This article is about the town in Kent, England. For the creek in Essex, see The Strood

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Strood, now part of Rochester-upon-Medway, lies on the north west bank of the River Medway at its lowest bridging point. Geographically it is part of Kent. Strood was part of Frindsbury until 1193, but now Frindsbury is considered part of Strood. Strood's history has been dominated by the river, the bridges and the important road and rail links they carried. In 2006, it was a mainly residential suburb of Rochester, and a commuter town for London. Strood Rural District was the name of a former rural district council that never included Strood, it served an area of 76 square miles between the Thames and Medway Rivers.

Topology

Strood lies on the edge of marshy land alongside the River Medway. The Chalk hills of the North Downs have been breached at this point, and they form a river cliff rising to 100 feet directly behind. Two gentle chalk valleys,or bournes, descend to the river here, one takes the A2 towards London on its north slope. Another takes the road to Cliffe, and to Hoo. The land has been extensively quarried for chalk and the covering brickearth. These quarries have then been used for housing, and the land reshaped to provide the infrastructure. The River frontage has been drained and infilled, firstly for industry, then for transport links, and finally for housing. To the north of Strood, we find the remains of the canal basin, and to the south the M2 motorway bridge and the accompanying High Speed Rail Link (HS1) bridge.

History

The Origins of the name

The name strõd or strõþ refers to a marshy land overgrown with brushwood.(Stroud in Gloucestershire is derived from the same root)( 8). 889 strõd, 1158 Strode, 1610 Strood.

Romans

The Second Roman Invasion, in 43AD, started at Dover and the invadors headed for London. They forded the Medway at Rochester and fought a small engagement to secure the west bank. This must have been in Strood. They built a stone bridge and laid a road on a causeway across the marshy ground.(1) The foundations were about 8ft below the level of the 1856 road. The road went up Strood hill, and was called Watling Street, as it still is today. This is the A2. There is further evidence of a causewayed road leading along the bank towards the Frindsbury Peninsula leading to a villa, was found in 1819 (4). The present road and field pattern suggest that there was a substantial Roman agricultural settlement centred near Frindsbury.(4)

764 Offa King of Mercia and Sigered King of Kent granted to Eardulph lands in Easlingham (Frindsbury).(1)

In 840, 994 and 998 Strood was pillaged by the Danes.(1)

In 960 a wooden bridge was built across the Medway(1)

Normans

A small wooden church was erected at Strood in 1122, as a chapel of ease in the parish of Frindsbury.(1)

Land was granted in 1160,to the Knights Templar by King Henry II. The Manor House was used as a Lodging House.(1)

Newark Hospital

Gilbert de Glanvill, Bishop of Rochester, in 1190, early during the reign of Richard I founded a hospital in Strood, east of the church,(1) which was afterwards called the Newark or Stroud Hospital, the Yoke or North Yoke being a mall manor in Strood. Newark Hospital was important in raising the profile of Strood, however there was constant concern about it financial management, and rivalry between it and the Rochester Priory. The location of the former Newark Hospital is now mainly a car park behind the high street. The 19th century railway embankment cuts across the old hospital site at the back of the carpark. Strood market is now held on this part of the land.

The Parish of Strood

In 1193, Strood became a parish. It was run by the monks of Newark Hospital, and had its own burial grounds(1).Corruption in the finances of the Newark Hospital set in and worsened until reforms were put in place formally in 1330 by the bishop of Rochester Hamo de Hethe.(no attrib).In 1291 there was an affray at Newark Hospital between the Monks of Strood and the locals from Frindsbury.(4)

Commerce

1264 Simon de Montfort laid seige to Rochester Castle from the Strood Side. In the action the wooden bridge was destroyed by fire.(1)

1293 The Strood Quay and wharf was built by Bishop de Glanville. Rents went to Newark Hospital, ships used this wharf as the one at Rochester was in disrepair. The bridge continued to be out of use, so ferries had to be used. In 1309, a harsh winter, the bridge was damaged by ice.(1)

1387 a stone bridge was built by John de Cobham and Sir Robert Knolles.(1)

1460 Edward IV appointed a mayor of Rochester with jurisdiction over part of Strood.(1)

Tudor Times

Strood was owned by the Rochester monastery from the 18th year of Edward III's reign until the dissolution under Henry VIII, after which time as part of the Hundred of Sharnel(Shamwell) which included Cobham, it was passed to George Brooke, Lord Cobham.

His grandson Henry Brooke lost his estates to James I in 1603 through a false charge of treason, although he escaped with his life.(no attrib)

The manor thereafter was granted to Sir Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury (son of William, Lord Burleigh), who later became Lord Treasurer of England under Queen Elizabeth, and married Elizabeth, sister of Henry, Lord Cobham.(no attrib)

1526 is the first mention of the Angel Inn.(1)

1554 Thomas Wyatt of Allington, heard that the queen intended to marry a Catholic and gathered an army with intention of marching to London. He took Rochester Castle and The Bridge. There was to have been a battle at Strood, but the Queens men deserted. The rebellion fizzled out and Wyatt was executed along with captain of the deserters.(3)

18th Century

In 1769, under authority of the 1768 Paving Act, a tollgates were erected at The Angel Inn, Strood and to pay for improvements to the parish was instituted on the Watling Street leading to Rochester bridge into the old city.

