Queenborough is a town on the
Isle of Sheppey
The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the districts of England, local government district of Borough ...
in the
Swale borough of
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 ...
in
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England that are in the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, top level category for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the nine counties of england, ...
.
Queenborough is south of
Sheerness
Sheerness () is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby ...
. It grew as a port near 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 ...
at the westward entrance to
the Swale
The Swale is a tidal channel of the Thames estuary that separates the Isle of Sheppey from the rest of Kent. On its banks is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches from Sittingbourne to Whitstable in Kent. It is also ...
where it joins the
River Medway
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, West Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...
. It is in the
Sittingbourne and Sheppey
Sittingbourne and Sheppey is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2024 general election by Kevin McKenna, a Labour politician and qualified nurse.
Boundaries
1997–2010: The Borough of Sw ...
parliamentary constituency.
Queenborough Harbour offers moorings between the Thames and Medway. It is possible to land at Queenborough on any tide and there are boat builders and chandlers in the marina.
Admiral Lord Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
is reputed to have learned many of his seafaring skills in these waters, and also shared a house near the small harbour with his mistress,
Lady Hamilton.
Queenborough today still reflects something of its original 18th-century seafaring history, from which period most of its more prominent buildings survive. The church is the sole surviving feature from the medieval period. The town was first represented by two
members of parliament in 1572.
History
Saxon
In Saxon times, the settlement on the site was known as ''Cyningburh'', "king's
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
".
Medieval and Tudor
A fortress, called Sheppey Castle or
Queenborough Castle
Queenborough Castle, also known as Sheppey Castle, is a 14th-century castle, the remnants of which are in the town of Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent in England. The castle and the associated planned town were built on the orders of Kin ...
, was built to guard the passage of ships along the Swale upon the command of King
Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
between 1361 and 1377, during the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
with France. It was built on the site of a much earlier, but smaller castle.
Its unusual design – round and symmetrical – was described by historians
Howard Colvin
Sir Howard Montagu Colvin (15 October 1919 – 27 December 2007) was a British architectural historian who produced two of the most outstanding works of scholarship in his field: ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–18 ...
and R. Allen Brown as "exemplifying the principles of cylindrical and concentric fortification carried to their logical conclusion with perfect symmetry". They also suggest that the design, which bore similarities to
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 Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
's
Device Forts
The Device Forts, also known as Henrician castles and blockhouses, were a series of artillery fortifications built to defend the coast of England and Wales by Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII. Traditionally, the Crown had left coastal defences ...
of the 16th century, may have been designed to defend against and to make best use of
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 ...
artillery
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
. Queenborough was the only true concentric castle built in England. It regained importance in the 16th century under
Thomas Cheney
Sir Thomas Cheney (or Cheyne) ( – 16 December 1558) of the Blackfriars, City of London and Shurland, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, was an English administrator and diplomat, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in south-east England from 1536 until h ...
, when it is thought to have influenced the construction of nearby
Deal Castle
Deal Castle is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII in Deal, Kent, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended the strategically ...
and
Walmer Castle
Walmer Castle is an artillery fort originally constructed by Henry VIII in Walmer, Kent, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device Forts, Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and ...
.
In those days north Kent was divided by open waters and marshes stretching inland. The safest navigation to the open sea was then the route from the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
into the
Yantlet Creek
London Stone is the name given to a number of boundary stones that stand beside the rivers Thames and Medway, which formerly marked the limits of jurisdiction (riparian water rights) of the City of London.
History
Until 1350, the English Crow ...
(separating the
Isle of Grain
Isle of Grain (Old English ''Greon'', meaning gravel) is a village and the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula within the unitary authority, district of Medway in Kent, south-east England. Once an island and now forming part of the peninsul ...
from the rest of
Hoo Peninsula
The Hoo Peninsula is a peninsula in Kent, England, separating the estuaries of the rivers Thames and Medway. It is dominated by a line of chalk, clay and sand hills, surrounded by an extensive area of marshland composed of alluvial silt. The ...
), and thus into the Swale from the
Medway
Medway is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of City of Roche ...
estuary, around the leeward side of the Isle of Sheppey into the
Wantsum Channel
The Wantsum Channel was a strait separating the Isle of Thanet from the north-eastern extremity of the English county of Kent and connecting the English Channel and the Thames Estuary. It was a major shipping route when Britain was part of the R ...
