Bridges over B259 Southfleet Road - geograph

Springhead lies at the source of the

River Ebbsfleet Ebbsfleet River in Kent, south-east England, is a tributary of the Thames Estuary. It joins the Thames at Northfleet, opposite the container port of Tilbury Docks. Today, the river gives its name to the Ebbsfleet Garden City which is curren ...

, just southwest of the Gravesend suburban conurbations. Springhead forms one of the major quarters of the

Ebbsfleet Valley Ebbsfleet Valley is a new town and redevelopment area in Kent, South East England, and part of the Thames Gateway, southwest of Gravesend. Development is coordinated by the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation. It is named after the valley of t ...

development, with housing and the associated facilities now under construction. It is the point at which the High Speed 1 rail line meets the A2 road.

History

In ancient times it surrounded a pool formed from eight natural springs, and the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 ...

, ran through Springhead. They knew it as Vagniacae. The site had a large number of temples, together with various buildings used for trade.

William Bradbery William Bradbery (11 July 1776 – 11 August 1860), an entrepreneur, was the first person in England to cultivate and sell watercress on a commercial basis. Early life William was born in Didcot in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), he was one of seven ...

was the first man to grow

watercress Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Europe and Asia. It is one of the oldest known leaf v ...

commercially, in Springhead in 1808.

Notes and references

External links

Wessex Archaeology's Springhead pages

Excavations of Springhead Roman Town
{{authority control Roman sites in England Archaeological sites in Kent Villages in Kent