Frindsbury is part of the
Medway Towns
Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to for ...
conurbation in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, southern England. It lies on the opposite side of the
River Medway
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...
to
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
, and at various times in its history has been considered fully or partially part of the City of Rochester. Frindsbury today is part of the town of Strood and covers the most northern part of the town. Frindsbury refers to both a parish and a
manor. Within the civil parish of
Frindsbury Extra
Frindsbury Extra is a civil parish divided into commercial, suburban residential and rural parts on the Hoo Peninsula in Medway, a ceremonial part of Kent. It is contiguous with the fully urbanised Frindsbury part of Strood and is bounded by Cliff ...
are the villages of Frindsbury,
Wainscott, and
Upnor
Lower Upnor and Upper Upnor are two small villages in Medway, Kent, England. They are in the parish of Frindsbury Extra on the western bank of the River Medway. Today the two villages are mainly residential and a centre for small craft moored ...
. Frindsbury was also the name given to an
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
in the City of Rochester that straddled the parishes of Frindsbury and
Strood
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Gillingham and Rainham. It lies on the northwest bank of the River Medway at its lowes ...
.
Topology
![FrindsburyChurchGreenChatZoom](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/FrindsburyChurchGreenChatZoom.JPG)
Frindsbury lies on the northwest bank of the Medway at its lowest bridging point. After a narrow but marshy coastal strip, the land rises steeply to plateau at about . This was a sheet of
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...
covered by
brickearth
Brickearth is a term originally used to describe superficial windblown deposits found in southern England. The term has been employed in English-speaking regions to describe similar deposits.
Brickearths are periglacial loess, a wind-blow ...
covered with topsoil. Over the last two millennia, much of this was stripped away, or mined, so the contours have constantly changed. Through the centre of this ran a shallow valley carrying a stream draining the
Hoo Peninsula
The Hoo Peninsula is a peninsula in Kent, England, separating the estuaries of the rivers Thames and Medway. It is dominated by a line of chalk, clay and sand hills, surrounded by an extensive area of marshland composed of alluvial silt. The n ...
behind, through Islingham to Whitewall creek where it entered the Medway. This water flow formed a river meander upstream and a build up of
alluvium
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...
pushing 1,000 yds into the river. Though rarely more than in height, the Frindsbury peninsula became the centre of many industries. At the Strood end the coastal marsh became 600 yds wide. There is evidence of Roman piling so they could build a road,
Watling Street
Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main R ...
, from Strood Hill across the marsh to the Medway which they bridge. At that time Strood was part of Frindsbury. The impenetrable nature and the steepness of the
topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
here influenced the route of the railways.
History
![1863 Strood](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/1863_Strood.jpg)
The word ''Frindsbury'' comes from
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
, ''freondesburh'', meaning a stronghold held by a friend or ally. Recorded documented names of the parish include ''Freondesbrei'' (764), ''Freondesberia'' (c975), ''Frandesberie'' (1086), ''Fryndesbury'' (1610). The main
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
, All Saints, was built on the hill. There was a
chapel of ease
A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently.
Often a chapel of ea ...
at Strood (St Nicholas'), where Watling Street left the firm ground to run over the marshes to the Medway bridge. Strood was promoted to a full parish in 1193 by
Gilbert Glanvill
Gilbert Glanvill or Gilbert de Glanville was a medieval Bishop of Rochester.
Life
Glanvill was a clerk of Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury and the archdeacon of the Lisieux.[Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.
The town of Rochester has the bishop's seat, at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was foun ...]
.
Prehistory
The remains of a large elephant skeleton (
''palaeoloxodon antiquus'') were excavated in 1911 at
Upnor
Lower Upnor and Upper Upnor are two small villages in Medway, Kent, England. They are in the parish of Frindsbury Extra on the western bank of the River Medway. Today the two villages are mainly residential and a centre for small craft moored ...
. In 1925, evidence of a
palaeolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
works in the quarry to the east of All Saints' Church was reported. The find included over 4000 stone tools dating from 300,000 BP, including
hand axe
A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history, yet there is no academic consensus on what they were used for. It is made from stone, usually flint or che ...
s, large flint flakes, core pieces, and quartzite hammer stones.
A
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
sword was discovered at Upnor.
