Dartford is the principal town in the

Borough of Dartford 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 ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, England. It is located south-east of

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

and is situated adjacent to the

London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley () is a London boroughs, 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, Belvedere, London, Belvedere, Crayford ...

to its west. To its north, across the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salinit ...

, is

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, which can be reached via the

Dartford Crossing The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...

. To its east lies the Borough of

Gravesham Gravesham ( ) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. The council is based in its largest town of Gravesend. The borough is indirectly named after Gravesend, using the form of the town's name as it appear ...

and to the south the district of

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

. It had a population of 51,240. The town centre lies in a valley through which the

River Darent The Darent is a Kentish tributary of the River Thames and takes the waters of the River Cray as a tributary in the tidal portion of the Darent near Crayford. 'Darenth' is frequently found as the spelling of the river's name in older books and ...

flows and where the old road from London to

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

crossed: hence the name, which derives from ''Darent + ford''. Dartford became a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

in medieval times and, although today it is principally a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

, it has a long history of religious, industrial and cultural importance. It is an important rail hub; the main through-road now by-passes the town itself.

Geography

Dartford lies within the area known as the

London Basin The London Basin is an elongated, roughly triangular sedimentary basin approximately long which underlies London and a large area of south east England, south eastern East Anglia and the adjacent North Sea. The basin formed as a result of compr ...

. The low-lying marsh to the north of the town consists of

London Clay The London Clay Formation is a Sediment#Shores and shallow seas, marine formation (geology), geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 54-50 million years ago) age which outcrop, crops out in the southeast of England. The London C ...

and the

alluvium Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

brought down by the two rivers—the

Darent The Darent is a Kentish tributary of the River Thames and takes the waters of the River Cray as a tributary in the tidal portion of the Darent near Crayford. ' Darenth' is frequently found as the spelling of the river's name in older books and ...

and the

Cray Cray Inc., a subsidiary of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, is an American supercomputer manufacturer headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It also manufactures systems for data storage and analytics. Several Cray supercomputer systems are listed ...

—whose confluence is in this area. The higher land on which the town stands and through which the narrow Darent valley runs, consists of

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

surmounted by the Blackheath Beds of sand and gravel. As a

human settlement In geography, statistics and archaeology, a settlement, locality or populated place is a community of people living in a particular location, place. The complexity of a settlement can range from a minuscule number of Dwelling, dwellings gro ...

, Dartford became established as a river crossing-point with the coming of the Romans; and as a focal point between two routes: that from west to east being part of the main route connecting London with the Continent; and the southerly route following the Darent valley. As a result, the town's main road pattern makes the shape of letter 'T'. The Dartford Marshes to the north and the proximity of

Crayford Crayford is a town and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in South London, 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 countie ...

in the

to the west, mean that the town's growth is to the south and east. Wilmington is contiguous with the town to the south; whilst the almost continuous

Thames Gateway Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching east from ...

development means that there is little to show the town boundary in an easterly direction. Within the town boundaries there are several distinct areas: the town centre around the parish church and along the High Street; the Joyce Green area; Temple Hill estate constructed in 1947; the Brent; Fleet Downs; as well as two important areas of open space and several industrial estates. The open spaces are Central Park, alongside the river; and

Dartford Heath Dartford Heath Common is an area of open heathland situated to the south-west of Dartford, Kent, England, that covers around of open space. Dartford Heath is classified as lowland heath and is one of only two substantial heathland blocks remaini ...

Climate

Like most of the United Kingdom, Dartford has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

History

In prehistoric times, the first people appeared in the Dartford area around 250,000 years ago: a tribe of prehistoric hunter-gatherers whose exemplar is called

Swanscombe Man Swanscombe /ˈswɔnzkəm/ is a town 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. History Prehistory Bone fragments and to ...

. Many other archaeological investigations have revealed a good picture of occupation of the district with important finds from the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

, the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. When the Romans engineered the

to London road (afterwards named

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

), it was necessary to cross the

by ford, giving the settlement its name.

Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...

s were built along the Darent Valley, and at Noviomagus (

), close by. The

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

may have established the first settlement where Dartford now stands. Dartford manor is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, compiled in 1086, after the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. It was then owned by the king. Dartford Library from the Southwest Corner

During the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Dartford was an important waypoint for

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

s and travellers ''en route'' to

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

and

the Continent Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by so ...

