Northfleet History Group - 3rd November 2015 Meeting Report.
THE LOCAL CEMENT INDUSTRY
It was again almost a “full house” when our Group met in St Botolph’s church hall on Tuesday 3rd November to hear former Northfleet resident Frank Matthews give a presentation on the history and development of the local cement industry, which began in 1792, when the Rev. James Parker patented his ‘Roman’ cement and established a factory near The Creek in Northfleet. He made this by crushing pebbles formed from a mixture of chalk and clay, known as septaria, which he gathered on the foreshore. These were then mixed with coal and burnt at a high temperature, then crushed to form a powder which, when mixed with water and allowed to set, resembled Roman cement in colour and hardness. After his patent lapsed in 1810 other entrepreneurs entered the field. In 1824 Joseph Aspdin patented ‘Portland’ cement, so called because when set it looked like Portland stone, but he kept the details of the exact mixture he used a secret. The big breakthrough came when 27 year-old Isaac Johnson was taken on as works manager at John Bazley White’s factory in Swanscombe in 1838. He worked out the correct proportions for making Portland cement and discovered by accident the secret of ‘overburning’ which produced the type of cement we know today. Johnson was a great local character; a teetotaller, keen photographer and a translator of Greek Testaments. He learned to ride a bicycle at the age of 87 and lived to be nearly 101!
Frank brought us right up to date with the creation of the Blue Circle brand name, the development of Bevans works, which was replaced by the new Northfleet Works in 1970 and the eventual sale of the Company to the French cement manufacturer, Lafarge. Finally, we saw the closure of the local cement industry and the felling of the last factory chimneys in 2010.
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Frank brought us right up to date with the creation of the Blue Circle brand name, the development of Bevans works, which was replaced by the new Northfleet Works in 1970 and the eventual sale of the Company to the French cement manufacturer, Lafarge. Finally, we saw the closure of the local cement industry and the felling of the last factory chimneys in 2010.
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Northfleet History Group - 6th October 2015 Meeting Report.
WEATHER LORE
It was almost a “full house” when our Group met in St Botolph’s church hall on Tuesday 6th October to hear Ian Currie talk about a subject that seems to dominate almost every conversation in this country - the weather. Ian, who is a forecaster on a local radio station, has written a number of books on weather-related subjects and co-wrote the Kent Weather Book with Bob Ogley. He also writes a regular weather forecasting column in Gardening News
He explained the way in which different types of clouds are formed and how they can be interpreted to indicate the type of weather we can expect. He also discussed some of the many myths and sayings surrounding our weather, from the amount of berries on the trees, to the colour of the sky at night or in the morning and he disproved the myth that rain on St Swithin’s Day will be followed by 40 days of wet weather! He ended his talk with the following little ditty:
Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot,
Whether the weather be wet or whether the weather be not,
We must weather the weather, whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!
(I think I’ve got that right!). After the tea interval, our chairman, Ken McGoverin gave a presentation on the early industries which sprang up along the Northfleet riverfront.
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He explained the way in which different types of clouds are formed and how they can be interpreted to indicate the type of weather we can expect. He also discussed some of the many myths and sayings surrounding our weather, from the amount of berries on the trees, to the colour of the sky at night or in the morning and he disproved the myth that rain on St Swithin’s Day will be followed by 40 days of wet weather! He ended his talk with the following little ditty:
Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot,
Whether the weather be wet or whether the weather be not,
We must weather the weather, whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!
(I think I’ve got that right!). After the tea interval, our chairman, Ken McGoverin gave a presentation on the early industries which sprang up along the Northfleet riverfront.
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Northfleet History Group - 1st September 2015 Meeting Report.
