Stone | |
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Location within Kent | |
Population | 6,100 (2005) [1] 10,778 (2011) [2] |
OS grid reference | TQ575745 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Dartford |
Postcode district | DA2 |
Post town | Greenhithe |
Postcode district | DA9 |
Dialling code | 01322 |
Police | Kent |
Fire | Kent |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
UK Parliament | |
Stone is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England. It is located 2.5 miles east of Dartford. In 2011 the parish had a population of 10,778.
Iron Age pottery and artefacts have been found here [3] proving it to be an ancient settlement site. The 13th-century parish church, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin at Stone, was known as the "Lantern of Kent" from its beacon light known to all sailors on the river. It is one of Kent's most dramatic churches and is renowned for its Gothic sculpture made by the masons who built Westminster Abbey. [3] The Grade I listing entry narrates each spandrel is either identical or almost identical to those at Westminster Abbey and therefore also dates to 1260, it also describes the North Chapel built for Sir Richard Wiltshire's death in 1527 [4]
The parish (including Bean) was part of Axstane Hundred and later Dartford Rural District.
Stone Castle is located about a mile to the south of Greenhithe.
Stone Castle is now the regional office of a large cement manufacturer. The cement works, which once stood here, have been demolished.
The disused John's Hole Quarry at Stone was used as a filming location for the mine scenes in the Doctor Who television story The Dalek Invasion of Earth . It was the first of many quarries to be used in the series. [5]
Schools in the village include The Brent Primary School [6] and Stone Lodge School. [7]
Stone has a village cricket team that was established in 1888. [8]
Bluewater Shopping Centre is located in Stone and is the fourth largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom. It was opened on 16 March 1999 and is located in a former chalk quarry. The site occupies 240 acres and has a sales floor area of 1,600,000 ft2. The centre employs 7,000 people and serves over 27 million visitors a year.
Stone compared | |||
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2001 UK Census | Stone | Dartford District | England |
Total population | 6,252 | 85,911 | 49,138,831 |
Foreign born | 5.2% | 5.8% | 9.2% |
White | 95.9% | 94.5% | 90.9% |
Asian | 1.6% | 3.2% | 4.6% |
Black | 1.3% | 0.9% | 2.3% |
Christian | 71% | 73.3% | 72% |
Muslim | 0.3% | 0.7% | 3.1% |
Hindu | 0.4% | 0.8% | 1.1% |
No religion | 17.4% | 15.1% | 15% |
Unemployed | 3.1% | 2.5% | 3.3% |
At the 2001 UK census, the Stone electoral ward had a population of 6,252. [9]
The ethnicity was 95.9% white, 0.9% mixed race, 1.6% Asian, 1.3% black and 0.3% other. The place of birth of residents was 94.8% United Kingdom, 0.8% Republic of Ireland, 0.9% other Western European countries, and 3.5% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 71% Christian, 0.2% Buddhist, 0.4% Hindu, 0.5% Sikh and 0.3% Muslim. 17.4% were recorded as having no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 9.9% did not state their religion. [9]
The economic activity of residents aged 16–74 was 49.7% in full-time employment, 10.8% in part-time employment, 6.9% self-employed, 3.1% unemployed, 1.8% students with jobs, 1.6% students without jobs, 10.1% retired, 7.7% looking after home or family, 4.8% permanently sick or disabled and 3.5% economically inactive for other reasons. The industry of employment of residents was 22% retail, 14.6% manufacturing, 10% construction, 10.6% real estate, 10.2% health and social work, 5.6% education, 9% transport and communications, 3.8% public administration, 3.4% hotels and restaurants, 4.5% finance, 0.6% agriculture and 5.7% other. Of the ward's residents aged 16–74, 12% had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared with 19.9% nationwide. [9]
Stone Crossing railway station serves the village with National Rail services to Luton via Woolwich Arsenal and London St Pancras, London Charing Cross via Sidcup, Gravesend and Rainham. [10]
Stone is served by London Buses route 492, Arriva Kent Thameside routes A, 477 and 480 and Ensignbus route X80. These connect it with Bexleyheath, Bluewater, Dartford, Gravesend, Lakeside, Orpington, Sidcup and Swanley.