, and various religious orders established themselves in the area. In the 12th century the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

had possession of the manor of Dartford; the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

property at

Sutton-at-Hone Sutton-at-Hone is a village in the civil parish of Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England. It is located 3.5 miles south of Dartford & 3.6 miles north east of Swanley. History The place-name 'Sutton-at-Hone' is fi ...

, to the south of the town, is a remaining piece of that history. In the 14th century, a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

was established here, and two groups of friars—the

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

and the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

—built hospitals here for the care of the sick. At this time the town became a small but important

Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (1341 or – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in Kingdom of England, England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to City of London, London to oppose the collection of a Tax per head, poll tax and to dem ...

, of

Peasants' Revolt The Peasants' Revolt, also named Wat Tyler's Rebellion or the Great Rising, was a major uprising across large parts of England in 1381. The revolt had various causes, including the socio-economic and political tensions generated by the Black ...

fame, might well have been a local hero, although three other towns in Kent all claim likewise, and there are reasons to doubt the strength of Tyler's connection to Dartford, though the existence of a town centre

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

named after him could give credence to Dartford's claim. Dartford, however, cannot claim a monopoly on

s named after Tyler. It is probable that Dartford was a key meeting point early in the

with a detachment of Essex rebels marching south to join Kentish rebels at Dartford before accompanying them to Rochester and Canterbury in the first week of June 1381. Although lacking a leader, Kentishmen had assembled at Dartford around 5 June through a sense of county solidarity at the mistreatment of Robert Belling, a man claimed as a

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

by Sir Simon Burley. Burley had abused his royal court connections to invoke the arrest of Belling and, despite a compromise being proposed by bailiffs in

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

, continued to demand the impossible £300 of silver for Belling's release. Having left for Rochester and Canterbury on 5 June, the rebels passed back through Dartford, swollen in number, a week later on 12 June en route for

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

In the 15th century, two kings of England became part of the town's history.

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

marched through Dartford in November 1415 with his troops after fighting the French at the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected victory of the vastly outnumbered English troops agains ...

; in 1422 Henry's body was taken to Holy Trinity Church by

Edmund Lacey Edmund Lacey (or Lacy; died 1455) was a medieval Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of Exeter in England. Lacey was educated at University College, Oxford, where he was a mature commoner, then Fellow, and subsequently Master of the College from 139 ...

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

, who conducted a funeral. In March 1452,

Richard, Duke of York Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (21 September 1411 – 30 December 1460), also named Richard Plantagenet, was a leading English magnate and claimant to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. He was a member of the ruling House of Plantag ...

, camped at the Brent allegedly with ten thousand men, waiting for a confrontation with

King Henry VI Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of eight months, upon ...

. The Duke surrendered to the king in Dartford. The place of the camp is marked today by York Road, Dartford. The 16th century saw significant changes to the hitherto agrarian basis of the market in Dartford, as new industries began to take shape (''see below''). The

was destroyed in 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and a new manor house was subsequently constructed by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

. In 1545, Henry held a series of meetings of his Privy Council in the town, and from 21 to 25 June 1545 Dartford was the seat of the national government. Henry's fourth wife

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...

lived at the new priory for four years before her death in 1557. Many Protestants were executed during the reigns of Queen Mary (1553–1554) and

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

and Mary (1554–1558), including Christopher Wade, a Dartford linen-weaver who was burnt at the stake on the Brent in 1555. The Martyrs' Memorial on East Hill commemorates Wade and other Kentish Martyrs. In 1576

Dartford Grammar School Dartford Grammar School is a secondary foundation school for boys (ages 11–18) in Dartford, Kent, England, which admits girls to its sixth form (ages 16–18). All of the students joining the school are considered to be from the top 25% of t ...

was founded, part of the Tudor emphasis on education for ordinary people.

Industrial history

The earliest industries were those connected with agriculture, such as the

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

of traditional

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

s and

ale Ale is a style of beer, brewed using a warm fermentation method. In medieval England, the term referred to a drink brewed without hops. As with most beers, ale typically has a bittering agent to balance the malt and act as a preservative. Ale ...

s. Lime-burning and chalk-mining also had their place.