Michael Nightingale in 1953 argued that there was a
Roman Villa
A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions.
Typology and distribution
Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...
at Frindsbury to produce food to supply the garrison at
Durobrivæ, modern
Rochester, Kent
Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about from London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rainham, Strood and Gillin ...
. The foundations of the road leading from this villa to the bridge were discovered in 1819 at the canal dock. Further excavation by Tingey in 1888 produced several
artefacts, including a bronze statue of
Cupid
In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...
5.25" high.
Middle Ages
Bishop Eardulf of Rochester obtained Freandisbery and Wicham in 747. Notwithstanding this in 764,
King Offa
Offa (died 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of Æt ...
of
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
(as overlord) and
Sigered (the petty king of this part of Kent) granted 20
sulungs of land at Aeslingham in Freodesbrei to Bishop Eardulf of Rochester. In 778, King Egbert gave more land to the Bishop. Following the Danish wars or the 9th and 10th century the area was wrested from the church and eventually came under the control of
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon English king. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings, fighting the Norman invaders led by William the C ...
. Following Harold's defeat at the
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...
,
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
gave the lands to
Odo
Odo or ODO may refer to:
People
* Odo, a given name; includes a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Franklin Odo (born 1939), Japanese-American historian
* Seikichi Odo (1927–2002), Japanese karateka
* Yuya Odo (born 1990), J ...
, bishop of Bayeux, Earl of Kent, and William's half brother.
Archbishop Lanfranc
Lanfranc, OSB (1005 1010 – 24 May 1089) was a celebrated Italian jurist who renounced his career to become a Benedictine monk at Bec in Normandy. He served successively as prior of Bec Abbey and abbot of St Stephen in Normandy and t ...
recovered them again at the
Trial of Penenden Heath
The trial of Penenden Heath occurred in the decade after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, probably in 1076, and involved a dispute between Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, half-brother of William the Conqueror and Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury an ...
(c.1072) and restored them to
Bishop Gundulf __NOTOC__
Gundulf (or Gundulph) (c. 1024 - 1108) was a Norman monk who went to England following the Norman Conquest. He was appointed Bishop of Rochester and Prior of the Cathedral Priory there. He built several castles, including Rochester, C ...
of Rochester. Gundulf was responsible for commencing the rebuilding of
Rochester Cathedral
Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an English church of Norman architecture in Rochester, Kent.
The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church of England and the s ...
and establishing the
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
Priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...
of
St Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
based upon it. He gave the land at Fridsbury to the new priory though insisting they paid an 'exenium' to him or his successors on
St Andrew's Day
Saint Andrew's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle. It is celebrated on 30 November (according to Gregorian calendar) and on 13 December (according to Julian calendar). Saint Andrew is ...
.
The
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086 records Frindsbury as in the
Lathe
A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to c ...
of
Aylesford
Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England, northwest of Maidstone.
Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. Two pubs, a village s ...
, in the
Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
of Shamwell. It had been taxed at 10
sulungs before 1066 and then at 7 in 1086. There were 15
carucate
The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...
s of arable land, 5 held by the lord and 11 by the villagers . It supported 40 villagers, 28 smallholders and 9 slaves. There was a mill taxable at 12 shillings (60p), a church, of meadow and woodland for 5 pigs. It was worth £8 before the conquest, but £25 by 1086 with another 10 shillings (50p) for the Bishop.
Bishop
Gilbert de Glanvill claimed Frinsdsbury back from the monks "as belonging to the maintenance of his table" in 1185. According to Hasted the bishop succeeded in obtaining the church, but the manor remained in the possession of the monks until the
Dissolution of the Monasteries under
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
in 1523. Barnard however records that in 1256, the church of Frindsbury (and thus the income) was returned to the Bishop. In 1279 and again in 1293, 1314 and 1357 the bishop of Rochester claimed liberties in the lands of the priory of Frindsbury as well as all lands belonging to the church. In 1348 the manor was confirmed as being in the possession of the prior of Rochester, reconfirmed in 1295. In 1287 the manor, along with its appendages of Chattenden, Strood and Rede, were taxed at £24-6-8 (£24.33).
