Lower Halstow | |
---|---|
Parish church of St Margaret of Antioch | |
Location within Kent | |
Population | 1,180 (2011 Census) |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Sittingbourne |
Postcode district | ME9 |
Dialling code | 01795 |
Police | Kent |
Fire | Kent |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
UK Parliament | |
Lower Halstow is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England. The village is northwest of Sittingbourne on the banks of the Medway Estuary. It lies north of Newington on the A2 Roman road.
The 2011 census recorded the parish's population as 1,180. [1]
The village has a long history, with evidence of constant occupation since the Iron Age. Being so close to the water, Lower Halstow has (until recently) been a village that has made its living from the water. Whether it be ancient pottery making, ancient fishing, barge building, [2] or in the 19th- and 20th-century brick-making (Eastwoods Brickworks), [3] the water has been the lifeblood of the village.
According to Edward Hasted in 1798, two large hospital ships, commonly called lazarettos, (which were the surviving hulks of 44-gun ships) were moored in Halstow Creek. The lazarettos monitored ships coming to England which were forced to stay in the creek under quarantine, to protect the country from infectious diseases. [4]
In 1563 Queen Elizabeth ordered a survey, and Halstow Key (a wharf on the creek), was made up of 24 people in houses and 14 living on boats. There were two hamlets, one beside the wharf and the other around Halstow Green on Lower Street. The rest of the northern lands were salt marsh. Lands heading southwards (measuring 1200 acres) were heavy clay. All the lands were under the control of the manor of Milton Regis. [4]
The creek and some of the village is featured in the 2017 film Wonder Woman . [5] The village has an active cricket club.
The name of the village has developed gradually over the years: Holy Place (Halig stow) Pronounced "ail-stoo", with a long "oo" as in "through" c. 1100; Halgastaw, 1160; Halgastow, 1199; Halegestowe, [4] 1226; Halgesto, 1576; Halstowe, 1610; Halstoe, c. 1790; Halstow, 1810 – Lower Halstow.
On a bank of the Medway Estuary is the Church of England parish church of St Margaret of Antioch. It is an 8th-century Saxon church to which were added north and south aisles in the 12th century and a west tower in the 13th century. The masonry includes re-used Roman tiles. The font is Norman and was made around AD 1190. Unusually it is made of lead. In the nave and aisles are remnants of 14th-century wall paintings. For a time in the 12th century its parish priest was John de London who was a nephew to St Thomas Becket. [4]
The ecclesiastical parish is in the deanery of Sittingbourne, which is part of the Diocese of Canterbury. [4] The building is Grade I listed. [6]
The village has an 18th-century pub, the Three Tuns, which is a Grade II listed building. [7]
Green Farm House is 17th- and 18th-century and is also Grade II listed. [8]
Queenborough is a town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England.
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Gillingham and Rainham. It lies on the northwest bank of the River Medway at its lowest bridging point.
High Halstow is a village and civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It was, until 1998, administratively part of Kent and is still ceremonially associated via the Lieutenancies Act. The parish had a population of 1,781 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 1,807 at the 2011 census.
A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London. The flat-bottomed barges with a shallow draught and leeboards, were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and narrow tributary rivers. The larger barges were seaworthy vessels, and were the largest sailing vessel to be handled by just two men. The average size was about 120 tons and they carried 4,200 square feet (390 m2) of canvas sail in six working sails. The mainsail was loose-footed and set up with a sprit, and was brailed to the mast when not needed. It is sheeted to a horse, as is the foresail; they require no attention when tacking. The foresail is often held back by the mate to help the vessel come about more swiftly.
A lazaretto or lazaret is a quarantine station for maritime travellers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings. In some lazarets, postal items were also disinfected, usually by fumigation. This practice was still being done as late as 1936, albeit in rare cases. A leper colony administered by a Christian religious order was often called a lazar house, after the parable of Lazarus the beggar.
Allhallows is a village and civil parish on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent, England. Situated in the northernmost part of Kent, and covering an area of 23.99 km2, the parish is bounded on the north side by the River Thames, and in the east by the course of Yantlet creek, now silted up. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,649.
Bapchild is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England, about two miles inside of Sittingbourne. It lies on the old Roman road now the A2, and according to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,068, including Tonge, increasing to 1,141 at the 2011 Census.
Bobbing is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England, about a mile north-west of Sittingbourne, and forming part of its urban area. The hamlet of Howt Green and village of Keycol are included within the parish. According to the 2011 census Bobbing parish had a population of 1,969.
Iwade is a village and civil parish 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the town of Sittingbourne in the English county of Kent.
Harty is a small hamlet on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent consisting of a few cottages, a church and a public house, the Ferry Inn. It is part of the civil parish of Leysdown.
Newington is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. The parish is located beside the A2 road between Rainham to the west and Sittingbourne to the east. The population of the parish in 2011 was 2,551.
Milton Regis is a village in the district of Swale in Kent, England. Former names include Milton-next-Sittingbourne, Milton Royal, Middleton, Midletun and Middletune. It has a population of about 5,000. Today it is a suburb of Sittingbourne, although this has not always been the case, with Milton Regis having an older and richer history. Until around 1800, Sittingbourne was a smaller hamlet and under the control of the Manor of Milton Regis.
Frindsbury, sometimes called Frinsbury, is part of the Medway Towns conurbation in Kent, southern England. It lies on the opposite side of the River Medway to Rochester, and at various times in its history has been considered fully or partially part of the City of Rochester. Frindsbury refers to both a parish and a manor. Within the civil parish of Frindsbury Extra are the villages of Frindsbury, Wainscott, and Upnor. Frindsbury was also the name given to an electoral ward in the City of Rochester that straddled the parishes of Frindsbury and Strood.
Bredgar is a village and civil parish in the borough of Swale in Kent, England.
Elmley is the local name for the Isle of Elmley, part of the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, England. It was also the name of a very late 19th century industrial village on the isle. Edward Hasted describes, in 1798, the isle as two-eighths of the Isle of Sheppey estimated as 11 miles by 8 miles. Its present national nature reserve covers more than the easily traceable area of the former isle by extending to the east, over Windmill Creek, one of two Sheppey inlets, former internal tidal channels.
Murston is a suburb of Sittingbourne in Kent, England. It is about 1 mile north-east of central Sittingbourne, on the east bank of the Milton Creek.
Milton Creek Country Park is situated in 128 acres between Milton Regis and Kemsley, on the west bank of Milton Creek in Sittingbourne, Kent, England. This site was once called Church Marshes Country Park.
St Margaret's Church, Rochester is now a Chapel of Ease within the parish of St Peter with St Margaret, Rochester. Previously it was the parish church of St Margaret's Without. Thorpe records it as having previously been called St Margaret's in Suthgate. The building is a Grade II* listed building, English Heritage number 173172.
All Saints, Frindsbury, is a parish church serving the combined parish of Frindsbury with Upnor and Chattenden. The church dates from 1075 and lies in the north-west corner of the Medway Towns, historically part of Kent, England. It is a Grade II* listed building, National Heritage List number 1107886.
St Nicholas Church is a former parish church in Rochester, Kent, England, next to Rochester Cathedral. It is now the offices of the Board of Education of the Diocese of Rochester. It is a Grade I listed building.
Media related to Lower Halstow at Wikimedia Commons