Fulling Fulling, also known as tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelt waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven cloth (particularly wool) to eliminate ( lanolin) oils, ...

was another: the cleansing of wool needed a great deal of water, which the river could provide. This led to other water-based industries, using

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

to operate machinery. Upon his return in 1578 from

Frobisher Bay Frobisher Bay is an inlet of the Davis Strait in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the southeastern corner of Baffin Island. Its length is about and its width varies from about at its outlet into the Davis Strait ...

in the Canadian Arctic with a reputed cargo of gold-bearing ore, Sir

Martin Frobisher Sir Martin Frobisher (; – 22 November 1594) was an English sailor and privateer who made three voyages to the New World looking for the North-west Passage. He probably sighted Resolution Island near Labrador in north-eastern Canada, before ...

had the refining done on Powder Mill Lane in Dartford. Assiduous efforts to extract gold were made over five years, but the ore proved to be a valueless rock containing

hornblende Hornblende is a complex silicate minerals#Inosilicates, inosilicate series of minerals. It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole. Hornblende minerals are common ...

and was eventually salvaged for road metalling and wall construction. Sir John Spielman set up the first

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

in England at Dartford in 1588 on a site near Powder Mill Lane, and soon some 600 employees worked there, providing an invaluable source of local employment. Iron-making on the Weald was in full operation at this time, and iron ingots were sent to Dartford, to England's first iron-slitting mill, set up by the Darent at Dartford Creek in 1595 by Godfrey Box, an immigrant from the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

. In 1785,

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (1951–2023), professor of classics at Brigham Young Univ ...

, a millwright set up a workshop in Lowfield Street and began to make engines, boilers and machinery (some of it for the local

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

factory run by Miles Peter Andrews and the Pigou family), marking the foundation of J & E Hall, an engineering firm specialising in heavy

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, and later refrigerating equipment, and, for 20 years from 1906, vehicle production, plus lifts and

escalators An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizon ...

. From those humble beginnings in the 18th century was to come the industrial base on which the growth and prosperity of Dartford were founded. In 1840 the mustard factory of Saunders & Harrison was described as being "perhaps the largest in the kingdom".'Pigots 1840', on website freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~shebra/pigots_1840
accessed 5 December 2007 Dartford Paper Mills were built in 1862, when excise duty on paper was abolished. Between 1844 and 1939 the

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

printing works of '' Augustus Applegath'' were in being in Bullace Lane: again a firm using the waters of the river.

RAF Joyce Green Joyce Green, at Long Reach, near Dartford, was one of the first Royal Flying Corps (RFC) airfields. It was established in 1911 by Vickers Limited (the aircraft and weapons manufacturer) who used it as an airfield and testing ground. At the outbre ...

, at Long Reach, near Dartford was one of the first

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

airfields, It was established in 1911 by

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

Limited (the aircraft and weapons manufacturer, who used it as an airfield and testing ground. It was superseded by Biggin Hill, and closed in 1919. The demand created by

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

meant that output at the local

factory multiplied, with a positive effect on the local economy. Burroughs-Wellcome chemical works (later incorporated into

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...

) made Dartford a centre for the

pharmaceutical industry The pharmaceutical industry is a medical industry that discovers, develops, produces, and markets pharmaceutical goods such as medications and medical devices. Medications are then administered to (or self-administered by) patients for curing ...

. There had been a large power station at Littlebrook on the Thames, to the north of the town, from 1939 until its closure in 2015. The station, including one of the tallest chimneys in the UK, was completely demolished in 2019. The Chemical Works at Dartford circa 1896 Wellcome L0021381

The Chemical Works at Dartford circa 1896 Wellcome L0021381

Post-industrial economic plans

The

Mazda is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...

motor manufacturer has its UK head office at the large Thames-side Crossways Business Park. Thomas Walter Jennings created the Vox musical brand, with products such as the AC15 and AC30 amplifiers originating in Dartford. In early 2006, the since-closed South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) purchased the former Unwins depot on the edge of the town. The warehouse was demolished and a business centre, The Base, built in its place, funded by the

Homes and Communities Agency Homes England is the non-departmental public body that funds new affordable housing in England. It was founded on 1 January 2018 to replace the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). HCA in turn was established by the Housing and Regeneration Act ...