''Frindsbury Clubs''. In 1291, there was an altercation between the Monks of Rochester and Newark Priory in Strood as a result of a communication difficulty. The good folk of Frindsbury soundly beat up the monks who were trespassing. However, the church sided with the monks, and on Whit Monday the Frindsbury lads had to do penance by walking to abbey and craving forgiveness carrying their clubs. This continued till none of the participants was alive. In the 18th century the boys of Frindsbury and Strood met up each May Day to have a faction fight, though it is unclear whether it was between themselves or against the boys from Rochester.
Modern
On 30 September 1894, the Local Government Board confirmed an order of
Kent County Council
Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...
, and Frindsbury civil parish was divided into Frindsbury Intra, and
Frindsbury Extra
Frindsbury Extra is a civil parish divided into commercial, suburban residential and rural parts on the Hoo Peninsula in Medway, a ceremonial part of Kent. It is contiguous with the fully urbanised Frindsbury part of Strood and is bounded by Cliff ...
. Intra joined the municipal borough of Rochester, while part of Frindsbury Extra joined
Strood Rural District
Strood Rural District was a rural district in the county of Kent, England.
It was subject to boundary reforms in 1934 and 1935.
It consisted of the following civil parishes:http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10074137&c_id ...
. The remaining part of Frindsbury Extra joined Rochester in 1934.
Modern day Frindsbury is often referred to as North Strood as it lies within the borders of the very northern part of the town, contiguous to the village of Wainscott. Its population is included in Strood's approximate 40,000 residents. Although Frindsbury is considered part of Strood, the parish of Frindsbury Extra lies outside the borders of Strood and comes under Rochester. The parish includes Upnor, Wainscott, Chattenden and various other small hamlets which are situated north of the main town Strood.
Buildings
The manor of Frindsbury
The manor house is a grade II listed farmhouse dating from the late 16th century. In 1753 a new front was added to the existing building in the late
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
style. The house consists of a central 3 storey block flanked by 2 storey wings. A 20th century porch has been added. This is also referred to as ''Court Lodge Farm''. The building was proposed for demolition in 1958.
Adjacent to the Manor house is an early fifteenth
tithe barn
A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the vi ...
. The barn is a grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
at
UK grid reference . In early 2003 the barn suffered a serious fire which destroyed four of its thirteen
bays
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...
. The damaged and fallen timbers were salvaged during the following summer and are stored in the undamaged part of the barn. The barn is owned by the
Church Commissioners
The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...
who, prior to the fire, leased it to the farmer as an equipment store.
Medieval structure
![Unconverted Barn at Manor Farm, Frindsbury - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Unconverted_Barn_at_Manor_Farm%2C_Frindsbury_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1536853.jpg)
The official listing description is drawn from and ascribes a date of 1300. challenges this date on the basis of
dendrochronological
Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...
and
radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was dev ...
performed in 2002. The former gives a felling date of 1403, the latter 1400 ± 60 years.
The barn is of
aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...
d construction and until the fire was by . The barn is notable for the quality of its construction: "the undoubted queen of the Kentish barns", "Its carpentry is peerless" (both quotes from to ) or Austin's view "exemplary and executed to a high standard".
The footings are of mortared flint and stone rising to at the northern end of the barn. They may originally have been lime rendered internally. The heart of the structure is a series of rectangular frames (arcade
posts and collar beams) rising approximately above the dwarf walls. The frames are transversely braced. Linking the tops of the frames longitudinally is the arcade plate which is jointed and braced to each upright. outside the arcade are the aisle posts (2m high) supporting an aisle tie to the main arcade posts. The aisle posts are linked by the eaves plate, though not braced to it. Resting on and braced to the collar beams are crown posts supporting a collar plate. The rafters are supported by the eaves plates, arcade plates and collar plates forming a single unbroken slope. To complete the exterior of the building, weatherboards run from under the eaves vertically down to the
ground plates. The weatherboards are thought to be a rare survival of the original boards. A dendrochronological of one board gave 1357, but this was not the outermost ring of the tree.
The roof may have been originally thatched but is now covered with peg tiles. The entire roof has been retiled on new battens during the 1970s though earlier hand made tiles have been reused alongside modern machine made tiles.
Although the structure shows little sign of decay and replacement, the rafters above the aisles of bays 7 and 11 are of machine sawn softwood. In same bays, and also the lost bay 3, the medieval footings are also absent. Austin argues that this suggests the location of tall entrances (midstreys) at these points.