Near the church, some time after the Newark hospital had been replaced, a workhouse was built, funded by the Watts charity in 1721.(no attrib)

Hasted, in his study of Kent (1778-99), said Strood's inhabitants were chiefly seafaring or fishermen, and engaged in dredging oysters.(2)

Strood Fair

An annual fair was instituted in 1206 during the seventh year of King John's reign to the priory of Rochester, to be held on 26 August, which continued well into the 18th century, according to Hasted, the Kent historian. It was traditionally held over three days, and associated with Christian celebration of the Assumption (15th August). Strood fair was held regularly into the 1970's. The land used for the fair was sandwiched between Grange Road and Station Road. It was for many years part of a dairy farm, though by the 1970's the farm building had been turned into a motor repair business. The fair ground was passed on to the people who ran the fair. It was then used by them to stay through the winter months. Gradually the number or fairs held on the land dwindled. (Note from contibutor: I remember as a boy in the 1970's being able to openly play on the land when the fair was not in town. I lived in Grange Road, so it was a convienient playgound for me. When the land passed hands to the fair people, they walled it off from the locals.)(no attrib)

Today's market is held on a Tuesday, and Saturday, and a boot fair is held on a Sunday, so this tradition continues, in some fashion, to this day. No significant market or festival is held in Strood in August in 2006, however.(no attrib)

Canals, Railways, Bridges and Stations

The Thames and Medway Canal was to pass through a deep cutting but the cutting was abandoned and a tunnel dug instead. It was 2.5 miles long the canal was 8ft deep with 27ft headroom and 26ft 6in wide,to take 94ft long, 60ton Thames Barges. It had a 5ft tow path its entire length. Spoil from the tunnel was used to infill the marshland between St Mary's Church Strood and the River Medway. It opened 4 October 1824.

The Frindsbury basin could handle vessels to 300 tons. A steam pump was installed here to keep the canal topped up. Commercially the venture was a failure, because

• Tolls were high to recoup the cost
• Entry to the basins could only occur at high tides, making it quicker to sail the 47 miles round the Isle of Grain
• The effect of the railways

The tunnel was sold for 310,000 to the South Eastern Railway, c1845 who filled in the canal and laid a double track. The railway terminated at Strood with passengers taking a steamer or coaches to reach Rochester or Chatham, the station completed 10th February 1856, was opposite The Railway Tavern. More recently it was called the Old Terminus.

In 18th June 1856, the line was extended along the river bank to Maidstone, and the station we see today,was opened. Also in 1856 the new road bridge over the Medway was opened (7),in its present position, back where the Roman bridge had been. In 1857 the Mediaeval bridge was demolished the stone being used to build the Strood Esplanade in 1858.(1) In 1860 the SER built the Strood pier

The East Kent Railway had permission to run a line from Faversham to Chatham,and intended to connect with the South Eastern Railway at Strood. When negotiations failed, the East Kent, now called the London Chatham and Dover, linked with the Mid Kent Co. at Bromley. The built a bridge over the Medway (1853) and taking their line to the North of the Angel, over Gun Lane, and Watling Street then south to Cuxton wher it followed the Bush Valley and hence to Sole Street.The London Chatham and Dover built a Station on the A2, adjacent to Canal Road, this was called

• Strood Station, when it was built, then
• Rochester Bridge Station,1st April 1861
• Rochester & Strood, 1st November 1861
• Rochester Bridge (Strood), 1862
• Rochester Bridge, 1905

The South Eastern railway retaliated by building a parallel bridge (after 1866 and before 1909)and running a separate line into Chatham.(7) To do this the Watermill was demolished and the Mill Pond filled in. Over the pond was built an Oil and Seed Mill with its own sidings.

There was a loop between the lines at Strood, opened 29th March 1859 which closed in 1860.In 1875 Mayor N.E.Toomer forced the two companies to reopen the loop, now nicknamed Toomers Loop.The service resumed 1st April 1877.

The line of LCD Railway was changed to align with the stronger SER Bridge, releasing the old bridge to be used as an additional road carriage way.

Industry

The River and the Strood Basin

All Strood below the Angel was built on marshland which was fed by small creeks, these were excavated to make make useable jetties and wharf. Two such creeks are well known, Janes Creek which once extended back to the Cricketers Inn, and Temple Creek. Joining Janes Creek,at a right angle was Pelican Creek which has been infilled and now forms a carpark and the foundations of B&Q. Strood frequently flooded and the area around Temple St (now a car park and Tesco's) was known as the 'Swamp'.

Floods

• 1158
• 1235
• 1309
• 1682
• 1735
• 1791
• 1854
• 1874
• 1987
• 1953
• 1968
• 1979

(1)

Barge Building

William Curel was Medways oldest establish barge builder, he has two yards on the Strood bank, the Curel's Upper Yard was adjacent to the Railway Tavern. In 1900 Gill and Son took over the yard, and it became a sail loft.(9)

The Tidal Mill

When the tide was rising, water flowed into the mill pond driving the mill, when the tide was falling, water flowed back into the river, driving the mill.