. By 2018, the former GlaxoSmithKline manufacturing site in Mill Pond Road had been redeveloped with residential apartments and is known as Langley Square. Further regeneration is taking place at Market Street, to be known as Brewery Square.

Economy

Some of Dartford's key industries, including brewing, paper-making, flour milling and the manufacture of cement, suffered extreme decline in the 20th century, causing redundancies and unemployment. Swanscombe Cement Works (now redeveloped into Bluewater shopping centre) was closed by Blue Circle in 1990. This industry had been an economic boon to the area, but left behind a lot of derelict land and pollution. In 1990 Dartford contained around of spoiled land resulting from extractive industries, and cement-dust pollution from local cement works was a regular subject of complaint in the local press throughout the 20th century. The closure of Dartford's major employers (including Seagers' Engineering Works, J & E Hall International, and

), the reduction and subsequent closure of Burroughs Wellcome (now

), the redevelopment of nearby

Bexleyheath Bexleyheath is a town in southeast London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley. It had a population of approximately 15,600 in 2021 and is southeast of Charing Cross. It is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in London ...

as a shopping town in the 1970s, and the opening of

Bluewater Shopping Centre Bluewater Shopping Centre (commonly known simply as ''Bluewater'') is a large out-of-town shopping centre in Stone, Kent, Stone (postally Greenhithe, Kent, Greenhithe), Kent, England, just outside the M25 motorway ring, east south east of London ...

in 1999, all had a negative effect on the economy of Dartford, but the town is still home to major brands such as

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

, W.H. Smiths, and

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

. With the opening of the major Bluewater regional shopping centre just outside the town, the high street has seen a growth in cheaper brands such as

Primark Primark Limited (; trading as Penneys in Ireland) is an Irish multinational fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with outlets across Europe and in the United States. The original ''Penneys'' brand is not used outside of Irel ...

and

Wilko Wilko.com Limited (trading as Wilko) is a British Variety store, variety retailer. It was founded as Wilkinson by James Kemsey Wilkinson and Mary Cooper in 1930 as a hardware retailer, opening its first store in Leicester. In 1972, Tony Wil ...

taking over empty premises. Wilko announced in 2023 that it was going into receivership. In the 1990s, the local economy was boosted by the establishment of a number of business parks in the area, the biggest being Crossways Business Park at the foot of the

Queen Elizabeth II Bridge The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...

. The former offices of Hall-Thermotank have been converted for use as Dartford Civic Centre. In 2007 Dartford saw an increase in the number of chain stores located in the town as B&Q, M&S Simply Food,

TK Maxx TK Maxx is a discount clothing and homewares retailer, founded in 1994. It is currently based in Watford, England. It is owned by American retailer TJ Maxx, who could not trade under the initials "TJ" in the United Kingdom due to the British d ...

and Asda Living opened new outlet stores in the town centre. Before this

Safeway Safeway, Inc. is an American supermarket chain. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral and pharmacy, as well as Starbucks coffee shops, and veh ...

had taken part in the development of Dartford's second shopping centre, The Orchards, located next to the Orchard Theatre. The Safeway's site was eventually taken over by

Waitrose Waitrose Limited, trading as Waitrose & Partners, is a British supermarket chain, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. In 1937, it was acquired by the John Lewis Partnership, the UK's largest employee-owned b ...

but this closed in March 2014 and a new Aldi store opened in June 2015. The historical and once bustling main High Street and adjacent shopping centre, The Priory, continued to decline, and went into receivership in 2013, and the large department store previously occupied by the

Co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

has now been demolished, having been bought by Dartford Borough Council. The oldest independent business still trading in Dartford, the butchers Richardson & Sons in Lowfield Street, established in 1908, closed down in 2014 to make way for the proposed Lowfield centre superstore development. The problems with obtaining planning permission for this development and associated residential units were compounded by the recession. This created persistent delay in regeneration of the Lowfield Street site, and on 8 January 2015 it was finally announced that the Tesco plans were to be abandoned.

Culture and community

The Orchard Theatre is a professional theatre in the town centre, with a schedule including drama, dance, music and entertainment.

The Mick Jagger Centre The Mick Jagger Centre is a performing arts venue in Dartford, Kent, England, within the grounds of Dartford Grammar School. It is named after the Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, who was a pupil at the school. It has two main stages and hold ...