THE RAILWAYS OF GRAVESHAM
Bob Poole told us that the first railway station in Gravesend was by the canal basin. A single railway line was laid along the towpath of the Thames and Medway canal to Strood, through Higham tunnel, where it was supported by wooden piles driven into the canal bed. This line was later taken over by the South Eastern Railway who filled-in the canal through the tunnel and laid a double track. The station, which was near to the lock gates has now completely disappeared. The present Gravesend station (originally called Gravesend Central) was opened in 1849. Another passenger service was started by the rival London, Chatham and Dover Railway running from Victoria through Swanley, to Gravesend West Street, where boat trains connected with the Dutch Batavia shipping line sailings to Rotterdam until the start of the second world war. This pier was used by pleasure steamers after the war, particularly by the popular ‘Royal Daffodil’. In 1882 a branch line was opened from Gravesend Central to a pier on the River Medway opposite Sheerness, which they called Port Victoria. This was frequently used by Queen Victoria and other members of the royal family to join the royal yacht when travelling to Germany or Scandinavia. In 1932 a branch from this line to Allhallows was opened which became very popular with day trippers who called the train the ‘Allhallows Flyer’. Electric trains were introduced from Charing Cross to Gillingham in 1939 and in the 1960s an experimental double-deck train was brought in but this was not a success. This was a very interesting talk on a local theme and made a good start to our new season.
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Northfleet History Group - 2nd June 2015 Meeting Report.
TILBURY TO OZ - THE TEN POUND POM
At our meeting on Tuesday 2nd June, Jonathon Catton entertained us with a fascinating talk on the history and development of Tilbury Docks and the ships which carried people to the other side of the world, from the early settlers who were mainly convicts transported to Australia by the judicial system of the time, right through to modern times when, to help populate the country after the second world war, the Australian government paid £110 of the £120 fare as an inducement for British people to emigrate there, those taking up the offer being known as the ‘£10 Poms’.
He showed many pictures of the ocean liners of the P&O and the Orient Line which sailed from Tilbury to Australia, bringing back many memories for those of us who grew up watching those ships alongside the landing stage across the river during our childhood years.
After the tea interval, Stan Martin gave a talk on the amazing wartime exploits of Gravesend-based pilot ‘Hoppy’ Hodgkinson who lost both his legs in flying accidents and was known as ‘the poor man’s Douglas Bader’.
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Northfleet History Group - 4th May 2015 Meeting Report.
THE HISTORY OF IGHTHAM MOTE
On Tuesday 4th May, Pat Mortlock from the National Trust gave us a very interesting talk on Ightham Mote, which is probably the most complete medieval house in the country, with over 70 rooms, all arranged around a central courtyard. It was owned by the Selby family for nearly 300 years until 1889, when it was purchased by Sir Thomas Colyer-Fergusson who brought up his six children there. He carried out a lot of restoration and repair work, which was necessary after many years of neglect, converting a lumber room into a billiard room and adding bathrooms and central heating. Sadly, his third son, Riversdale, died aged 21 in 1917 in the Third Battle of Ypres, winning a posthumous Victoria Cross and his eldest son, Max, was killed at the age of 49 is a bombing raid on an army driving school near Tidworth in 1940. One of the three daughters, Mary, married Walter Monckton. On Sir Thomas’s death in 1951, the property and the baronetcy passed to Max’s son, James, a lifelong bachelor. The upkeep and repair of the Mote left him no option but to sell the house which, it was suggested, could be demolished to harvest the lead on the roofs, or be divided into flats. Three local men, William Durling, John Goodwin and John Baldock banded together to save the house, purely for the love of it and paid £5,500 for the freehold, confident that another, richer benefactor would appear. And so it was, two years later, that an American businessman, Charles Henry Robinson purchased the house and after making many urgent repairs announced he would give it to the National Trust. He died in 1985 and his ashes are sealed in the wall just outside the crypt. Our thanks to Pat for a most interesting talk.
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Northfleet History Group - 2nd April 2015 Meeting Report.
