Dartford

Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in north west Kent in South East England.

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It is situated in a valley through which the River Darent flows, and where the old road from London to Dover crossed: hence the name, from Darent+ford. Although today it is principally a commuter town it has a long history.

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Early history

Its position has meant that many people have lived here through the ages: there have been finds from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age .

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The Romans built the Dover to London road (afterwards named Watling Street ) which crossed the River Darent here. Noviomagus (Crayford) is close by.

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Dartford is mentioned in the Domesday Book.

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Middle Ages

The town became a market centre during the Middle Ages, and two groups of friars - the Domicans and the Franciscans - built hospitals here for the care of the sick, especially those wayfarers on pilgrimage through the town.

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In 1576 a school was provided for teaching grammar.

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The parish church is dedicated to

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17th & 18th centuries

Industry

Iron-making on the Weald was in full operation at this time, and iron ingots were sent to Dartford, to the mill set up by an immigrant from the Low Countries, Geoffrey Box. Here iron rods were manufactured.

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Another immigrant, a German named Spielman, was allowed to set up what was the second papermill in England at Dartford in the eighteenth century; soon some 600 employees worked there, many themselves German.

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In 1785, a Mr Hall, a blacksmith from Lowfield Street, began to make engines, boilers and machinery. Some of that machinery was for the local gunpowder factory.

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Turnpikes

In the middle of the 18th century a toll road, following the course of Watling Street and connecting London with Canterbury, was completed through Dartford. Later, a road south to Sevenoaks was built.

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19th & 20th centuries

Industry

• Dartford Paper Mills were built in 1862, when excise duty on paper was abolished.
• Engineering, especially heavy engineering, in the town and the Erith-Crayford -Dartford area expanded. WWI meant that output at the local Vickers factory multiplied, with a dramatic effect on the population.
• Burroughs, Wellcome established chemical works

Education

Dartford Grammar School was established in 1576.

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The school is highly prestigious and competition for entry is tough - only 1 in 7 pupils sitting the Dartford selection test will be allowed entry. The pupils at school frequently do extremely well in their GCSE's A'Levels and IB diploma. The school also has a history of sending pupils to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and other prestigious places such as King's College London, UCL, Durham and Imperial.

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Kent: :This article is about the English county of Kent. See also Kent (disambiguation)....

River Darent: The River Darent or River Darenth is a Kentish tributary of the River Thames in England. Its name is believed to be from a Celtic word meaning 'river where oak-trees grow'. Fed by water from greensand hills south of Westerham in Kent, it rises from springs at Sevenoaks, then flows northwards past t...

Dover: This article is about the English port town. For other uses see Dover (disambiguation)....