, within the grounds of

on Shepherds Lane, was completed in 2000 and provides facilities for community arts.

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

and Museum are located on Market Street. Central Park, in the town centre, is used for various community events. It comprises of land.

Sport

Dartford F.C. Dartford Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Dartford, Kent, England. In the 2024–25 season, the club participates in the Isthmian League Premier Division, the seventh tier of the English football league s ...

play at Princes Park Stadium and compete in the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

. There are also three other senior clubs based in Dartford, two of them in the

Kent County Football League The Kent County Football League (known as the Kent County League) is a football competition based in Kent, England and adjacent area. The league was founded in 1922 as the Kent Amateur Football League and comprised Eastern and Western sections w ...

: Fleetdown United, who play at Heath Lane Lower, and Kent United, who play at Glentworth Sports Club, the former home of Kent Football United (now defunct).

Southern Counties East Football League The Southern Counties East Football League is an English association football, football league established in 1966, which has teams based in Kent and Southeast London. Its two divisions are allocated at Step 5 and Step 6 of the National League ...

side Halls AFC play at the Community Stadium at Princes Park. Dartford Harriers Athletic Club was formed in 1922 and is currently based at Central Park. Originally founded as Dartford Rugby Football Club, the rugby players began taking part in cross-country runs in an effort to keep fit. Running soon became more popular with the players, and the club eventually dropped rugby around the end of the 1927–28 season, becoming Dartford Harriers AC. The club's running colours of blue and blue "hoops" are a legacy from the club's rugby origins, when the rugby players simply removed the sleeves from their old rugby shirts to create running vests. Dartfordians Rugby Football Club have five adult teams and a large youth section, and play their home matches at War Memorial Club House on Bourne Road. Their first team currently plays in London 1 South, following promotion from London 2 South-East in the 2017–18 season. Dartford is also home to Dartford and White Oak Triathlon Club; formed in 1988, it is one of the oldest British Triathlon Federation clubs in the UK. The club trains at The Bridge Estate, Dartford. Sports centres in Dartford include the Becket Sports Centre, within the grounds of Dartford Grammar School on Shepherds Lane, which is the home of several sports groups.

Media

Since the town is close to London, television signals are received from the

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

TV transmitter, placing Dartford in the

BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London, Surrey and parts of the surrounding areas of the Home Counties. Its output includes the daily '' BBC London'' news bulletin and w ...

and

ITV London ITV London is the on-air brand name used by ''ITV Broadcasting Limited'' for two broadcast franchises of ITV, Carlton Television (weekdays) and London Weekend Television (weekends) in the London ITV region. Its terrestrial digital signal is ...

areas. Some areas of the town can also pick up a signal from the Bluebell Hill TV transmitter that broadcasts

BBC South East BBC South East is the BBC English region serving Kent, East Sussex (including the City of Brighton and Hove), parts of West Sussex and Surrey. The BBC region was created in September 2001 by the joining of the Heathfield transmitter (former ...

and

ITV Meridian ITV Meridian (previously Meridian Broadcasting) is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station was launched at midnight on 1 January 1993, replacing previous broadcaster Television South, and is owned ...

. Local radio stations are:

BBC Radio Kent BBC Radio Kent is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Kent. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Great Hall in Royal Tunbridge Wells. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audie ...

(96.7 FM),

Heart South Heart South is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the south and south east of England. The station launched on 3 June 2019 as a result of a merger between four sister stations: H ...

(103.1 FM),

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

(603 AM) and KMFM West Kent, which broadcasts from its studios in

Strood Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. Strood forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, Rochester, Kent, Rochester, Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham and Rainham, Kent, Rainham. It ...

on 96.2 FM. The town is served by two local newspapers: the Dartford & Swanley News Shopper and the Dartford Messenger.

Health

Between 1877 and 1903 the number of hospitals in Dartford rose to 11, together providing 10,000 hospital beds, at a time when the town's population was a little over 20,000. The majority of these have been closed, especially since the opening of

Darent Valley Hospital Darent Valley Hospital is a 478-bed, acute district general hospital in Dartford, Kent, England. The hospital has an Emergency Department. The hospital is managed by the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust. History The hospital, which was built to ...