Later changes
Much of the barn's original footings have been replaced. The original footings are present in the first 5 bays, particularly at the east side. The footings in the west wall of bays 5 onwards were rebuilt in the 1970s. The rest consists of a mixture of eighteenth and nineteenth century repairs, often in brick. As well as the footings, parts of the ground plate and some weatherboards have been replaced. Some of this work was maintenance of the more vulnerable parts of the barn, but some reflected changing use. Notable amongst the changes were the blocking up of all the medieval doors and the insertion of later entrances.
At various times low and high level partitions have been added. Evidence of this activity is present in chisel work, nail holes, mortices and the impression of boards in remaining timbers. Most of the floor is nineteenth century concrete with drainage channels. This appears to be associated with the housing of cattle. In other parts of the barn earthen and chalk floors can be found. In bays 8 and 9 worn
cobbles
Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings.
Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...
and granite
setts
A sett, also known as a block or Belgian block, is a broadly rectangular quarried stone used in paving roads and walkways. Formerly in widespread use, particularly on steeper streets because setts provided horses' hooves with better grip tha ...
are again associated with animals, particularly with a nearby stable door and chewed timbers.
Bay 11 has timber floors in each aisle. The timbers are hand sawn and old. Brick
sleeper wall
A sleeper wall may refer to the following types of walls:
*sleeper wall is a short wall used to support floor joists, beam and block or hollowcore slabs at ground floor. It is constructed in this fashion when a suspended floor(Also called suspen ...
s discovered by excavation indicate that the timber flooring may have continued across the whole width. Similar sleeper walls have been found in the damaged bay 3. Both these bays are thought to be the location of the medieval entrances and Austin suggests that they may have been
threshing floor
Threshing (thrashing) was originally "to tramp or stamp heavily with the feet" and was later applied to the act of separating out grain by the feet of people or oxen and still later with the use of a flail. A threshing floor is of two main type ...
s.
The Church of All Saints
The present church was started around 1075 by Paulinus, sacrist of Rochester who gave books and vestments to it. It was rebuilt in 1127. There was more building in the 14th century and around 1407. The church was
extensively restored in 1884. An image of the church pre restoration is in the British Library. The church has recently been fitted with disabled access, a WC and a kitchenette to the rear of the nave.
Quarry House
Quarry House is first mentioned in 1575. Then there was an early 17th-century brick residence, which became a fashionable place for a visit, to observe the prospect. It was demolished in 1897 so that the chalk on which it stood could be extracted. Drawings of it were made before its destruction. A full history of the house was written in the late 19th.
The Parsonage
The purpose of a mediaeval church was to raise revenue for the Bishop (the same man being the Rector of Frindsbury), and the lands needed to be managed. The Bishop knowing the income would appoint a clerk in Holy Orders say mass and minister to the congregation- he would become the vicar. The rector would have a Parsonage, which could be rented out if he didn't use it. There was a parsonage in Bill Street, and by 1591 it was occupied by the Watson Family. It was demolished at an unknown date post 1930.
Islingham Farm
This was a significant rural community of which there are few remains.
Royal Oak Pub
The pub was first built in the late 17th century as a house. By 1754 it was in use as a public house. It was under threat of demolition for redevelopment. On 24 May 2016 the building was listed Grade II, and the building was converted into housing in 2020.
Industry
Industrial history
Frindsbury today is principally a dormitory suburb of Rochester with significant commercial activity on the Frindsbury Peninsula. The housing merges Frindsbury and Strood. The availability of such housing is to the part caused by the previous land usage. Until 1811, most inhabitants worked in agriculture, but by 1831, 90% worked in quarrying or manufacturing making this an industrial hot spot, well in advance of the rest of Kent. Wealth and poverty was thus dependent on the generosity of a handful of employers and the state of the national economy, boom and recession. As one industry abandoned the land it had despoiled, newer ones moved in and used the space, and finally this was turned over to housing. The streets bear the names of the previous elite.
Frindsbury Mills
The first recorded
windmill
A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...
was on a map of 1596. It was called the Quarry Mill, was 100 yds southeast of the church and was destroyed in 1850. It was a
post mill
The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...
.
The next four Frindsbury mills were all owned by Mr Kimmins (c1845 et seq.).
