Rainham History- Information about the History of Rainham Kent

Greens of Rainham Vauxhall Dealer - New Photos of closed site

2010-08-15T23:00:00.000+01:00

There still seem to be a lot of Google searches for Greens of Rainham, but the Vauxhall dealer shut back in early 2009.

We took some recent photos to record the site before it is sold or redeveloped.

http://www.rainham-history.co.uk/articles/Greens-of-Rainham.html

Kent Reliance Takeover (Kent Reliance Building Society) KRBS Gillingham FC Sponsor

2010-07-14T13:26:00.002+01:00

It has been reported that the Kent Reliance Building Society, KRBS, sponsor of the Gills and Priestfields stadium, is in takeover talks with the US company JC Flowers. It is suggested that JC Flowers will invest £50million for a 49% stake in the business but that as this is not a full takeover it will not generate windfall payments to members.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10594824

In its stock exchange announcement, the building society said the proposed deal with Flowers would "create a new corporate structure for the Kent Reliance business."

This follows the controversial policies pursued by Chief Exec Mike Lazenby involving outsourcing admin processing to India and closing almost all the Kent Reliance branches.

The Daily Telegraph reports "As the boss of a mutual, , chief executive of Kent Reliance, is charged with running the company entirely for the benefit of its customers, with no external shareholders. Yet together they have devised the first private equity investment in a British mutual lender. The deal is being watched across the City and the regions since it could trigger a transformative impact on reform of the building society and banking sectors. "

One commentator said: "Flowers has been lucky with Lazenby who is not the standard mutual boss. He might find the others harder to convince."

The official announcement by KRBS says:

Kent Reliance Building Society today announces that it is in talks with J.C. Flowers & Co. to create a new corporate structure for the Kent Reliance business. If the new structure proceeds, it would allow for substantial new capital investment to support the business and would provide a means for the Society’s members to remain members of a mutual organisation.

Ann Castle's Book with details about the people of Rainham,

2010-07-06T12:34:00.000+01:00

I recently received a message about a book by Ann Castle. It has lots of snippets about the people of Rainham, Halstow & Upchurch.

Ann Castle's Book on Rainham Halstow Upchurch

There are also some recipes, accounts and other articles that have been transcribed to a different page.

Most pages are dedicated to a particular family but occasionally, they spill over to an adjacent page.

Original grammar and spelling have been retained but some letters and words are illegible.

How old is my house?

2010-07-01T13:48:00.000+01:00

I am often asked by people who want to find out how old their house is. There are several methods depending on the approximate age of your property.

In the Medway Towns there are books called Kelly's directory that are held at local libraries. These detail all the properties and owners in particular areas and can show when new houses appear in the records. For example many houses around Maidstone Road in Rainham sprung up in the late 1920s and early 1930s and can be seen from the volumes of Kelly's Directory from each year.

If you property is much older than this then parish records or census returns could be a good starting point. For newer properties local councils may hold records that show when the house was built.

If you have any more suggestions for ways to determine how old your house is then please leave them as comments.

The Lord Stanley Pub, Upchurch

2010-02-24T23:21:00.000Z

I received this email today which I hope follow up very soon.

A friend of our's contacted me about The Lord Stanley.

Well we bought 'The Lord Stanley Bungalow ' March1996 I was asked when The Public House got burnt down, we are not sure as when we bought The bungalow it was all under probate so it was difficult to find out all about it. I'm not sure if you are interested but we have the deeds from 1865 ? you are most welcome to look at them. This was when it was bought by Barnes, my sister-in-laws Parents lived in Horsham Lane and she can remember going to Barnes' shop, my husbands parents had a fish round and he can remember as a small boy buying sweets from the shop while helping on the fish round with his Step mother. We have a photo taken in 1965 of The Pub and land, it was taken by a photographer in a Tiger Moth flying over head.

Picture Book of Old Rainham - Issue 3 Now Available

2010-02-21T22:38:00.001Z

A new Picture Book of Old Rainham is now available. Click on the Amazon link below to order for delivery worldwide.

This book follows on from Volume 1 and 2 of the Picture Book of Old Rainham which are now out of print.

Freddie Cooper

2009-01-16T07:56:00.002Z

I have recently heard that Freddie Cooper sadly passed away on 6th January 2009.

Freddie was a former Mayor and a huge source of information on the history of Rainham providing many articles for this site via Action Forum.

You can see an interview with Freddie Cooper on YouTube where he talks about Rainham and how life was in the last century.

Feedback on Rainham History

2010-02-21T19:26:00.000Z

Thanks for all the feedback and comments on the site, it is much appreciated and makes the effort of maintaining it all worthwhile.

