Greenhithe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Greenhithe |
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 Ingress Abbey in Greenhithe |
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 Greenhithe
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| Population | 6,567 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | TQ586748 |
| Civil parish | |
| District |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Greenhithe |
| Postcode district | DA9 |
| Dialling code | 01322 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament |
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Greenhithe is a small village in Kent, England. It's part of the Dartford area and the parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. You can find it about 4 miles (6.5 km) east of Dartford and 5 miles (8 km) west of Gravesend.
Contents
Discovering Greenhithe's Past
Greenhithe has a long history, especially because of its location by the River Thames. In Roman times, it was known as Gretenrsce. By 1363, it was called Grenehuth. The name "Greenhithe" comes from an old English word, 'hythe', which means 'landing-place'. So, Greenhithe means 'green landing place'.
In the past, Greenhithe's waterfront was busy with ships. They would load and unload things like corn, wood, and other goods. The biggest shipments were chalk and lime. This helped the cement industry grow in nearby Swanscombe.
Greenhithe was even a popular place for tourists during the Victorian era. A pier was built in 1842, but it's gone now. On August 11, 1863, Queen Victoria herself boarded the Royal Yacht 'Victoria and Albert' near Greenhithe. A large crowd cheered her on!
Today, Greenhithe is easy to reach. It's close to the M25 motorway, the Ebbsfleet International railway station for high-speed trains, and the huge Bluewater shopping centre.
Training Future Sailors
In the mid-1800s, people realized that young officers needed special training before joining the Royal Navy or Merchant Navy. So, a group of London shipowners started the Thames Nautical Training College in 1862.
The Navy gave them a ship called HMS Worcester. This was a large wooden ship with 50 guns. The Navy was starting to use iron ships, so many wooden ones were no longer needed. The Worcester moved to Greenhithe in 1871 and stayed there for many years.
Famous Expeditions and the Cutty Sark
Greenhithe is also famous for being the starting point of the ill-fated Franklin expedition. In May 1845, two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, left Greenhithe on their journey to explore the Arctic.
Later, the famous clipper ship Cutty Sark was given to the college in 1938. It was used as a place for boating practice. During World War II, the college moved, and the Worcester was used by the Royal Navy. By 1945, the Worcester was in very bad shape.
Luckily, a new training ship was found. It was the Exmouth, built in 1904 especially for nautical training. It was renamed the third and last Worcester. Because of this new ship, the Cutty Sark was no longer needed for training. It was given to the nation and is now on display in Greenwich.
The college eventually moved to a new building on land. The last Worcester ship was taken apart. Today, Greenhithe still has reminders of its naval past, like a pub named after the Worcester and streets named after people connected to the college.
Ingress Abbey: A Historic Estate
The Abbey's Early Days
The Ingress Estate in Greenhithe was once a large manor. In 1363, King Edward III gave the manor to the Dominican Sisters' Abbey in Dartford. This lasted until King Henry VIII of England closed down the monasteries.
Building the Current Abbey
In 1820, a lawyer named James Harman bought the Ingress Estate. He hired an architect, Charles Moreing, to build a grand house. The beautiful Ingress Abbey you see today was built in 1833. It's designed in a Tudor-Gothic style.
It's said that stones from the old London Bridge were used to build the Abbey. The old London Bridge was replaced in the 1830s. Inside the Abbey's grounds, there's a grotto (a small cave) called "the cave of the seven heads." It has strange-looking stone faces that might also have come from the medieval London Bridge. Six of these faces are still visible. The gardens around the Abbey were possibly designed by the famous landscape architect Capability Brown.
Greenhithe's Economy Today
Greenhithe's economy has changed a lot. It no longer relies on river trade. Instead, it's boosted by the M25 motorway, the High Speed 1 Ebbsfleet International station, and the huge Bluewater shopping centre.
The whole area is being redeveloped as part of the Thames Gateway project. This project aims to bring more wealth and jobs to the area, especially because of the big shopping center. This has led to higher property values in the village.
Greenhithe's main street is not as busy as Bluewater. There's a supermarket in the village. Besides Greenhithe railway station, the area is mostly homes. New neighborhoods like Ingress Park and Waterstone Park have been built. There are also industrial and business areas around the village.
Empire Paper Mills
In 1904, plans were made to build a paper mill near Ingress Abbey. It was designed by an American engineer, Joseph H. Wallace. The mill opened in 1908 as Ingress Abbey Paper Mills. It was one of the most advanced paper mills in the world and the first to use special iron window frames.
The mill made many types of paper. It used raw materials like grasses from North Africa and old rags. In 1922, a company called Associated Newspapers Limited took over the mill. It was renamed Empire Paper Mills and produced up to 900 tons of newsprint each week. The mill closed in 1992, and the site was later redeveloped.
Getting Around Greenhithe
Trains
Greenhithe station connects the village to other places by train. You can catch trains to Luton (via Woolwich Arsenal and London St Pancras), London Victoria (via Bexleyheath), London Charing Cross (via Sidcup), Gravesend, and Rainham.
Buses
Greenhithe is served by several bus routes. These buses connect the village to places like Bexleyheath, Bluewater, Crayford, Dartford, Ebbsfleet, Gravesend, Lakeside, Northfleet, and Sidcup.
Nearby Areas
- Stone
- Swanscombe
- Bean
- Northfleet
- Dartford
- Darenth
- Southfleet
- Longfield
- South Darenth
- Gravesend
- Sutton at Hone
- Wilmington
- Hartley
- Crayford
- Horton Kirby
Images for kids
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St Mary's Church
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Greenhithe station