Windmills

1860 The Strood Hill Mill was demolished- it now forms part of the Cedars Hotel.

1875 Fields Mill on Broom Hill burnt down

Engineering

HM Dockyard Chatham had always been a centre of new technology, and high standards of workmanship. Numerous small enterprises were formed to service the dockyard and by dockyard trained staff.

Joseph Collis started as a retail ironmonger in 1777, by 1865 he was a wholesaler specialising zinc, iron, tinplate and locksmithery. By 1870, he and his partner Stace took over the Pelican Foundry and manufactured structural ironwork, toilet cisterns and manhole covers.(9)

Thomas Aveling built his traction engines at the Invicta Works next to Rochester Bridge in 1861. Later they acquired the Collis and Stace foundry-the Pelican Foundry. Avelings were important for their excellent employment practices, and made their premises available for meetings of cooperative and radical societies. Avelings in turn became Wingets factory,(9) then the Rochester-upon-Medway Civic Centre which passed to Medway Council.

Short's the seaplane manufacturer, used a yard on the Strood side for construction of the airframes of F3 and F5 flying boats.(9)

Other employers were Hobourn-Eaton, Kent Alloys, Fishers and the Co-operative bakery.(9)

Retail

The area round The Angel was the tradition area for small shops. Further small rows were built within the housing, along Gun Lane, at Darnley Road etc. In 2005, Strood was served by two supermarkets,Tesco's being built over the demolished Temple Street, and Safeways being on the High Steet, being built over many small firms and the Budden and Biggs Brewery. Following the recent takeover by Morrisons, this has closed and lies empty, a new store being built the far side of Jane's Creek. There is thus no major food shop or magnet store on the High Street.

Housing

The area of Strood around Knight's Place and Temple Street, was refered to as the Swamp. On the floods Smetham wrote in 1899 in that woebegone spot the foul contents of water closets were washed into poor peoples homes, and an indescribable filth permeated the fetid spot for months(9)(10) In 1912 there was a typhoid outbreak here, 56 people contracted it, 5 died.

In the 1880s, there was a major expansion of houses. Terraced houses were built on the hill, closing the gap between Strood and Frindsbury. The land around St Mary,s, now drained and close to the station was used. There was a mix of sizes, from the large detached to the small terraces that opened on the street. They were all built in local yellow brick, with detailing in reds.

After

Churches

St Nicholas' St Mary's church Frindsbury was opened by Bishop Claughton in 1869 Zoar Chapel 1782- Protestant dissenters. Wesleyan Methodist Jubilee Church Stonehorse Lane (now Cliffe Road)

Strood Rural Parish

(5)1895-1999 Strood Rural lies between the estuaries of the Thames and the Medway. It contains the parishes of

• Allhallows
• Cliffe
• Cobham
• Cooling
• Cuxton
• Frindsbury Extra
• Halling
• Higham - now in Gravesham
• High Halstow
• Hoo
• Isle of Grain
• Luddesdown - now in Gravesham
• Meopham - now in Gravesham
• St Mary's Hoo
• Shorne - now in Gravesham
• Stoke

People

Anne Pratt, the botanist, was born at Strood. She wrote several books in the 19th century covering a wide range of botanical subjects. She was so well respected for her knowledge of wild flowers that she was granted an allowance from the Civil List. A portrait of her was placed in the Rochester museum.(no attrib)

Charles Roach Smith d 1890- notable amateur archaeologist.

The model and television presenter Kelly Brook is also from this Kentish town.(no attrib)

Visits

1165 Thomas Becket - the story of cutting off the tail of his Horse.

1527 Cardinal Wolsey's men stayed overnight in Strood. He stayed in Rochester.

1772 Hogarth visited and made his way Merrily to Frendsbury.

1871 Ex-Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugene waited in the garden of the Railway Tavern for the Steamboat.

Trivia

References

(1) R.L.H Coulson ALA, A Chronology of Strood to 1899 c 1979 Published Kent County Libraries.

(2) Hasted, Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, 1778-99. Two vols.

(3) Marsh, A History of Rochester,1976, Medway Borough Council

(4) Merrily to Frendsbury-A History of the Parish of Frindsbury. Derek Barnard. Private Pub. City of Rochester Society. post 1994.

(5) A History of Strood Rural District, Brian Matthews M.A. 1971. Published Strood Rural Distict Council.

(6) Windmills and Watermills of Kent. Coles-Finch

(7) Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith,Southern Main Lines Dartford to Sittingbourne,1994,Middleton Press,ISBN 1-873793-34-0

(8) Placenames of Kent Judith Glover 1976,1982,1992 Meresborough Books ISBN 0-905270-61-4

(9) John K. Austin,Yesterdays Medway from Rochester Bridge to Chatham Intra,2006 Rainmore Books ISBN 0-9553903-0-3

(10) Henry Smetham, History of Strood, 1899.