, navigating past the
Isle of Thanet
The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island.
Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in a ...
to
Sandwich
A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...
and only then into the open waters of the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. It was thus an easily defensible planned-town centre for the wool trade.
King Edward III had the town renamed after his Queen,
Philippa of Hainault
Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted a ...
, and conferred upon it the rights of a free
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
, with a governing body of a mayor and two bailiffs. He granted Queenborough a
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
in 1366 and two years later bestowed the duties of a
royal borough
The following list of place names with royal styles in the United Kingdom includes places granted a royal title or style by express grant from the Crown (usually by royal charter or letters patent) and those with a royal title or style based on h ...
upon it.
During this period, Queenborough, on the Isle of Sheppey, was an important town for the export of wool, a significant crown revenue. In 1368, the
Wool Staple was transferred from
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 ...
to Queenborough: Sandwich and Queenborough became the two centres in Kent for wool trading.
The castle was excavated in 2005 by
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
television programme ''
Time Team
''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4, Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned in 2022 on online platforms YouTube and Patreon. Created by television produce ...
''.
The town was first represented by two
members of parliament in 1572, one of its earlier MPs being explorer
Sir Humphrey Gilbert
Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c. 1539 – 9 September 1583) was an English adventurer, explorer, member of parliament and soldier who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and was a pioneer of the English colonial empire in North Americ ...
in 1580.
Matthias Falconer of
Brabant established the first
copperas
Iron(II) sulfate or ferrous sulfate (British English: sulphate instead of sulfate) denotes a range of salts with the formula Fe SO4·''x''H2O. These compounds exist most commonly as the heptahydrate (''x'' = 7), but several values for ...
factory in England at Queenborough in 1579.
17th century
King
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
had the town reincorporated under the title of the "mayor, jurats, bailiffs and burgesses of Queenborough", during which time the population was chiefly employed in the local
oyster
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...
fishery. However the fort having protected the Swale and Medway estuaries for 300 years was never in fact to realise its function as a garrison, and recorded no active military history. After being seized by
Parliamentarians in 1650, after the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, and being considered unsuitable for repair, being of "no practical use" it was demolished during the
interregnum
An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...
.
Not long after this, in 1667, the Dutch captured the new Sheerness fort (then under construction) and invaded Queenborough. The occupation lasted only a few days; though the Dutch caused widespread panic, they were unable to maintain their offensive, and withdrew having captured and burnt numerous other ships in the Thames and Medway. Following this raid on the Medway, much-needed attention was given to the improvement of the naval defences of the Medway, which at length helped strengthen the economy of Queenborough and Sheppey. Some 300 years later, in 1967, The Queenborough and
Brielle
Brielle (), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New Maas. The for ...
(the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
) twinning project was established.
Work began on overhauling the parish church in 1690.
18th century
The parish church overhaul continued through to 1730, and a number of houses added to the growing town during the 18th century. With the general prosperity of the colonial and mercantile trades of the age, Queenborough thrived.
Queenborough Guildhall was completed in 1793.
With the silting up of the Yantlet creek and the Wantsum channel and improved navigation through the Thames estuary to London, Queenborough began to lose its importance, becoming something of a backwater.
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...
described it as "a miserable and dirty fishing town (with) the chief traders ... alehouse keepers and oyster catchers".
The
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
eventually became less prominent on the River Medway as other dockyards developed and ships grew in size, so that they were largely replaced by
prison hulk
A prison ship, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoner of war, prisoners of war or civilian internees. Some prison ships were hulk (ship type), hulked. W ...
s which would frequently dispose of their dead charges on a
salt marsh
A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...
at the mouth of the Swale, which was subsequently to become known as Dead Man's Island, and can still be found as such, on local maps today. The new fort and harbour developments completed at Sheerness by this time further replaced Queenborough by being better positioned at the mouth of the Medway.
