The placename is attested in 1275 as Wydemere, from an Old English*wīd-mere "broad pool".[3]
A sparsely-populated hamlet and farming area until the 20th century, Wigmore was briefly the site of a smallpox isolation hospital (Alexandra Hospital) from 1902,[4] and began to be developed as a suburb from 1906 when the 365-acre Wigmore agricultural estate was partitioned and sold as plots,[5] initially as smallholdings (hence the local “Smallholders Club”)[6] and rural shanties for Medway families.
Amenities
St Matthew's Church was founded in 1925 and was replaced in the 1960s by architects Brett, Boyd and Bosanquet.[7] A prefab Evangelical church[8] was opened later.
Now fully suburbanised within the East of the Medway Towns, the area has a community primary school,[9] medical centre.[10] There is also a local football club called Wigmore Youth F.C, which runs teams for both boys and girls which range from under-7s up to under-18s.[11]
Transport
Arriva bus 132 runs between Wigmore, Rainham and Chatham.
References in popular culture
Rock bands associated with the locality-championing Medway scene have referenced Wigmore; The Buff Medways in the song "Medway Wheelers" (2005)[12] and the Len Price 3 with "Wigmore Swingers" (2014).[13]
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