On Prospect Hill there were two mills. The first was called Manwaring's Mill, or Little Mill. It was a black tarred
smock mill
The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This type ...
that drove four pairs of
millstone
Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones.
Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...
s. Next to it was the Great Mill or Rose's Mill. It was the highest in Kent with forty foot by nine-foot sails. Together the two mills produced 400 sacks of flour a week. Little Mill was struck by lightning and demolished in 1886. Great Mill was demolished in 1890.
Kimmin's Mill (1819–1843), was a smock mill with no base. The land became a brick field. A man was killed by its sails.
House Mill, also known as Kimmin's Mill or Frindsbury Mill, stood on Frindsbury Hill and was a black smock mill. It was demolished in 1931.
Close by in Strood on Broom Hill were two more mills, Field Mill and Killick's Mill.
Ship and barge building
:'' See main article
Shipbuilding in Frindsbury, Kent
Frindsbury TQ744697 is a parish on the River Medway, on the opposite bank to Chatham Dockyard in Kent, England. It was a centre of ship building before 1820, building at least six 74 gun third rate ships of the line and many smaller vessels. F ...
for details of ships and barges built in the Frindsbury area''
Thames and Medway Canal
:''See main article
Thames and Medway Canal
The Thames and Medway Canal is a disused canal in Kent, south east England, also known as the Gravesend and Rochester Canal. It was originally some long and cut across the neck of the Hoo peninsula, linking the River Thames at Gravesend with th ...
for details''
Sand
The moulding sand from below
Upnor
Lower Upnor and Upper Upnor are two small villages in Medway, Kent, England. They are in the parish of Frindsbury Extra on the western bank of the River Medway. Today the two villages are mainly residential and a centre for small craft moored ...
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
was used to make metal castings. It was of such a high quality that it was exported.
Brickfields
In 1847, there were 6
brickfield
A brickfield is a field or other open site where bricks are made. Land may be leased by an owner to a brickmaster, by whom the manufacture of bricks may be conducted.
Historically, the topsoil was typically removed and the clay beneath was str ...
s in Frindsbury. Three were at Manor Farm, two were at Whitewall Creek and one at Ten Gun Field Upnor. Top soil would be removed, the
brickearth
Brickearth is a term originally used to describe superficial windblown deposits found in southern England. The term has been employed in English-speaking regions to describe similar deposits.
Brickearths are periglacial loess, a wind-blow ...
was removed and the topsoil replaced and farming continued or orchards were planted. Ten Gun Field was in operation in 1800 and produced around 2.5 million bricks annually over the period. Production peaked in 1844 when it produced 14 million, 1% of the national output.
The bricks were Yellow Stock bricks, the colour produced by adding up to 17% chalk to the clay. The brick were graded as ''Firsts'', ''Seconds'' (used for facings), ''Thirds'' (used for internals), ''Roughs'' (used for hardcore) and ''Chuffs'' that were unusable.
Other later brickfields were at Barn Meadow (today's Sholden Road) which produced reds, Wickenden Brickyard by Cooling Road, and Frindsbury Brickyard owned by the West family (closed in 1931).
The business declined when the
Fletton
Fletton is an area of the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England, south of the River Nene.
Notable for its large brickworks, the area has given its name to "Fletton bricks",
Admin ...
clay at
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
began to be exploited. This clay contained 5% tar oil, so required less fuel to fire. The Frindsbury brickyards reverted to agriculture or were used for new housing.
Cement works
Portland Cement
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the early 19th c ...
is made from a mixture of
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...
and
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
containing alumina and silica. It was first manufactured in 1842 at
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of Dogs ...
by
William Aspdin
William Aspdin (23 September 1815 – 11 April 1864) was an English cement manufacturer, and a pioneer of the Portland cement industry. He is considered the inventor of "modern" Portland cement. He has also been termed "an incorrigible liar a ...
, and the first site outside the Thames valley at which it was manufactured was on Limehouse Reach, Frindsbury.
I. C. Johnson, who had previously made cement at
Swanscombe
Swanscombe Help:IPA/English, /ˈswɒnzkəm/ is a village in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is 4.4 miles west of Gravesend and 4.8 miles east of Dartford.
History
Prehistory
B ...
