House on the High Street as Sittingbourne County School for Girls....
(Girls). The grammar schools select chldren at age 11 using the Kent Test, an eleven-plus exam.
Sittingbourne Adult Education Centre provides some post-16 and adult training in the town and there is an Adult Skills centre located in the town centre.
Transport
Transport has always played a large part of Sittingbourne's history, geographically located midway between the major port of Dover and the important capital of London was the reason for an enlarged settlement at Sittingbourne.Roads came early to Sittingbourne, with the Roman construction of Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
. The equally straight A2 main road
A2 road (Great Britain)
The A2 is a major road in southern England, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. This route has always been of importance as a connection between the British capital of London and sea trade routes to Continental Europe...
and M2 motorway now follow a similar route, and provide access to the town. The A249 passes the town on the west, heading between Maidstone and Sheerness.
In Kemsley
Kemsley
Kemsley today is a suburb of Sittingbourne in Kent, England. At the end of the 19th century it was simply a row of cottages beside a brickworks until, in 1924 when Frank Lloyd built the new Paper mill. The site was served by the creek which allowed the transport of raw materials to the site...
, a new road is being constructed (Sittingbourne Northern Relief road) to link with the Eurolink Business Estate and East Hall Farm residential development (on the north-east of the town).
Bus services are provided mainly by Arriva Southern Counties
Arriva Southern Counties
Arriva Southern Counties is a bus operator in London, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent and Essex in England. It is a regional division of Arriva.- History :...
.
From 1853, after the agreement to connect Strood
Strood
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. It lies on the north west bank of the River Medway at its lowest bridging point, and is part of the Rochester post town....
to Canterbury via the East Kent Railway
East Kent Railway
The East Kent Railway was an early railway operating between Strood and the town of Faversham in Kent England, during 1858 and 1859. In the latter year it changed its name to the London, Chatham and Dover Railway to reflect its ambitions to build a rival line from London to Dover via Chatham and...
of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway
London, Chatham and Dover Railway
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London...
, Sittingbourne has had a railway station
Sittingbourne railway station
Sittingbourne railway station is on the Chatham Main Line and the Sheerness Line in north Kent. The station is 44 miles 1260 yards from London Victoria according to the mileage sign on the footbridge. Train services are provided by Southeastern...
. Today the three platform station is served by both the Chatham Main Line
Chatham Main Line
The Chatham Main Line is a British railway line that runs from either London Victoria to Dover Priory / Ramsgate or London St Pancras to Faversham, with both services travelling via Medway...
and the Sheerness Line
Sheerness Line
The Sheerness Line connects Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent with Sittingbourne on the mainland, and with the Chatham Main Line for trains to London and elsewhere in Kent. It opened on 19 July 1860....
, and is located 44 miles 1260 yards from London Victoria according to the mileage sign on the footbridge. Train services are provided by Southeastern
Southeastern (train operating company)
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...
.
Since 2010, Southeastern have opened up a service from Faversham
Faversham
Faversham is a market town and civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The parish of Faversham grew up around an ancient sea port on Faversham Creek and was the birthplace of the explosives industry in England.-History:...
involving the HS1 line, this service runs from Faversham all the way to London St Pancras. It also links with the Eurotunnel
Eurotunnel
Groupe Eurotunnel S.A. manages and operates the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. The Company operates the car shuttle services and earns revenue on other trains passing through the tunnel...
service (to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) from Ebbsfleet International.
Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway
The preserved former paper mill railway the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway
Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway
The Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway in Kent is a gauge heritage railway that operates from Sittingbourne to the banks of The Swale. The line was formerly owned by Bowater, the paper making firm, and was used to carry raw materials and finished products between Ridham Dock and the company's...
still exists today. In 1965 it was decided that the railway was uneconomic, with the significant progress made in the use of the car, and so lorries were more commonly used for transporting produce. Consequently by 1969 the Bowater
Bowater
Bowater was an American pulp and paper company based in Greenville, South Carolina. Bowater had 12 pulp and paper mills in the United States, Canada and South Korea and 13 North American sawmills. It had approximately 10,000 employees...
Light Railway, much loved as it was by the firm (and with assistance of Capt Peter Manisty) was handed over to the Locomotive Club of Great Britain to be preserved and operated as the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway. It has since become a significant feature in the town's tourist industry, and provides the only method of transport to the annual Sittingbourne Beer Festival. However, it has been under threat of closure since 2008 when M-real
M-real
M-real Corporation is a Finnish paper and pulp company. It was originally established by G.A. Serlachius, and named Metsä-Serla . The brand Serla is an M-real brand. M-real's slogan is "make it real"....
sold the site to a property developer.
Recently, the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway, has reopened for the time being. for more information please look at the website. the light railway looks like it has a future under the new owners of Sittingbourne mill, Essential Land, who have stated that they wanted to keep the light railway for the future of the history of Sittingbourne.
Media
The local newspapers are the East Kent Gazette and KM Sittingbourne Messenger.On 24 February 2010, Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
announced that Sittingbourne would get its own local community radio station. SFM plans to launch in early 2012 to provide a full local radio service for the Sittingbourne area. http://www.sfmradio.com
Sport
The town's football team Sittingbourne F.C.Sittingbourne F.C.
Sittingbourne F.C. are a football club based in Sittingbourne, Kent, England. They were established in 1886 and were founder members of the Kent League. They have reached the 2nd round of the FA Cup at least twice in their history...
(nicknamed "The Brickies"), currently play their games at Bourne Park, a former training pitch behind the main Central Park Stadium, which is currently used for greyhound racing. The club play in the Ryman League Division One South.
Motorcycle speedway racing has been staged near Sittingbourne for a number of years. The track was originally used for training alone but since 1994 the Sittingbourne Crusaders
Sittingbourne Crusaders
The Sittingbourne Crusaders were a British Speedway team based in Iwade, England who raced in the Conference League.The Iwade training track was initially built by former Hackney Hawks rider Barry Thomas whilst he was still a rider for the Canterbury Crusaders, the team whose colours and name...
took part in the Conference League and other competitions. The track remains today as a popular speedway
Speedway in the United Kingdom
The sport of Speedway in the United Kingdom has changed little since the first meetings in the 1920s. With three domestic leagues, its own Speedway Grand Prix and an annual entry into the Speedway World Cup it remains one of the popular motorsports in the country.-History:The first meeting in the...
training facility open to riders all over the country. Sittingbourne Speedway Website