19th century to date
Records from between 1815 and 1820 show that the Corporation of Queenborough was in some financial difficulties, owing some £14,500 that it could not hope to pay. It appears that the mayor and other officials had been less than honest in their duties toward the community, with the use of the public money at their disposal. This fraud caused a great financial burden upon the fishers and oyster catchers, who were driven to "unlawful and riotous assembly", in protest against unwarranted charges made upon them in the course of their trade. So serious had this deterioration in conditions become, that by the middle of the 19th century the corporation was bankrupt. A leading figure was Thomas Young Greet, who frequently held the office of mayor, and treasurer, and first came to Queenborough in 1814. He and his friends used their positions to cream off the profits of the fisheries. Parliament was called upon to act, vesting by an
act of Parliament much of the town's business in the hands of trustees who were able to refinance the economy by selling land, property and the ancient oyster fishery. The
oyster
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...
trade having been corrupted by smuggling and the bribery of the island's members of parliament, the town lost its franchise in the
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...
.
The economy of Queenborough was boosted significantly by the establishment of a
branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...
from
Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne is an industrial town in the Swale district of Kent, southeast England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons.
The town stands next to th ...
by the
Sittingbourne and Sheerness Railway (later part of the
London, Chatham & Dover Railway
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England. It was created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through Lon ...
), which operated in conjunction with a mail and passenger service by steamer to
Vlissingen
Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...
in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. The Swale was bridged when the railway was built in 1860.
From the town's depression in the 1850s there began a process of recovery. New industries came to Queenborough including a glass works and a company engaged in coal washing. Besides these many other small industries developed, including potteries, the Fertilizer company (which used the old spelling of Sheppey) and the glue works. The
Portland cement
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar (masonry), mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in th ...
works opened in 1890, and there is still a considerable trade in timber.
A borough charter granted in 1885 gave some renewed impetus to the struggling borough council, but it was not until 1937 that the
Charity Commissioners were at last able to appoint a borough council, but the town and its fisheries never fully recovered. The present trustees are
Swale Borough Council
Swale or Swales may refer to:
Topography
* Swale (landform), a low tract of land
** Bioswale, landform designed to remove silt and pollution
** Swales, found in the formation of Hummocky cross-stratification
Geography
* River Swale, in North Y ...
, which incorporated the old borough council in the
local government reorganisation of 1974. Queenborough now has a town council, which includes a mayor.
Unsightly modern
sea wall Sea Wall or The Sea Wall may refer to:
* Seawall, a constructed coastal defence
* Sea Wall, Guyana
* ''The Sea Wall'' (novel), 1950 French novel by Marguerite Duras
* ''The Sea Wall'' (film), 2008 film based on Duras' novel
See also
*'' This Ang ...
defences have hindered the character of the beaches but were deemed necessary; a large yachting harbour exists, where the
pirate radio
Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...
ship ''
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Allan Crawford, initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopol ...
'' (in the river Medway 2003–04) anchored for a while. Tourism is today a major feature of the island, with Queenborough enjoying some of the fruits of local investment.
Government
Queenborough is in the
parliamentary constituency
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
of
Sittingbourne and Sheppey
Sittingbourne and Sheppey is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2024 general election by Kevin McKenna, a Labour politician and qualified nurse.
Boundaries
1997–2010: The Borough of Sw ...
. As of July 2024, the constituency's member of parliament is
Kevin McKenna of the
Labour Party.
Queenborough is within the
Swale local government district
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
and its electoral
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of Queenborough and Halfway. This ward has three of the forty seven seats on Swale Borough Council. As of the
2019 local elections, all three seats are held by the
Conservative Party.
Queenborough continues the traditions of having a town council and a mayor. The town council is made up of eleven elected members, seven from Queenborough and four from Rushenden. The current mayor is Councillor Richard Darby.
Demography
At the
2001 UK census
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.
The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...
, the parish of Queenborough had a population of 3,471.
For every 100 females, there were 94.5 males. The age distribution was 7% aged 0–4 years, 18% aged 5–15 years, 10% aged 16–24 years, 28% aged 25–44 years, 23% aged 45–64 years and 13% aged 65 years and over.
The
ethnicity
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...
of the Queenborough and Halfway electoral
ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
, which includes the neighbouring villages of Minster-on-Sea,
Rushenden and Halfway Houses, was 98.6%
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.7%
mixed race
The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more
races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...