History of Rainham, Photos and Tales of Bygone Times in Kent

The Rainham History site originally started out as a personal project in 2000 so ten years on it is quite an amount of work that has gone into it. I know some of the local schools are using the site for project work which is very gratifying.

Lipton Shop - High Street Rainham Kent, 1920s

2010-02-15T19:23:00.000Z

I have attached a photo of a shop that I believe was located in HighSt Rainham in the 1920's. The person in the middle was my father Percy Jacobs who was born in Rainham, I think at High street. My grandfather was born in Upchurch he was a shepherd, I think it was at Greenboro' Marsh. In fact all of the Jacobs family was born, married and died in and around Rainham. I know that William Jacobs born 1791 was born in the are, probably Upchurch and his father Edward Jacobs born 1765 was I believe born in Rainham. I have done some research using Ancestry. com but now I am trying any other avenue to see what I can unearth. I am also looking back at the maternal family line which also springs from Rainham, the Hawks being one.

"The Rose" Public House, Rainham, Kent

2010-01-28T19:17:00.000Z

I received this message today about the "The Rose" Public House, Rainham, Kent

I recognise the pub, but when I lived in Rainham as a boy (1930-38) it was a ‘farmer’s pub’ where all the local farm labourers drank – sawdust on the floor ! I was born in one of the last houses in Rainham on the way out to Sittingbourne – ‘Rosebank’, No. 7 Moor St., and was baptised in the chapel across the road next to the Rose – it’s offices now. The A2 then was the main road to the coast and we kids used to sit outside the house on summer evenings watching the charabancs and cars, red London buses, and the steam lorries from the brewery going past.
I went to the school by the railway – was it in Orchard St?- but didn’t realise until I was much older just how good a school it was under Mr. Pitcher, the headmaster. Well ahead of its time with radio, a lot of music, and games in the Rainham ‘rec.’ under the railway bridge. The place has changed a lot.
Regards – Arthur Johnson.

Rainham Snow

2010-01-07T14:47:00.000Z

Although we have had snow this week in Rainham the quantity has been nothing like that seen in January 1987. Some parts of Kent this week had up to 20 cm (8 inches) yet in 1987 the recorded amount of snow locally was 22 inches (55 cm) of snow over 2 nights from 12 to 13 January.

Parts of the area were cut off and near Lenham a train was stuck in a snowdrift for over a week before being dug out. You can see more photos and information about this on the snow page of the website

The Smallholders Club - Wigmore Kent

2009-10-13T13:43:00.000+01:00

I have received the following message today. If anyone is able to assist can you reply here so that the Smallholders Club can see the responses.

=========================================================================

Can you help, I work for the Wigmore & District Smallholders Club and am trying to track down how long the club has been in exsistant. September 1924 is my last record but there is a picture of the smallholders which could be older than that?
We have no records in the Club before 1976- unfortunetly they were destroyed by fire.

We have no idea if we have a centuary in the near future or if we've missed it.

Greens of Rainham Vauxhall Car Dealership Closes

2009-03-04T12:57:00.008Z

It has been announced that Greens of Rainham, the Vauxhall car dealer has been placed in administration. The Greens showrooms in Rainham and Snodland have been empty for several months so the confirmation was no great surprise locally. Sadly some 70 Greens of Rainham employees lost their jobs having been left in limbo since December when they were last paid but without being given any information until now about the fate of the company.

This news would appear to confirm the depth and severity of the current recession by claiming a dealership that has successfully survived many previous recessions and downturns.

[information from Medway Messenger]

Changes in the Urban Landscape

2009-10-08T12:18:00.000+01:00

From the photos published on the Rainham History website it is very clear how much the urban landscape changes even over relatively short periods of time.

Rainham Cement Works

2009-04-05T11:01:00.002+01:00

This message was received from Eddy Newport regarding the cement works at Berengrave Lane.

Dear sir
I like to draw your attention to the following web site

http://www.friendsofberengrave.btik.com/p_Home.ikml

This site has been put together by Brian Baker chairman of Friends of Berengrave Local Nature Reserve. The web site will explain everything we stand for and trying to achieve regarding the reserve site.

At the moment we are undertaking a archaeological investigation in the area adjacent to the two derelict wash mill in the nature reserve. The object is to find out how the actual site worked when it was running in its heyday. On an old OS map we noticed that a building was marked opposite the WMs and two members of FoB have been working on the site removing detritus and discovering many interesting features.

In doing this work we are finding more questions than answers about how it worked. We have found many support structures but we are confused as to what they did. To cut a long story short, I was wondering if it possible that any of your members may have some information or old photos showing anything about the cement and chalk workings that and can give us a clue as to how it worked.
The site has moved on since the web site was updated and a lot more has been excavated.