, bought an oil mill at Frindsbury, and converted it to make cement, commencing on 1 May 1851. This became known as the Crown Works. Subsequently, six more cement works were built along Limehouse Reach, all using the chalk that forms the Frindsbury ridge, and alluvial clay from the Medway Estuary.
The cement works were, from north to south:
* Phoenix Works (started 1877)
* Globe Works (1880)
* Bridge Works (1885)
* Crown Works (1851)
* Quarry Works (1889)
* Beehive Works (1880)
* Beaver Works (1884)
By 1904, when these works reached their greatest development, there were 132 kilns with 30 kiln chimneys, capable of making around 4000 tons of cement a week, and employed 800. All the works started as independent companies, but were gradually merged, and in 1900 the entire site was acquired by
APCM, who renamed the site "Crown and Quarry Works". The works had limited raw materials, and its capacity was reduced to around half its peak size, before finally shutting down in 1963, after most of the chalk on the Frindsbury peninsula had been used up.
The Formby Works (established 1862) was at Whitewall Creek and did not join the APCM. This produced initially 60 tons a week, and eventually 500 tons a week. As the chalk from Tower Hill declined, it was brought by barge from Halling. The Formby Works closed in 1909.
Shooting the Bridge
To get under the
Rochester Bridge
Rochester Bridge in Rochester, Medway was for centuries the lowest fixed crossing of the River Medway in South East England. There have been several generations of bridge at this spot, and the current "bridge" is in fact four separate bridges ...
, without losing headway, barges would approach at speed and drop their mast, using the winch at the bow, and when safely under, raise it again. To do this required extra crew, so called 'Hufflers', who were taken on at Whitewall creek. They waited offshore in their skiffs which were then tethered to the barge. They helped lower and raise the mast so the barge could shoot the bridge. They were let off at Janes Creek or Temple Creek in Strood.
Holes in the ground
The Hill on which Frindsbury stands is riddled with holes. These are possibly from ancient mining or could be natural caves caused by water erosion. At various points these have opened up killing at least one woman as well as causing subsidence.
Local government
Half of Frindsbury was outside the borders of the
City of Rochester hence the name
Frindsbury Extra
Frindsbury Extra is a civil parish divided into commercial, suburban residential and rural parts on the Hoo Peninsula in Medway, a ceremonial part of Kent. It is contiguous with the fully urbanised Frindsbury part of Strood and is bounded by Cliff ...
. The other half was within the city so was referred to as Frindsbury Intra, a name that has long disappeared, being called Frindsbury.
This distinction is significant, Frindsbury was a ward in the City of Rochester, and in the City of Rochester-upon-Medway. Frindsbury Extra was a ward of Strood Rural District Council which was abolished in 1974. Eleven of the 16 Strood Rural parishes, joined Rochester City Council and Chatham Borough Council to become the Rochester-upon-Medway Borough Council which in 1978 became Rochester-upon-Medway City Council. The eleven parishes remained parished i.e. have an elected parish council, while former Rochester wards were not. This distinction means that the Electoral Commission will not allow any boundary change to the wards, whereby an elector loses or gains the right to vote in a parish election.
Medway Council is a unitary authority established in 1998. Frindsbury is split in two local government level wards: Strood North and Strood Rural, each represented by three councillors from the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
().
Visitors
William Hogarth
William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like s ...
with
Samuel Scott visited Rochester in May 1732.
Ebenezer Forest wrote a journal of the five-day trip containing the lines "we all proceeded merrily to Frendsbury". They examined the Frindsbury Church then walked to Upnor where Hogarth made a drawing of the beautiful and ancient Upnor Castle. They then examined the Ten Gun Battery and the Birds Nest Battery before walking to Hoo.
In 1783, engravers
Samuel and Nathaniel Buck
Samuel Buck (1696 – 17 August 1779) and his brother Nathaniel Buck (died 1759/1774) were English engravers and printmakers, best known for their ''Buck's Antiquities'', depictions of ancient castles and monasteries. Samuel produced much ...
drew their prospect of Rochester from the top of All Saints Church Tower.
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
Frindsbury Extra Parish CouncilKent Association of Parish Councils*
Facsimile of the original Domesday book entry
{{authority control
Villages in Kent
Royal Navy dockyards in England
Windmills in Kent