. One of the best-known,

Stone House Hospital Stone House Hospital was a hospital and former mental illness treatment facility in Stone, near Dartford, Kent, in the United Kingdom. History Stone House was originally constructed between 1862 and 1866 at the behest of the London Commissioners ...

, in Cotton Lane to the east of the town, was opened on 16 April 1866 as the "City of London Lunatic Asylum". It was, and still is, a large

castellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

structure built in spacious grounds. It remained under the direct administration of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

until 1948, when it was transferred to the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

(NHS). It remains one of the largest and most visible structures in Dartford, and was until recently operated by the NHS to manage regional health care delivery, and was also home to a nursing school, ''Livingstone Hospital'', on East Hill. The main buildings of this facility are now closed, and have been turned into luxury flats.

Transport

Roads

The route of an ancient

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

trackway Historic roads (or historic trails in the US and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient track ...

which the Romans later paved and identified as Iter III on the

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary (, "Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is an , a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly in part from a survey carried out under Augustus, it describes t ...

, later to be called ''Watling Street'', and which the current A2 roughly follows, passed close to the town. After the Romans left Britain, it fell out of use, as the town developed and traffic went into the town itself; the name Watling Street transferring to the new route. The introduction of

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

services increased the amount of traffic through the town, so that by the 18th century it had become necessary to control the upkeep of such a heavily used road.

Turnpike Trusts Turnpike trusts were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal roads in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. At the peak, in the 1830s, ...

were set up by Act of Parliament; Dartford was served by two: that for Watling Street and the road south to

, both brought into being between 1750 and 1780. From 1925, the A2 main road took traffic away from Dartford town centre via the ''Princes Road'' bypass. Today, the original main road through the town is the A226 and the former turnpike road south to Sevenoaks is now the A225. A newer by-pass is the A206, which skirts the town to the north. Its prime purpose is to carry traffic from the riverside industrial developments on to the

from both west and east. Dartford is perhaps most well known for the latter, the main mode of crossing the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

to the east of London, where the southbound A282 (part of the London Orbital) crosses the river via the

toll bridge, opened in 1991. The northbound carriageway crosses via the twin bore

Dartford Tunnel The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...

; the first tunnel was opened in 1963 and the second in 1980.

Railway

Dartford railway station Dartford railway station serves the town of Dartford in Kent, England. It is down the line from . Train services from the station are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink. Southeastern also manages the station. Dartford is a major interch ...

is located in the town centre and is connected to London by three

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...

routes. The first London to Dartford connection by rail was the

North Kent Line The North Kent Line is a railway line which branches off the South East Main Line at St Johns junction west of Lewisham station in Greater London and runs to Rochester Bridge Junction near Strood, Medway where it links to the Chatham Main ...

via Woolwich Arsenal in 1849, connecting at

with the line to the Medway Towns. Later, two more lines were built: the

Dartford Loop Line The Dartford Loop Line is one of three lines linking London with Dartford in Kent, England. It lies to the south of the other two: the North Kent Line (or Woolwich Line) and the Bexleyheath Line. Informally, the line is known as the Sidcup L ...

through

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. It was ...

, which opened in 1866, and the Bexleyheath Line, which opened in 1895. All the lines were electrified by 6 June 1926. The station is served by two

train operating companies In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways ...

: * Southeastern, which provides services from to , and . *

Thameslink Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from , , , , , and via central London to , , , Rainham, , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than ...

operates a route between and .

Buses

Dartford is served by many bus services provided by

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

Arriva Kent Thameside Arriva Kent Thameside Limited, trading as Arriva Kent Thameside, formerly known as London Transport, London Country and Kentish Bus, is a bus operator based in north-west Kent, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. The company operates ...

and Go Coach Buses. These routes connect Dartford with areas including Bluewater,

Erith Erith () is an area in south-east London, England, east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. Since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north ...

Greenhithe Greenhithe may refer to: *Greenhithe, Kent Greenhithe is a village in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is located east of Dartford and west of Gravesend. Area In the past, Gree ...

Orpington Orpington is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Mary Cray, sou ...

Swanley Swanley is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England, southeast of central London, adjacent to the Greater London boundary and within the M25 motorway periphery. The population at the 2021 ce ...