Feel free to come down and see what we are doing there.ED

Tip. go into the web site click in artefacts and follow the link to the archaeological investigation and see what we are doing.

Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre 30th Birthday

2008-10-21T18:23:00.002+01:00

Hempstead Valley shopping centre, known locally as Savacentre or Sava is celebrating its 30^th birthday this month. What may seem commonplace now was groundbreaking in 1978 as there were very few other out of town shopping centres of this size at the time.

When originally opened the main shop was Sainsburys Savacentre, the brand they originally created for their large hypermarkets. At the time Sainsburys was by far the largest supermarket in the UK with Tesco trailing far behind – a far cry from the current situation with Tesco leading the field. The centre was redeveloped in the early 1990s with an extension and new shops like M&S being added.

The challenge is to remember all the original shops that were there when the centre opens….Sainsburys, Presto (then became Safeway) - but which others?

Photos of the construction of the centre from 1977/1978 have just been loaded to the Rainham History site http://www.rainham-history.co.uk/html/hempstead_valley_savacentre.htm

Kent

2008-11-29T19:01:00.005Z

A tribute to Ron & Milly Hoad,

How beautiful the Kentish air,
With pleasant sound of bird so rare,
The lark, the nightingale, the thrush,
At dawn and in the twilight hush,
I count myself, as so much blessed,
That all these gifts I have possessed,
And praise to God, that I have spent,
So much of life, in glorious Kent.

written by R K Hoad

Major Site Updates

2008-11-15T21:10:00.003Z

The site has undergone a major update today to freshen the look and fix some navigation issues. There are also a number of new articles and photos that have been added.

It has been tested in Google Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 but if any errors are spotted please get in touch as not all pages may have been checked.

If you have any comments about the site please let me know.

Mystery Photographs - Berengrave Lane Rainham 1900s

2008-11-08T10:35:00.007Z

I was contacted recently by someone selling a postcard of Berengrave Lane Rainham on Ebay that was virtually identical to one that is on the Rainham History site. Nothing strange there you might think - except on closer inspection the majority of photo is completely identical - all the people are in the same poses and same positions but with the addition of 2 young lads in the foreground.

There are a couple of possibilities. Firstly that 2 shots were taken and the lads wandered into one shot. The other that the lads were added or removed in the darkroom at a later date which looks to be the more likely possibility.

Have a look and see what you think!

Farthing Corner - Fardon Corner - Last Prize Fight

2008-09-12T12:16:00.000+01:00

Message for Freddie Cooper - Hello my name is Jeff Farthing.

My Great Great Great Grandfather was John Farthing Born in 1763 in Trimley St Martin In Suffolk, He married a Jane (Barber) (Their children shown below)!!!!!!!!
The local family history society in Felixstowe have transposed information in a book which they have published.
In the book 4 of John Farthing's children were mentioned as having the surname (Fardon) Sarah born in 1793 Twins born in 1795 Britannia & Rebecca John born in 1798 (My Gt Gt Grandfather) Then........................
1801 Mary (Farthing) was born
1802 Robert (Farthing) was born
1809 Elizabeth (Farthing)was born

So circa 1798 - 1801 Fardon may have changed to Farthing.

You wrote an article re the last bareknuckle prize fight which you said mentioned fardon's corner which you were unable to find on any map, maybe changed from Fardon Corner to Farthing Corner, around the time of my possible family name change, could be a large Fardon/Farthing family lived there ???

Farthing name is linked to many village names in UK & Norway, there was a Viking King Farthegn, possibly why there are so many village names with Farthing in them and maybe variants of the name ??, He came from Karmoy in Norway.

Their is a Farthing Corner Rainham Kent ME8 8PQ (Possibly the place you were trying to locate ??)

I hope that the above may be of interest to you

Rainham Football team

2008-07-20T20:38:00.004+01:00

I found the website very interesting.

Would there be any chance of information about the football team?

I have this photo but no knowledge of the event it commemorates. My grandfather and great grandfather are both in the photo which must have been taken prior to August 1911 when he married and moved to Dartford aged 21.

Thank you for all your hard work.

Regards Linda

Update from Linda - 21/7/08

My grandfather is holding the cup, he was Albert Charles Tadman. His father George is second from the left in the first standing row, he has a moustache and a role neck sweater. The very tall man at the back appears in many old photos that we inherited from my grandmother but we have no idea who he is.

Location of Rainham Down?

2008-07-20T20:36:00.001+01:00

Hello, I wonder if you could help me with a query?

I am trying to find where 'Rainham Down' was. It is mentioned in the Thomas Arden play, and was the place where Anne of Cleves met Henry VIII's officials when she journeyed to Rochester to meet him for the first time. I've always supposed it was the hill between Rainham Mark and Rainham High street (London Road). I'd be grateful if anyone could clarify this.

