Erith

Erith
Kent
Location
Grid reference:	TQ505775
Location:	51°28’35"N, -0°10’5"E
Data
Post town:	London / Erith
Postcode:	DA8
Dialling code:	01322
Local Government
Council:	Bexley
Parliamentary constituency:	Erith and Thamesmead Bexleyheath & Crayford

Erith is a town in north-eastern Kent, on the south bank of the River Thames and wihin the outermost of the metropolitan conurbation. Erith's town centre has undergone a series of modernisations since 1961. Erith is a poorer town than many Kentish places, unsympathetically modernised and characterized by flats and council blocks, with fewer houses, and shops and other commercial properties interspersed between.

History

Prehistoric remains

Archaeology has show that once Erith was an area of dense forest of oak, yew and alder, during the Neolithic, though by the Bronze Age the waters had isen and created a sedge fen. Settlements of prehistory and of the first century have been traced.

Middle Ages

Erith itself was founded in the Anglo-Saxon period, its name meaning `muddy harbour' or `gravelly landing place'. There was probably a church on the site of the present St John the Baptist church during Roman times and almost certainly a Saxon building. The early settlement was based around this church, meaning that the centre of Erith was once west of its current location.

The earliest reference to the area is in a Latin charter of 695 recording a grant by the Bishop of the East Saxons of certain lands at Erith. In early times, the area may also have been known as Lesnes or Lessness. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, Erith passed into the possession of Bishop Odo and is mentioned in the Domesday Survey.

In 1315, a Royal Charter was granted for a market to be held in Erith every Thursday. However, it was noted in 1776 that the market had long been discontinued.

Modern Period

Erith owes its existence to the Thames and was, until the 1850s, essentially a small riverside port, given prominence by King Henry VIII's decision to open a naval dockyard in the town. The position of the dockyard is approximately, where the 'Riverside Gardens' are now. His famous warship, Henri Grace à Dieu, was fitted out there in 1515. At that time, and until the 19th Century, Erith was a popular anchorage. Ships often discharged some cargo here before proceeding through the shallows upstream.

In 1797 Edward Hasted described Erith as 'consisting of one small street of houses, which leads to the water side', and mentions two annual fairs, on Ascension Day and Michaelmas Day. In 1831 Erith's population was 1533 people, and it was described (in 1840), as being 'composed chiefly of two streets, one leading down to the water side, the other branching off to the left towards the church'.

In 1849, Erith enjoyed a short time as a riverside resort. Its pier and nearby hotel gave hospitality for the many day-trippers who visited the town via the Thames pleasure boats or via the railway.

Grade II-listed former Library

Engineering became a prominent industry around Erith, with armaments and cable production being the main supplies. Vickers was a major employer and was linked to the Royal Arsenal at nearby Woolwich. Another local firm, Callender's Cables(Later British Insulated Callender's Cables) supplied the world with high-class cable and also laid an underwater pipeline across the English Channel (see Submarine communications cable). Fuel supplied through this pipeline was used by Allied vehicles during the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944.

The town was bombed heavily during the Second World War, mainly due its position both on the riverside and near to Royal Arsenal. Because of the bomb damage and the gradual decline in local trade, after the war there was a major redevelopment of the town in the 1960s.

After the War

In 1961, plans were put forward by local planners to redevelop Erith into a modern, sleek shopping and working environment. This involved clearing the substandard housing by the riverside and the old street layout in order to accommodate more cars. Demolition of the old town started in 1966, when the mayor of Bexley smashed Headley Mitchells shop window, and continued in phases until 1980, leaving few reminders of the old town centre (Queens Church, The Cross Keys pub, police station, the Carnegie Library and Christ Church still stand). Many of the original Victorian buildings were lost but some of the original townscape remains, from the White Hart in the High Street through to St John's Church in West Street.

From the river front there are two point block residential towers opened in the early seventies, the playhouse (begun in 1973) and two rather drab shopping centres (1969 and 1973). Recently, these shopping centres have been refaced and extended to provide new social housing and better quality shops to complement the W.M.Morrison's supermarket to the east of town in an attempt to make Erith more attractive and welcoming. The site formerly used by outdoor markets became a car park serving the improved pedestrianised centre.

In 1975/76, everything to the south of Pier Road was swept away for more modern housing and a new dual carriageway, which still stands today.

In 1996, the two sites of Erith School, the East and West buildings, merged onto one site on Avenue Road. In 2005, the school was awarded Specialist Schools status by the Government, recognising its excellence in PE, Maths and ICT. A new sixth form block opened in 2007. Its Community Sports Centre is used during the evenings and weekends by a variety of teams.

New riverside apartment blocks facing the pier

Since the late 1990s Erith has been undergoing significant changes with the Erith Western Thames Gateway project being the culmination of a number of years of regeneration.

The regeneration of the area falls within the remit of the Thames Gateway project, with Erith being a key focus for Bexley Council as its only population centre on the River Thames. Since 2000 a significant number of new flats have been constructed by the Thames as private developments and attempts have been made to ameliorate some of the worst of the 1960s depredations on the town.

Erith Riverside Shopping Centre

Churches

• Church of England:
  • Christ Church
  • St John The Baptist
  • St Paul's, Northumberland Heath
  • St Augustine's, Slade Green
• Baptist:
  • Northend Baptist Church
  • Northumberland Road Baptist Church
  • Queen Street Baptist Church
• Independent Evangelical:
  • Slade Green Fellowship
  • Lighthouse Christian Fellowship
  • North Heath Family Church
  • Springs of Life Church - 01322 436391
• Roman Catholic: Our Lady of the Angels

Culture and leisure

The Erith Playhouse Theatre is the largest in the area. The town once had was a museum, but it has now closed.

The Erith Symphony Orchestra ceased to exist in 1972 and it was almost 30 years before another orchestra was heard in the town, when the Dartford-based, Orchestra of the Thames Gateway gave a concert there in 2004 and in subsequent years.

Erith has the longest pier in London, on the River Thames. It has been recently adapted from commercial to leisure use, and is popular with anglers. The annual Erith Riverside Festival has been held for a number of years in Riverside Gardens alongside the Thames.

Erith is the starting point for the LOOP (London Outer Orbital Path) and one of the starting points for the Green Chain Walk. The Thames Path National Trail which runs to the source of the River Thames at Kemble begins at nearby Crayford Ness.

The initial broadcasts of pirate radio station West and North Kent Radio (WNKR) took place at Norvic House, Larner Road, Erith, during the bank holiday weekend in August 1987. The station now transmits pre-recorded music shows on the medium wave at weekends, with some Internet streaming options offered since 2000.

Sport

The pier on the Thames

The David Ives Stadium is home to Bexley Athletic Club and Erith Town FC ('The Dockers'), who play in the Kent League. (Erith & Belvedere FC play in Welling.) Erith Rugby Club play at Northumberland Heath Recreation Ground.

Erith Rowing Club is a successful and friendly club located in former police premises on the waterfront, accessed from Erith High Street. Downstream, Erith Yacht Club is very active in both competitive and social sailing, based on the edge of Crayford Marshes with consent for a new clubhouse.

In 2007, the Tour de France passed through Erith during the London leg of the Tour.

Outside links

• erithtown.net - an introduction and guide to Erith, with comprehensive directory
• Bexley Local Studies Note 11 - Erith - gives a good outline history of the area
• North West Kent Family History Society - Erith Parish Page