Welling Welling is a town in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley, west of Bexleyheath, southeast of Woolwich and of Charing Cross. It was part of Kent prior to the creation of Greater London i ...

and

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

Education

Places of worship

The parish church,

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

, is situated on the western bank of the River Darent, from where a hermit would conduct travellers across the ford. The church was originally a 9th-century Saxon structure, but gained later Norman additions. Also on display within the church is a brass plaque commemorating the work of

Richard Trevithick Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 – 22 April 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He ...

, the pioneer of steam propulsion, who, at the end of his career, lived, worked (at J & E Hall) and died in the town. Other places of worship in Dartford include: Brent Methodist Church, Brethren's Meeting Room, Dartford Methodist Church, Highfield Road Baptist Church, Net Church, St Alban's Church, St Andrew's United Reformed Church, Christ Church Dartford, Grace Outreach Church, and Zion Strict Baptist Chapel. The graveyard is situated in St Edmund's Pleasance on the summit of East Hill (the place where Richard Trevithick is buried), which gave rise to a traditional and derogatory rhyme of Dartford's people: "Dirty Dartford, filthy people, bury their dead above the steeple." The church actually has no steeple; it has a tower featuring a ring of eight bells.

Twinned towns

Dartford is twinned with: *

Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Germany *

Gravelines Gravelines ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord departments of France, department in Northern France. It lies at the mouth of the river Aa (France), Aa southwest of Dunkirk, France, Dunkirk. It was form ...

, France

Notable people

Mick Jagger Sculpture in Dartford Central Park

The following are from or have lived in Dartford (or other connection if specified): *

Doreen Allen Doreen Allen (1879 – 18 June 1963) was a militant English suffragette and member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), who on being imprisoned was Force-feeding, force-fed, for which she received the WSPU's Hunger Strike Medal ' ...

(1879–1963), militant suffragette *

Malcolm Allison Malcolm Alexander Allison (5 September 1927 – 14 October 2010) was an English football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Mal", he was one of English football's most flamboyant and intriguing characters because of his panache, fedora a ...

(1927–2010), football player and manager *

Andrea Arnold Andrea Patricia Arnold OBE (born 5 April 1961) is an English filmmaker and former actress. She won an Academy Award for her short film ''Wasp'' in 2005. Her feature films include '' Red Road'' (2006), '' Fish Tank'' (2009) and '' American Hon ...

(born 1961),

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

and

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

winning film director * George Barton (1808–1864), Sussex cricketer *

Martina Bergman-Österberg Martina Sofia Helena Bergman-Österberg (née Bergman; 7 October 1849 – 29 July 1915)Westrin, p. 194 was a Sweden, Swedish-born physical education instructor and women's suffrage advocate who spent most of her working life in Britain. After stu ...

(1849–1915), physical education pioneer and founder of Dartford College * Peter Blake (born 1932), pop artist * Edward Brander (1845–1883), cricketer *

Richard Cant Richard Cant (born 1964) is a British actor. He is the son of actor and children's television presenter Brian Cant, and partner of Richard Coles, the former Communards musician and Anglican priest. Career Cant appeared twice on the long-runnin ...

(born 1964), actor *

Dave Charnley David Fraser Charnley (10 October 1935 – 3 March 2012) was an English lightweight boxer considered to be one of the greatest British fighters in his weight class. Known as "The Dartford Destroyer", the left-handed Charnley had a 10-year caree ...

(1935–2012), British Lightweight Champion boxer (1957–63) * Ron Cooper (1932–2012), bicycle frame builder *

Mackenzie Crook Mackenzie Crook (born Paul James Crook, 29 September 1971) is an English actor, director, comedian and writer best known for his roles in television and film. He gained widespread recognition for portraying Gareth Keenan in the British sitcom '' ...

(born 1971), actor *

Graham Dilley Graham Roy Dilley (18 May 1959 – 5 October 2011) was an English international cricketer, whose main role was as a fast bowler. He played first-class cricket for Kent County Cricket Club and Worcestershire County Cricket Clubs, and appeared in ...

(1959–2011), Kent and England cricketer *

Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is a British business magnate, motorsport executive and former racing driver. Widely known in journalism as the "F1 Supremo", Ecclestone founded the Formula One Group in 1987, controlling the c ...