Crayford is a town and electoral ward in South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the historic county of Kent until 1965. The settlement developed by the river Cray, around a ford that is no longer used.
Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is 11.3 miles (18.2 km) south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of Bromley and Greenwich. It was part of Kent prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965.
The London Borough of Bexley is a London borough in south-east London, forming part of Outer London. It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup, Erith, Bexleyheath, Crayford, Welling and Old Bexley. The London Borough of Bexley is within the Thames Gateway, an area designated as a national priority for urban regeneration. The local authority is Bexley London Borough Council.
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is the administrative centre of the borough of Gravesham. Gravesend marks the eastern limit of the Greater London Built-up Area, as defined by the UK Office for National Statistics. In 2021 it had a population of 58,102.
The Borough of Dartford is a local government district with borough status in the north-west of the county of Kent, England. It is named after its main town of Dartford, where the council is based. Other notable settlements include Greenhithe, Stone and Swanscombe, along with an emerging new town at Ebbsfleet, and a number of smaller villages. It also includes Bluewater, one of the UK's largest shopping centres. The borough lies just outside the administrative boundary of Greater London, but a sizeable part of it lies within the M25 motorway which encircles London. Many of the borough's urban areas form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. The borough had a population of 116,800 at the 2021 census.
Dartford railway station serves the town of Dartford in Kent, England. It is 17 miles 12 chains (27.6 km) down the line from London Charing Cross. Train services from the station are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink. Southeastern also manages the station. Dartford is a major interchange station in the North Kent region of the Southeastern network. Ticket barriers control access to the platforms.
Swanscombe /ˈswɒnzkəm/ is a village in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is 4.4 miles west of Gravesend and 4.8 miles east of Dartford.
Charing is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, in south-east England. It includes the settlements of Charing Heath and Westwell Leacon. It is located at the foot of the North Downs and reaches up to the escarpment. In 2011 the parish had a population of 2766.
Greenhithe is a village in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is located 4 miles east of Dartford and 5 miles west of Gravesend.
Biddenden is a large, mostly agricultural and wooded village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The village lies on the Weald of Kent, 5 miles (8 km) north of Tenterden. It was a centre for the Wealden iron industry and clothmaking.
Longfield is a village in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located 6 miles south east of Dartford and the same distance south-west of Gravesend.
Wrotham is a village on the Pilgrims' Way in Kent, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Borough Green and approximately 5 miles (8 km) east of Sevenoaks. It is between the M20 and M26 motorways.
Borden is a village and electoral ward situated immediately south west of Sittingbourne, Kent, from which it is separated by a small area of rural land.
Bean is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located 4.4 miles south east of Dartford and 5.4 miles south west of Gravesend. In 2011 the parish had a population of 1643.
Stanhope is a civil parish and suburb of Ashford in the Borough of Ashford in Kent, England. It was built in the 1960s on the southern edge of the town.
Wye with Hinxhill is a hillside civil parish in the borough of Ashford northeast of Ashford, Kent itself, centred 3.7 miles NNE of the town centre. The North Downs range of hills has a high escarpment on the east and west borders of the village, flanking a gap caused by the River Great Stour in the centre of the parish.
Park is a local government ward within Tunbridge Wells borough in Kent, England. It is made up of the Camden Park estate, the formerly separate village of Hawkenbury containing a regional Land Registry, Dunorlan Park and the Forest Road area, off which can be found the Tunbridge Wells Cemetery & Crematorium and Nevill Golf Club.
St Peter's is an area of Broadstairs, in the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, on the Isle of Thanet, in Kent, England. Historically a village, it was outgrown by the long-dominant settlement of the two, Broadstairs, after 1841. Originally the borough or manor of the church of St. Peter-in-Thanet, it was said to be the largest parish east of London, at least until Broadstairs became a separate parish on 27 September 1850. The two settlements were formally merged administratively in 1895.
Garlinge is a village and suburb of Margate, in the Thanet district, in Kent, England, situated 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of the centre of the town.
North Cray is an area in South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Sidcup and south of Bexleyheath and is 12.6 miles (20.3 km) south-east of Charing Cross, the traditional centre of London in the Metropolitan Green Belt.
This was the first ever quarry to be used in the making of Doctor Who.