, 0.3%
black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
, 0.2% non-Chinese Asian and 0.3% Chinese or other.
The place of birth of Queenborough and Halfway residents was 97.2% United Kingdom, 0.6%
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
, 0.4% Germany, 0.3% other Western Europe countries, 0.3% Far East, 0.3% Africa, 0.3% North America, 0.2% South Asia, 0.2% Oceania and 0.1% Middle East.
Religion was recorded as 77.6%
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 0.1%
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
and 0.1%
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
. 14.7% were recorded as having no religion, 0.3% had an alternative religion and 7.7% didn't state their religion.
7% of Queenborough and Halfway residents aged 16–74 had a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
or higher, compared to 20% nationally.
Economy
A modern pharmaceutical factory and laboratories, and a steel rolling mill are among the more recent developments, but the mill has suffered greatly as a result of the restrictions in place by the American steel trade.
At the
2001 UK census
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.
The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...
, the economic activity of residents aged 16–74 of Queenborough and its neighbouring villages of Minster-on-Sea,
Rushenden and Halfway Houses was 42.0% in full-time employment, 12.7% in part-time employment, 7.1%
self-employed
Self-employment is the state of working for oneself rather than an employer. Tax authorities will generally view a person as self-employed if the person chooses to be recognised as such or if the person is generating income for which a tax return ...
, 3.4% unemployed, 1.5% students with jobs, 3.0% students without jobs, 14.6% retired, 8.0%
looking after home or family, 5.3% permanently sick or
disabled
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...
and 2.4% economically inactive for other reasons. The unemployment rate of 3.40% was similar to the national rate of 3.35%.
The industry of employment of residents was 24% manufacturing, 16% retail, 9% construction, 9% real estate, 10% transport & communications, 7% health & social work, 7%
public administration
Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
, 5% education, 4% hotels & restaurants, 2% finance, 1% agriculture and 3% other community, social or personal services. Compared to national figures, the town had a relatively high percentage of workers in manufacturing, construction, public administration and transport & communications, and a relatively low percentage in agriculture, health & social work, education, finance and real estate.
Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by
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 ...
. Television signals are received from the
Bluebell Hill TV transmitter.
The town is served by county-wide radio stations:
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Gold Radio. Community radio based stations are
BRFM 95.6 FM, and
Sheppey FM 92.2
Sheppey FM 92.2 is an English community radio station and training centre on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
History
The building was designed by Alison Thomas in 1830.
The station began as an internet radio, internet station in 2012, and was a ...
.
The ''
Sheerness Times Guardian
The ''Sheerness Times Guardian'' is a weekly newspaper serving the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. It is owned by the KM Group
KM Media Group is a multimedia company in the county of Kent, England which originated as the publisher of the Kent Messe ...
'' is the local weekly newspaper.
Transport links
Rail
Trains pass through
Queenborough railway station
Queenborough railway station is on the Sheerness Line, on the Isle of Sheppey in northern Kent, and serves the town of Queenborough. It is down the line from .
Train services are provided by Southeastern.
Facilities
On Platform 2 (Sheernes ...
on the
Sheerness line between
Sittingbourne
Sittingbourne is an industrial town in the Swale district of Kent, southeast England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons.
The town stands next to th ...
, where the line links with the rest of the network, and
Sheerness-on-Sea.
Sailing

The harbour and creek at Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey has mooring facilities for a range of boats. There is an all-tide landing owned by Queenborough Harbour Trust situated on
Crundells Wharf
Crundells Wharf was a general purpose wharf once used by sailing barges bringing cargoes of timber and building materials to Queenborough near Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England. Situated across the waters of the West Swale and to the ...
, which can be used by mooring holders and visiting yachtsmen.
See also
*
Queenborough (UK Parliament constituency)
Queenborough is a town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Borough of Swale, Swale borough of Kent in South East England.
Queenborough is south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to the Swale where i ...
*
Brielle
Brielle (), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New Maas. The for ...
, The Netherlands (Sister city)
References
External links
Queenborough's town council's websitePopulation figures
{{authority control
Towns in Kent
Market towns in Kent
Isle of Sheppey
Civil parishes in Kent