(Born 1930), former CEO of

Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

. Lived in Dartford for most of his childhood and early adult life. Attended Dartford West Secondary School *

Peter Glaze William George Peter Glaze (17 September 1917 – 20 February 1983) was an English comedian born in London. He appeared in '' Crackerjack'' with Eamonn Andrews and Leslie Crowther in the 1960s, and with Michael Aspel, Don Maclean and Be ...

(1917–1983), comedian *

Len Goodman Leonard Gordon Goodman (25 April 1944 – 22 April 2023) was an English professional ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance competition adjudicator. He appeared as head judge on the UK television programme ''Strictly Come Dancing'' – in w ...

(1944–2023), dance expert *

Ivor Gurney Ivor Bertie Gurney (28 August 1890 – 26 December 1937) was an English poet and composer, particularly of songs. He was born and raised in Gloucester. He suffered from bipolar disorder through much of his life and spent his last 15 years in psy ...

(1890–1937), composer and poet *

(1765–1836), founder of engineering business J & E Hall, based in Dartford *

Laura Hamilton Laura Jane Hamilton (born 24 April 1982) is an English television presenter, property expert and entrepreneur. She began her career on children's television, presenting shows such as ''Fun Song Factory'' and on Nickelodeon. She participated in ...

(born 1982), TV presenter ('' A Place in the Sun''), attended Dartford Grammar School for Girls *

Paul Hartnoll Paul Hartnoll (born 19 May 1968) is one of two brothers (the other being Phil Hartnoll) who make up the electronic dance act Orbital. History Hartnoll played in a local band during the mid-1980s, Noddy and the Satellites, featuring avant-garde ...

(born 1968) and Phil Hartnoll (born 1964), electronic musicians and members of the band Orbital (band), Orbital *Henry Havelock (1795–1857), military general *Jimmy Havoc (born 1984), Professional wrestling, professional wrestler *Barry Hawkins (born 1979), professional snooker player *Terry Hollands (born 1979), Britain's Strongest Man (2007) *A. E. Holt White (1851–1933), non-fiction writer and illustrator *Henry Ambrose Hunt (1866–1946), meteorologist *Mick Jagger (born 1943), vocalist and songwriter, The Rolling Stones * Thomas Walter Jennings (1917–1978), founded Jennings Musical Instruments (JMI) Ltd. (Vox Amplifiers) in Dartford *Diane Keen (born 1946), actress *Sidney Keyes (1922–1943), war poet *John Latham (ornithologist), John Latham (1743–1837), ornithologist *Nick Lee (cricketer), Nick Lee (born 1983), cricketer *Phil May (singer), Phil May (born 1944), vocalist, The Pretty Things *Patrick Mackay (born 1952), serial killer *Matt Morgan (comedian), Matt Morgan (born 1977), comedy writer, The Original Victim *Topsy Ojo (born 1985), London Irish and England national rugby union team, England rugby union full-back, attended Dartford Grammar School *Min Patel (born 1970), Kent and England cricketer *Keith Richards (born 1943), guitarist and songwriter, The Rolling Stones *Steve Rider (born 1950), TV sports presenter *David A. Russell (golfer), David Russell (born 1957), golfer *Paul Samson (1953–2002), Rock music, rock guitarist *Jeffrey Snowden (born 1973), former cricketer *Alfred Sturge (1816–1901), pastor and missionary *Dick Taylor (born 1943), guitarist, The Pretty Things *Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013), Prime Minister who unsuccessfully ran to be MP of Dartford in 1950 and 1951 *Pete Tong (born 1960), house music, house DJ *

(1771–1833), inventor and mining engineer, died in Dartford *Mary Ann Lake Wallis (1821–1910), New Zealand orphanage matron *Andy Wilmot (born 1980), racing driver *William James Erasmus Wilson (1809–1884), surgeon

References

Bibliography

*''Kent History Illustrated'' - Frank W Jessup (KCC, 1966) *''Railways of the Southern Region'' - Geoffrey Body (PSL Field Guide 1989) *''The History and Antiquities of Dartford, with Topographical Notices of the Neighbourhood'' (1844) – John Dunkin, Google Books

External links

The Dartford town archiveDartford Town Guide
* {{Authority control Towns in Kent Market towns in Kent Port of London Populated places on the River Thames Unparished areas in Kent Former civil parishes in Kent Dartford,