Many thanks, Stephen Holley

Tunnels in Bredhurst

2008-07-18T08:38:00.004+01:00

My name is Mark Price and I may have something you maybe interested in.
I came across your web-site while looking for someone that maybe able to shead some light on something I found a couple of years ago in Bredhurst Woods, Bredhurst.

It appears to be some type of small round underground man made tunnel with its own fireplace. One side is what I think is hand made brick, the other carvered out of rock and chalk. I realise that I'm not being very decryptive so I've added some photos I've taken to so you can have a look for yourself. Also very close to the tunnel lays a chalk cave which someone dug. The cave goes into the side of a chalk wall about 10/15 feet and just wondered if you could guess what they were used for?

I would be greatful for any information you maybe able to give.

Charles Thomas Pyke - Request for info

2008-07-15T12:32:00.001+01:00

We get many emails asking for help, I have been trying to find out the best way of posting them but the blog seems to be a good possibility.

This very interesting email was received a few weeks ago.

Good afternoon from Australia.
I don't know if this message is going to the right place, but at least
I can try to see if you can help provide some information on the above or pass it on to someone else in your Society who can help.

The scenario I have goes like this:

1. Charles Thomas Pyke was born on June 03, 1855 to Paul Oakley and Sarah Ann Pyke at Fullham, North End. Paul's occupation was Hairdresser, of Chelsea; later he is listed as Master Hairdresser and Perfumer to the Gentry. (Sounds sort of posh to me!)

2. Charles married Ellen Medhurst on July 28, 1874 at the Parish Church,Rainham. Charles gives his occupation as Hairdresser, so I am assuming that he was probably apprenticed to his father and then struck out on his own in Rainham.

3. The 1881 census gives their address as High Street, Rainham which address carries through to 1901. So they lived there for some 20 years.

4. Progressively through this time, Charles' occupation shifts from Hairdresser, to Master Hairdresser, to Druggist then Druggist and Medicines Vendor and finally to Tobacconist. I can see the logic in some of this as when I was small (many years ago) it was common for the local Hairdresser to be also a tobacconist and even to sell some simple "patent" medicines.

5. Would I be correct to guess that to be "promoted" to Master Hairdresser or to be a Druggist, Charles would have been a member of the appropriate Guild?

6. Given the long tenure at the address, and the range of business activities, my guess is that Charles would have been well known/important in the local business community on the High Street. Particularly so if he was indeed a Guild member and thus able to vote.

7. In the 1881 census Ellen is shown as "Druggist's wife" which I think indicates that she worked in the business with Charles.

8. I can only find one survivor child, Charles (I call him Charles Jr.) born September 09, 1890. Charles Jr. married Maud Dudding of "The Poplars", Bredhurst Lane, Rainham at the Parish Church, Rainham on September 06, 1919. Charles Jr. gave his address as "23 High Street", Rainham, so that probably pinpoints the family home. It would seem that Charles Jr. served in the army during WW1, as he is noted on the birth certificate of their first child (Charles Jasper, 1920) as being an Instructor with the East Kent Regiment; CJ was born at the local military hospital and Maud was living at "The Poplars", indicating that Charles Jr. was still on active military service. To date I have not been able to track his military record.

Subsequently Charles Jr. and Maud had three other children Lillian Ellen 1922, Edward John 1924 and Ethel Frances 1929. During this time frame the family moved to 2 Roberts Road, Rainham and then to 42 Magpie Hall Road, Chatham. Charles Jr. appears to have left the army somewhere around 1921 after which he lists his occupation as "Sawyer". Given the Chatham address, would he have been employed at the Naval dockyard?

9. I believe that Ellen died, age 75, in 1926 with the death being recorded in Milton. Charles Thomas died, age 78, in 1934 and this is recorded in Medway. Thus the family stayed in this part of Kent for their whole lives.

With this potted history to hand, are there any local records of the Rainham community that can tell me more about Charles Thomas and possibly his family? Any help provided would be greatly appreciated.

With sincere thanks for your help,
Bruce H Pyke

Update from Bruce Pyke:

Given the ages of the Charles Jnr. children, it is possible some of them may still be alive,given that I was born very shortly after Ethel Frances. Certainly their children should be around somewhere.

Walter Prentis' Birds of Rainham (1894)

2008-07-16T21:25:00.003+01:00

Message from Stephen Holley : I have recently obtained a copy of Walter Prentis' Birds of Rainham (1894). I know nothing of the author, except that he lived and worked at Cozenton Farm. Does anyone know more about him? I would be very interested.