LIFE ON THE WICKED STAGE
St Botolph’s church hall was full with lots of
chattering in anticipation of Wilf Lower’s talk about life on the ‘Wicked
Stage’. He spoke at length about the concert halls and theatres in London where
many people trod the boards. However for many stars, their working lives were
soon over and some were quickly forgotten, whilst audiences waited to cheer on
new stars in their place. He also talked about activities behind the curtain,
where there was much jealousy, especially when a new star walked on stage. So
many stars failed to reach the top and were never heard of again, but it was
great to see many former heart-throbs once more on his screen. The arrival of television changed many
lives, both in the theatre and in homes. A visit to the theatre became more
expensive and audiences turned on their televisions instead of having a
traditional night out at the theatre.
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Northfleet History Group - 3rd March 2015 Meeting Report.
THE ROCHESTER BRIDGE TRUST
At our meeting on the 3rd March, we were given a fascinating talk on the history and current work of the Rochester Bridge Trust, by the Bridge Clerk (Chief Executive) Sue Threader. The Trust has been providing free crossings of the River Medway, since 1399, when a stone bridge was built with funds provided by Sir John de Cobham and Sir Robert Knolles, to replace an earlier Roman one which had been swept away in a storm. Grants and investments were subsequently made by Kings Henry IV and V, and by the famous Lord Mayor of London, Dick Whittington. Since 1856, when the medieval stone bridge was replaced by a cast iron arched bridge designed by Sir William Cubitt, the Trust has maintained the structure entirely from revenue on its investments. Until then, the maintenance costs were borne by parishes close to the bridge, including Northfleet. Cubitt’s bridge was reconstructed in 1914 by raising the roadway and suspending it from overhead bowstring trusses rather than supporting it on arches below. Known as the Old Bridge it is still in use today. Between 1965 and 1970 the Trust built a second roadway on the piers of a disused railway bridge. Today there are four bridges across the Medway at Rochester, namely the Old and New road bridges, a service bridge and a railway bridge. The new motorway bridge further upstream is not maintained by the Trust.
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Northfleet History Group - 3rd February 2015 Meeting Report.
PICTURES FROM GRAVESEND’S PAST
We woke up on the morning of 3rd February to find a covering of snow on the ground, but fortunately, it melted away during the course of the morning to give a cold but pleasant afternoon for our meeting in St Botolph’s church hall, where Gravesend Historical Society’s Hon. Secretary, Sandra Soder showed us an excellent selection of very nostalgic photographs of old Gravesend which brought back many memories for our members and brought home to us just how many changes have taken place.
After the tea interval, our Hon. Secretary, Alex Pavitt showed some pictures he had taken of the groundworks taking place at the former Henley’s Cable Works site in Crete Hall Road, where hundreds of tons of spoil from the tunnelling for the London Crossrail project is being deposited, raising the ground level some 10 to 12 feet above its original height, in preparation for the redevelopment of the site.
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After the tea interval, our Hon. Secretary, Alex Pavitt showed some pictures he had taken of the groundworks taking place at the former Henley’s Cable Works site in Crete Hall Road, where hundreds of tons of spoil from the tunnelling for the London Crossrail project is being deposited, raising the ground level some 10 to 12 feet above its original height, in preparation for the redevelopment of the site.
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Northfleet History Group - 6th January 2015 Meeting Report.
THE WHITECHAPEL MURDERS
Members of our Group attending our first meeting of 2015 in St Botolph’s church hall on Tuesday 6th January, were treated to a very unusual and entertaining talk by Ian Porter on the facts and myths surrounding the infamous murderer known as ‘Jack the Ripper’. His talk explained how the gruesome murders were seized upon by the popular Press of the day and how the nickname they gave him did wonders for circulation figures! He also described how life was lived by ordinary people crammed into the overcrowded houses in the narrow streets of the dense slums of Victorian London and how the extreme poverty they suffered forced many women into a life of prostitution, exposing them to disease and danger at the hands of men like Jack the Ripper.
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