Dartford
Dartford is a city and the administrative seat of the borough of the same name in north-west Kent in the South East England region . The city borders directly on Greater London .
The city lies in the valley of the River Darent , through which the old military route runs from London to Dover . The name of the city is based on a contraction of Darent and Ford (German: Furt ). There are reports of a ford in the River Darent from Roman times. Today Dartford is mainly home to commuters who work in London. The population is 56,818 (as of 2001). The city is also known as the location of one of the largest shopping centers in England, the Bluewater Shopping Center .
history
Archaeological finds prove a settlement in the Neolithic , the Bronze and Iron Ages . The Romans built Watling Street from Dubris ( Dover ) to London. She crossed the river. The Roman settlement of Noviomagus (today's Crayford ) was very close by . Dartford is already mentioned in the Domesday Book .
In the Middle Ages the settlement became a market town. Two brotherhoods, the Dominicans and the Franciscans , established hospitals that were primarily intended to serve pilgrims on their way to the south. In 1576 a grammar school was built. As early as the end of the 17th century, iron processing companies were established in Dartford.
A German immigrant named Spielman (or Spielmann ) built the second paper mill in England in the 18th century. It employed more than 600 workers, most of whom also came from Germany. The English paper format Foolscap (203 × 330 mm) goes back to Spielman's coat of arms, which shows the head of a fool . Spielman is buried in the town church.
In the middle of the 18th century, the road from London to Canterbury that crossed Dartford was built. A little later, Dartford was linked to Sevenoaks .
traffic
The first rail connection to London was from 1849 the North Kent Line via Woolwich , which ran from Gravesend via the Medway Towns .
Other railway lines were built later :
- Dartford Loop line over Sidcup (1866)
- Bexleyheath line (1895)
This made Dartford an important railway junction. The lines have been operated electrically since June 6, 1926 . From 1906 to 1935 the Dartford tram also drove through the city. The reception building of the station are from the 1980s.
Dartford is relieved by a bypass road: Dartford Crossing is a crossing over or under the Thames , consisting of two tunnels and, since 1991, a cable-stayed bridge , the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge . Dartford Crossing is a toll part of the M25 London ring road and an important link between London and Dover.
Personalities
From Dartford come Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards , band members of the Rolling Stones . They knew each other from kindergarten and met again in 1961 at Dartford train station. In addition, Mick Jagger sold ice cream in front of the Dartford Library and Keith bought one from him: "I bought one from him and he earned something from it," says Keith. Phil May , singer and composer of the rock band The Pretty Things was born in Dartford, as was Dick Taylor , co-founder of Pretty Things and previously a member of the original formation of the Rolling Stones. Also known are the artist Sir Peter Blake and the nurse Doreen Norton . Award-winning actress Katie Jarvis for her debut film Fish Tank was born in Dartford in 1991. The football player and coach Malcolm Allison is also from Dartford. Sir George Holroyd Mills , a former Royal Air Force officer and later Black Rod in the House of Lords , was also born in Dartford.
Town twinning
- Hanau , Germany (since 1969)
- Capelle aan den IJssel , Netherlands (since 1989)
- Tallinn , Estonia (since 1992)
- Gravelines , France (since 1992)
Dartford Heath
This area is located west of the original urban area, it is named for the Dartford Warbler (German: Provence warbler ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Richard Deiss: Vane Cathedral and Sugar Beet Station. A short story about 200 European train stations . Bonn 2010, p. 61.
Coordinates: 51 ° 26 ′ 47 ″ N , 0 ° 13 ′ 1 ″ E